Buena Vista Real Estate » Cottonwood Pass

Springtime in the Rockies

Mal Sillars — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:51:55 +0000

Well, it may not be Springtime yet, but it is starting to feel and look like it. The temperature is mild, kayakers are in the river, and the real signal is that the Continental Divide Trail Alliance summer trail project catalog is out. This means we can start reading over the project descriptions and deciding which ones to sign up for.

The CDT is long, but in our neck of the woods there is about a 90-mile section, from Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highest 14er at 14,440 feet, to Monarch Pass, that is being reconstructed to be all off-road. The section that heads south from Cottonwood Pass is largely above 12,000 feet. The good news is, that we are nearing completion of this new segment and a large group of volunteers could make a big difference. Here is the URL for the CDTA Project Schedule. See you on the Trail!

Great time on the Continental Divide Trail

Mal Sillars — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:20:51 +0000

One of the great gifts of living in this part of the country is having the Rocky Mountains in your backyard. For years I have worked with the Continental Divide Trail Alliance on trail work as they raise money to complete this trail. Congress created the trail but never funded it…so there is a lot of volunteer effort to get it completed. That is what every community does for their local projects.

The trail is about 3100 miles from Canada to Mexico and follows the Continental Divide. When first started, the trail consisted of walking trails, game trails, logging and mining roads and whatever was present to create a path from one end to the other. In recent years, the effort has been to refine that network, into a “proper” trail from top to bottom. In our area, we are working on a 90-mile section from Mt. Elbert, 14,440 feet, the highest mountain in the Rocky Mountains and the second highest in the lower 48, south to Monarch Pass on US 50. Some sections are being re-worked and some are being moved so that this entire length will be “off-road.”

In 2005, ’06, and ’07, I and others spent many days surveying and siting a large section of this new trail. A couple of years ago, I adopted an eight mile section, mainly above 12,000 feet, to watch over, monitor and maintain. This past weekend I walked it again for the fall inspection and more trail had been completed. It is a spectacular walk. With the completion of about 1,500 feet of trail, my section will be complete and with the completion of another 2.5 miles to the south in Morgan’s Gulch…where I spent many happy days working…the path from Cottonwood Pass to Tin Cup Pass, 17 miles, will be complete. I think that ‘sky-walk’, mainly above 12,000 feet, will be one of the jewels of the CDT and it is fun being part of that effort.

Join the wave

Mal Sillars — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:12:04 +0000

Far from the glistening shores a wave has broken in our valley. It is a wave of folks that have come here to play and enjoy what we in the Upper Arkansas experience daily. The Collegiate Peaks bike race was yesterday with some mountain biking today. The river is full of rafters and kayakers getting ready for Paddle Fest next weekend…a big kickoff for the white-water season. There are already campers along North Cottonwood Creek and Cottonwood Pass will open this week, allowing easier access to the very high country. Daytime temperatures are hitting the 70s, lows in the 30s, the trees and flowers are out, the sky is blue and there is still snow in the mountains.

For those of us in real estate, we know that mixed in with the weekend warriors are buyers, deciding that they might as well live where they play…or at least have a second home here. There are many places in the country I have not visited, but I have never been anywhere that offers a bigger variety of outdoor adventures on a year around basis. If you are done with adventure, this is also a great place to sit, so if you can’t live here, at least pay us a visit. If you decide to check us out, I’d be happy to assist!