As stated in previous posts, my method to planning camping trips is completely random. I pull up recreation.gov, search available dates, hit up my friends, and create a reservation. I rarely recognize the names of nearby towns, or know much about the area at all, but that is where the complete adventure begins.
My most recent camping trip was only three hours from Denver, compared to my previous campsite which was 5 hours away. Located right outside of WestCliffe, we stayed at a site called Alvarado Campground. The campsite was gorgeous and tucked away beside Sangre de Cristo mountain range.
Our camp tenant told us that the night before 50 mile winds whipped through the campground, ripping through people’s tents and making the once completely sold out campsite half empty. When we arrived, we faced terrifying hail and seemed to be driving to the eye of the storm, but by the time we hid under a gas station for a while, we redrove the path, and entered a serene campsite.
With crisp air from the rain, we were able to sleep well snuggled together in our tent to prepare for our big hike the next day. With a couple of hiccups, like our stove not working, the weather, and general unpreparedness, we settled into the night.
The following day, we decided to do a big mama hike, and go explore Sangre de Cristo, and see what it had to offer. We chose the Lake of the Clouds trail which is a moderately hiked trail near WestCliffe. While the all trails said it was around 10 miles, we clocked in around 12. The hike was beautiful with ranging scenery and a 2,500 elevation gain. The hike ends at a beautiful lake, but unfortunately while we were there, the winds were pretty aggressive. Despite the hike being a little longer than expected, the views were worth it, and the trip exhausted us in the best way.
Have you ever been to WestCliffe or explored Sangre de Cristo Wilderness?
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