Winter Details

Weather – Average winter temps are just below zero and night, and into mid to upper thirties mid day. Not counting that intense Colorado mountain sunshine. Again, feel free to write for a weather update prior to your stay. Your cabin is really warm and comfortable, but you may want slippers and sweat pants to kick around in. Day time you might be down to a t-shirt or sweatshirt in the sun. But then again, you never know with the weather up here! Throughout most of winter, the snow is deep, but trails are well set. If you go off trail, you may be sinking up to your knees or beyond! If you have gators, we recommend them highly!

Linens and things – Cabin #7 (Spruce Hollow Cabin) has a bedroom with one queen size bed, a bedroom with one double bed, a sleeping loft with two twin mattress pads, and a sofa. Cabin #5 (Cliff Dweller Cabin) has two bedrooms, each with a double bed, plus two additional double beds just off the main room, and a convertible sleeper sofa in the living room. There are lots of blankets in your cabins, however due to our remote location, sleeping bags or fresh linens, and fresh towels should be brought in by our guests. Sorry, laundry facilities are pretty far away for us up here! But don’t worry if you do forget something... chances are we’ll have it.

Packing – If you’d like to make arrangements with us to have your gear hauled in on a sled pulled by our snowmobiles, please contact us for prices and details in advance. In any case, we recommend packing safely. Suitcases and duffle bags are great, as are sturdy cardboard or plastic boxes. Paper bags are not a good idea! Things may get snow on them, and therefore damp. Any fragile items should be well wrapped. On this end, you'll find all the cooking and eating utensils you may need (pots, pans, plates, silverware, etc.), and there is a good sized fridge in your cabin. And don't worry - if you forgot anything, we should be able to help out. There is also a well stocked "Trading Post" in our main cabin with canned and dry goods (as well as hats and t-shirts for sale, and books and board games for lending).

For each of our Winter Guests, we recommend bringing the following: towel, sleeping bag, snow boots, slippers, extra socks, clothing for your stay in the mountains (where temperatures range from about 45 degrees during the day, down to well below zero degrees at night), a warm coat, hat and gloves, flashlight (there's no street lights here!), sunglasses and sunblock for the intense Colorado sunshine, a water bottle to take with you when you're out playing in the snow (it’s very important to drink plenty of water when you’re at this high elevation). Don't forget those x-skis, snow shoes, etc.! (We recommend the use of skis on the road between the Ranch and the Dam, and the use of snow shoes on our back country trails.) Snowmobile guests should bring in their own fuel, and may want to bring a cover or tarp for their sled.

If you need to make arrangements for our winter shuttle service, any and all gear can be brought in for you, from our parking lot at the Rio Grande Dam to your cabin's front door. There is a $25 fee for each sled load, usually at about 2 sled loads per trip in our out. (Gear only, sorry, we don't recommend packing in people and pets!) Please be sure to pack all your items in well sealed duffel bags, suit cases and/or boxes. Take extra care in packing fragile and/or perishable items.

Don’t forget your laptop computer if you’d like to log into the wireless internet and keep in touch with the world off the mountain while you’re here! We do have limited internet access. Otherwise, there is no phone service here at the Ranch, so it’s a great place to “get away from it all.” Yes!

Arrival - Please be sure to confirm your expected time of arrival and travel arrangements into Lost Trail Ranch with us by e-mail well in advance. We would like to insure your arrival into the Ranch as smoothly and safely as possible. Remember, we’re about an hours drive from Creede, Colorado. Take Highway 149 from Creede, and turn off at the Rio Grande Reservoir Road, Forest Service Road 520. There, you’ll be on a 4WD road for 11 miles until you park at the Rio Grande Reservoir Dam. Don’t forget that at Road Canyon Reservoir there will be a locked gate. Access is limited to property owners and our guests. Be sure you have the combination from us ahead of time! We recommend your confirming this a week prior to your arrival. Vehicles can be parked and left during your stay at the parking area at the Dam. From there on into the Ranch, you’ll be on skis, snow shoes or snowmobiles. It’s about 6 ½ miles in. Plan on about 2-3 hours on foot (more if you’ll be stopping for a picnic), and ½ hour on snowmobile. The trail is well traveled all the way up to our Ranch, which is about 2 miles past the Ute Creek Trailhead, 1 mile past Sky High Ranch, and ½ mile past the Lost Trail Creek Bridge.

Meals - don't forget that at this elevation, you'll probably need to eat, drink and sleep a little bit more than you do back home. It’s almost 10,000 feet here - high and dry! But then again, everyone tends to bring enough to feed all the ranch hands! Please remember to bring along all the fixings for your meals and snacks while you’re at Lost Trail, because the nearest grocery store is an hour away (in good driving conditions) – and once you’re here, you probably won’t want to leave!

Our water comes from our underground spring, and is stored in our utility building. During the winter season, both storage and pressure are limited.

We are completely off the grid here… we have our own solar powered electricity system.

Our large appliances are all powered by propane, and small appliances are off limits. The electricity is designed to provide lights for the cabin only.

If you need to charge batteries for laptops, etc, please do so only during sunny hours!

During a cloudy/stormy spell, we will need to be even more conservative with our use of lights. If the generator is needed, we will do so during “peak” use hours – probably between the hours of 6 – 9. You’ll hear it going from outside your cabin. When we shut the evening generator off and return to our battery system, we will flash the lights on and off as a warning. Please be extra conservative after the “flash.” Pay special attention to shutting off porch lights, bathroom lights, etc. when not in use.

Get to know how to use the propane lights. We will be glad to provide a “demo” to show you how to properly and safely use them. They are a great alternative light source, and can be left on all night. A great back up with low solar power, which we do have during the Winter Solstice time especially! Please be extra cautious not to touch the mantle when lighting the lamp. Hold your match about an inch below the mantle.

Feel free to use the wood stoves, and keep your cabin as warm and comfortable as you like.

Fire wood is stored outside of your cabin. Please note the “secret wood door” in Cabin #5 which is very handy for re-stocking wood each day.

As for starting a fire in the wood stove – we recommend using 3 pieces of crumpled news paper, then three piece of small kindling, then 3 pieces of small wood. Light the paper with a match, and leave the door open ajar, about 2”, until you hear the snap, crackle and pop which tells you the wood is burning. Then you are welcome to add more wood as needed, and even close the doors completely when the cabin is warm enough. Do not shut drafts or dampers, please.

Your cabin has a back up propane heater as well. This heater is very safe, with a safety propane shut off which will block the flow of propane if the pilot light blows out. To light the pilot and use the heater, please follow the directions on the top of the heater.

Please separate food scraps from the rest of your trash and feed all food scraps to the chickens.

The rest of your trash should be bagged and tied and deposited in our burn barrels just above the entrance way.

We do not have the ability to recycle during the winter months, so any guests that would like to haul out their glass and aluminum cans would be highly encouraged!

Our headquarters and home is the third cabin your left as you drive in the ranch.

Feel free to come visit, ask questions, etc. at any point. As long as lights are on, we’re up. Even in an emergency, come knock on the door if need be.

We hope to help in any way we can. That’s we’re here, but we’ll leave you alone otherwise.

If we head out for a snow shoe or snowmobile or what not, we’ll leave a note on the front door.

Let us know what you need… chances are we have it here. We also have a small trading post located in our headquarters. Mostly just the bare minimum during the winter months.

There are plenty of board games, books and magazines you are welcome to enjoy while you’re here; as well as souvenirs to purchase as gifts and reminders. Take a look in the Trading Post…

Gates, fences, etc. are for containment of stock. If it’s closed, please close it behind you. If it’s open, let it be.

Please use respect with any outside mess, as the currently pristine snow may not get another good layer of white stuff for another month if we don’t get another storm soon.

You’re welcome to walk/ski/snow shoe just about anywhere you can get to on this mountain during the winter months.

We ask for our snowmobilers to help leave the nearby parks and trails that our foot traffic can only reach, as pristine as possible. There are some awesome parks to rip it up just around the corner and even more up river. Please double check if you’re in doubt.

Please leave a note or leave word every time you leave the ranch during the winter, whether just for a short walk, or for an all day excursion. That’s the safest way to be.

Motorized vehicles for guests should be limited to coming and going only on the ranch property.

Caution of the dogs and cats and horses on the ranch, then of foot traffic and dogs when off on the trails.

As always, please feel free to e-mail us with any questions you may have ahead of time regarding the cabins, our ranch, the area, etc.