Great Escapes Winter 2024 | Page 6

11 WINTER 2024 VOL . 05 / ISSUE 02 SNOWGOER . COM
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ism activity ) and a couple of year-round
by any modern standard , but were still
With our vision obscured by the weath-
more open areas , Scott pointed out a few
residents , but it seems each old building
certainly better than snowshoeing as we
er conditions , we fell in line tightly behind
playgrounds and we goofed around in the
had its own stories to tell of rowdy mining
followed Scott six miles up the trail to Tin
Scott and weaved our way north , skirt-
powder for awhile , but the limited visibil-
days of yore .
Cup Pass and a sign marking the
ing along the edge of Mirror Lake and , for
ity and lack of power kept us mainly plod-
Though fascinating , we weren ’ t here
Continental Divide .
awhile , back into the trees where visibility
ding forward to our next stop , the town of
for a history lesson so we planted the
We parked at the sign , showing 12,149
got better . We passed towering lodge-
Tin Cup – elevation 10,160 feet .
throttles . The rental sleds available to us –
feet of altitude and marveled at the fact
pole pine and dramatic clumps of white
In many ways , Tin Cup was similar to
fan-cooled , trailing-arm wearing Polaris
that there were still climbs on all sides that
aspen , along with other vegetation . At one
St . Elmo – a historic old town that had its
550 RMKs – made more noise than power ,
made it seem that we were lower than we
point , we had to stop for a while because
best days in the 1880s , though there are
howling and gasping for air as we quickly
were . Our flatlander lungs definitely let us
two moose were on the trail ahead of us ,
a handful newer buildings and houses in
topped 10,000 feet . The sleds were gutless
know , though , that we were very high .
and we didn ’ t want to disturb them . In
the not-nearly-as-abandoned-feeling Tin
The groomed trails guide riders through the dense forests and also through more open areas , as seen in this submitted photo .
Snowmobiling playgrounds are everywhere .