Day Two
Day two was more of the same kind of riding, except on this day the clouds lifted and we had sun for at least part of the day. The first order of business was to retrace our tracks (which were actually covered by a few inches of snow that had fallen the previous day) up to the Bowls at the Ears and Rabbit Ears Peak. This time we were able to see the Mount Zirkel Wilderness to the north, as well as the Bowls at the Ears to the west, Baker Mountain to the south and Highway 14 (our route from Walden to Rabbit Ears Pass) below, as well as the Rabbit Ears Range to the east.
The Ears themselves are somewhat interesting. Close up they are two huge rock formations, somewhat rounded off on top. To get the visual effect of the Rabbit Ears and what the name implies, it's better to view them from a distance. We still think it's worth the effort to get up to the Ears, as the views are incredible from up there.
Once the sight seeing was over, we headed down from Rabbit Ears, went across Dumont Lake and crossed U.S. Highway 40. From there it was up to South Walton Peak (10,298 feet) for a bird's-eye view of the Gore Range and the Flattops, located down near Rifle.
It was starting to cloud up by this time so we dropped off the mountain and played in the trees and in the seemingly endless drainages that dotted the terrain. In places, the snow was deeper than what we found on the north side of the highway but generally speaking, it was all about the same depth.
When we got back from riding on both days we were a little surprised at how full the parking area was. Even though the parking lot was pretty full and we saw other sledders out on the trails and on the hills, once we got farther out into the backcountry we never saw anyone else and very few tracks, which confirms the fact that there is plenty of backcountry to ride. Most of the traffic was closer in towards the trailheads. We do admit though, that part of that could be due to the weather conditions and flat light.
Even after our two days of riding we felt we didn't even scratch the surface of what's available. We left a lot of snow untouched.
So if the third time is the charm then the next time we ride Rabbit Ears we expect bluebird skies, a fresh blanket of new powder and very few tracks.
We can't wait.