West Lake Creek Trail is not in any of the snowshoeing guidebooks. It is a pretty trail well-known to the locals, many of whom come here to walk their dogs. We encountered probably 40 people and 40 dogs along the trail. I think we saw a total of 3 people without a dog! Everyone was very friendly. We learned about the trail from a pair of local girls that we ran into on the Vail Pass Corral Creek trail yesterday, thanks to them for pointing us to this nice trail!

The trail is fairly steep for the first half mile, then becomes a gentle but unrelenting uphill. We went just over 2.5 miles to a campground with a sign for Mount of the Holy Cross Wilderness, about 1100 feet of elevation gain from the trailhead.

	We're taking the West Lake trail.	Winter parking lot for West Lake Creek, trail is at the right side going uphill. In summer there is another parking lot about 0.2 miles up the trail.	Just up from the summer lot is this way cool bridge over the trail / road.	Notice the I-beam massively strong construction surrounded by gorgeous wood to make it look more natural.	We think it's for cattle traversing over the road and creek, between private property on the left and right.

		Bob and Dave		We're about a hundred feet above the creek here.	About a mile in the trail takes a hairpin right curve (notice blue diamond and arrow on tree to left)

	Straight ahead is a logging road. We follow the hairpin and go up into Card Creek drainage.	Looking back down the valley (north) towards Edwards and I-70.	About 1.5 miles in, notice the aspen trees that are bent over, probably from an early season snow years ago.	Looking left down the valley.	Dave and Patty enjoying lunch.

	Most of the way back down the trail looking north.

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