Caribou Ranch in January.

In the summer and the autumn on a Saturday morning I put on my trail-running shoes and head west out the door, down the forest trails, across the Peak to Peak Highway. Passing Mud Lake and into the Sherwood Creek drainage, I chug on up the other side to the entrance of Caribou Ranch Open Space.

In 2013 the Ranch was put on the market for sale, but in the 1970s Caribou Ranch was a recording studio for some of the big names in rock music, more than 150 of them, to be exact. The roster is a who's who of 70s music, from Carole King to John Lennon to Michael Jackson and Stevie Nicks. Wikipedia has a full listing, along with a story that matches the ones told as local legend in our mountain community.

Over the years Jim Guercio, the man behind it who until recently has continued to live here, has generously divided large portions of the land to public space owned now by Boulder County and the City of Boulder, with entire mountainsides now preserved permanently by conservation easements. The gifts to the community are a permanent legacy of a man who has clearly and deeply understood his responsibilities as the steward of wealth.

In the heart of the former Caribou Ranch, Boulder County has created Open Space, available for hiking most of the year. (The exception--Caribou Ranch is closed annually from April 1 through June 30 to protect spring migratory birds and elk calving and rearing.) The looping trail, which my gps unit clocks at 4.2 miles from the parking area, is partially along the abandoned right-of-way of the Switzerland Trail of America and through some of the most spectacular trees, streams and meadows of the Rocky Mountains.

In the winter, with snow drifting sometimes four to six feet deep, forget running. Lace on the snowshoes.

The image was captured and shared by one of my mountain neighbors. I neglected to make note of his name but he deserves credit for braving the elements in a great storm and making this iconic image. When I discover his name I'll edit here.