The Falcon Wanderers of Colorado Springs and the Colorado High Country Hikers of Evergreen have the honor of being the host walking clubs for the 2003 AVA Convention walk in Cripple Creek (“The World’s Greatest Gold Camp”), on Monday June 23, 2003. Cripple Creek is located 24 miles, as an eagle flies, southwest of Colorado Springs, on the southern slope of Pikes Peak.

Come with us and visit Cripple Creek at 9500 feet above sea level. Walk back in history as you visit this old mining town incorporated in 1893. Gold fever put the Cripple Creek Mining District on the map in 1890, with the filing of Bob Womack’s first claim, in Poverty Gulch. An estimated five million dollars (based on the price of gold at the time it was mined) in gold eventually was produced from that one claim that Bob christened the El Paso Lode. In 1892, there were 149 businesses in the city, 25 of them being saloons, with 50 active gold mines, and over 2000 residents. By 1894, the town boasted over 12,500 residents, and the mining district was producing more than two million dollars worth of gold per year. The population peaked at about 50,000 in 1904, and more than 100 million dollars worth of gold had been dug out of the hills by that time. Today, gold mining is still in full swing, as the state's largest gold mining surface operation takes shape between Cripple Creek and Victor. Cripple Creek is one of three Colorado cities to have limited-stakes gambling; poker, blackjack and slot machines abound in the city's casinos. Today’s population is about 1100 year around residents.

The starting point for the 5-km and 10-km walks is located at the Womack Center, one block south of the heart of Cripple Creek. There is plenty of free parking for walkers located in a newly built parking garage. The 5-km trail is rated 2 and the 10-km trail is rated 3+ due to a steep and rocky climb to an old mine. Tennis shoes are the appropriate foot wear for 5-km walkers while we highly recommend hiking boots and a waking stick for 10-km walkers needing extra ankle support and added balance.

Walkers on the 10-km trail will visit the Mt. Pisgah cemetery where Dr. Susie is buried; the TV series, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” was based on Dr. Susie’s life. The cemetery contains head stones that were purchased from Sears and Roebuck.

All walkers will pass by the Hospitality House Bed and Breakfast, which was the Teller County Hospital during gold rush days. Walkers spending a night in the Hospitality House will find 17 guestrooms, each with it’s own distinctive Victorian décor, and most with private baths. One bedroom now called “The Operating Room,” was “The Operating Room” back in 1901.

As you meander down the Main Street, listen for the sound of slot machines. Keep an eye out for wild donkeys that freely roam the streets. The donkeys were turned loose years ago, when miners no longer used the animals to transport mining implements. During June, Cripple Creek hosts a festival known as “Donkey Derby Days.”

A short distance off Main, Myers Avenue back in the 1890’s was one of the largest and most boisterous streets of ill repute, in all of the mining camps in the West. Can you spot which buildings were Parlor houses (Bordellos) 100 years ago?

As your walk continues, the 10-km will take you above Cripple Creek to the American Discovery Trail (ADT), with an altitude climb of approximately 300 feet. The view is spectacular looking over the town of Cripple Creek. Walk beside an old mine, see the narrow gauge rail bed and stand below the working Molly Kathleen mine. After the walk, tour the Molly Kathleen mine, you will be approximately nine stories below Cripple Creek. Other historic attractions include: The Cripple Creek District Museum, The Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad, the Old Homestead Museum, The Cripple Creek Welcome Center, and performances of classic melodrama or authentic opera.

Cripple Creek, the Falcon Wanderers, the Colorado High Country Hikers, and Rambling the Rockies await your arrival and hope to see you at the convention.