Mike Nelson's Colorado -- Visiting Backcountry Cookhouse

LEADVILLE, Colo. -- Forget hiking miles and miles and eating crushed food out of your backpack. How about a short one-mile hike or bike or even a Jeep ride to a gourmet meal in the backcountry?

That's just the offer from the Tennessee Pass cookhouse near Leadville. Ty and Roxanne Hall created the cookhouse 12 years ago. They say there was a picnic table in the area where people were always having lunch, so they expanded the idea.

Now when you look in one direction you see some of Colorado tallest peaks: Elbert, Massif, Gallee, Homestake, even Holy Cross. When you look in the other direction you see a restaurant in the middle of it all.

The restaurant is actually in a yurt, a tent-like structure used by nomads in Mongolia. It's large enough to comfortably seat 40. There's no running water or electricity. The cooks use propane. And while their kitchen is small, just 8 by 11 feet, the five kitchen workers whip up a gourmet dinner every night.

Dinner options? Salmon, elk, lamb, chicken and a vegetarian dish. And after appetizers, soup or salad and your entree, make sure you save room for dessert.

The Tennessee Pass cookhouse is open during the summer on Thursdays through Sundays for dinner and for $65 per person.

It's also open for lunch and dinner in the winter when you'll need snowshoes or cross country skis for the one-mile trip. It's easy to get gear, the owners of the cookhouse also run the Tennessee Pass Nordic center at Ski Cooper.

For more information about the cookhouse, go to TennesseePass.com.