burn scar – Wild Wanderer

V4 – 13,541 and V2 – 13,319

RT Length: 12.74 miles

Elevation Gain: 4921’

Due to colder weather than anticipated, I’d abandoned my initial backpacking trip after the first night and was looking for a “Plan B”. Going through my binder of potential hikes, I narrowed it down to ‘something around South Mineral Creek’ and decided to drive to the trailhead. It was full when I got there, but that was ok, as I was planning on hiking the next morning (I’d already put in 15 miles that morning).

The trailhead was open this week, after being closed due to last year’s fire. There was an information center set up at the trailhead, with a place for volunteer park rangers to talk with hikers. There were also signs educating hikers about wildfire.

Speaking of wildfire… where was it? From the parking area there was no evidence of a fire. As people slowly made their way back to their vehicles and left the parking area, I ate my dinner of noodles and chips, sipped some whiskey, and read a book. I made it an early night, wanting to get some sleep before it got really cold.

It got really cold. Another night in the 20s, which made for a layer of frost on everything when I woke up. I didn’t want to get out from my sleeping bag, where I was warm. And, I had a headache? I really wasn’t feeling it this morning, but got ready anyway, and was on the trail at 6:30am, 2 hours later than I’d originally planned. It was still dark outside. The trail starts at the west end of the parking area, and has a trail register and signage. I didn’t sign the trail register, because it was covered in a layer of frost and my hands were cold enough at it was.

The trail was very easy to follow. The fire burn area was short, and ended just before the waterfall/4WD trail cutoff. It seemed to follow the avalanche area from a few years ago. The trail seemed unaffected, and was clear of debris.

I followed this class 1 trail 2.5 miles to treeline. At treeline, I started feeling more like myself, excited now I chose to hike today (isn’t that always the case?).

At the junction around 11425’ I turned right and followed the trail into the upper basin, towards Island Lake.

Here’s an overall view of the hike to the V4/US Grant Saddle (the lake isn’t visible yet, but it’s straight ahead).

At the junction I turned left, towards Island Lake. This is the junction I’d be coming back to when it was time to hike V2.

I decided to skirt the lake to the left, on the obvious trail, but you can take either side. Note: there isn’t a clearly defined trail to the right, but it’s an easy trek either way. There was a thin layer of ice on the lake.

Once past the lake it’s ‘choose your own adventure’ to the saddle. All routes go here.

Here are some closer pictures

When I hit the scree I put on my microspikes, and didn’t take them off until I made it back to this spot. There’s a runnel you can follow, as well as tundra and scree routes.

Once at the saddle I turned left, towards V4

I skirted the north side of V4, hugging where the talus met rock, following the contour of the mountain west. This is loose rock.

Following the contour of the mountain brought me to a scree-filled gully. I ascended this gully (microspikes were very helpful here, as it’s steep).

At the top of the gully I turned right and followed the scree up

This is where it got complicated. I’m not entirely sure which it the actual ‘summit’. I saw a cairn, and scaled the first tower I came to (this was easier than pictures make this look). The cairn is circled in red

But when I got to the top, it looked like the actual summit might be the next tower.

So, I checked my altimeter. It read 13,540’. I backtracked and made my way to the next tower

But when I got to the top of the next tower and checked my altimeter, that too read 13,540’. I turned and looked back: the first point now seemed higher to me, and it had a cairn, so I figure that was the high point. Peakbagger said the peak was 47 feet behind me, but somewhat closer to the first tower… which would have put me in empty space.

I made my way back to the first tower and took some pictures. I summited V4 at 10am. (Not sure why I said V3 in the video, but by the time I realized my mistake I was already back by Island Lake).

V4:

I headed back the way I’d come, back towards the US Grant/V4 saddle

I stayed high here, to avoid the loose choss

My next objective of the day was V2. Here’s the overall route I took to get there

I made my way back down towards Island Lake, this time skirting the lake to the north, picking up the obvious trail on the other side that leads to the US Grand/V2 saddle.

There’s a small fork in the trail about halfway up the hillside, but it doesn’t matter which way you go, as they both merge back together. Microspikes are a good idea here too.

Once at the saddle, I turned right and followed the ridge east, immediately coming across a memorial plaque

There was a trail here, and it was easy to follow.

It was a bit rocky near the summit, but there was still a trail to follow. Easy class 2

The summit was long. I walked the entire length to make sure I summited, but I’m pretty sure the actual summit is about 1/3 of the way across. There’s a wind break there.

I summited V2 at 12pm

V2:

From the summit, here’s looking back at V4

It was getting cold, quick, so I headed back to Island Lake, and followed the trail from the morning back out of the basin

Here you can see the burn area (along the 4WD road)

Here are some pictures from the hike out

There were so many people on the trail hiking out! And everyone seemed to have a dog. I was discouraged to see trash on the trail: it hasn’t even been open a week and people are already littering. I picked up a few pieces on my way out.

I made it back to my truck at 1:30pm, making this a 12.74 mile hike with 4921’ of elevation gain in 7 hours

On to the next trailhead!

Hunts Peak – 13,071

RT Length: 6.79 miles

Elevation Gain: 3528’

I’d attempted this peak last week (along with 2 others), but the gate had been closed just off the highway, just as the gates for the other two peaks had been. I was super bummed, and since all 3 of my potential peaks for the day had been shut down, I went home. (I leave my plan a, b, and c on the counter and if they all fail I go home because I solo and want to make sure someone knows where I’m at when I’m adventuring).

The gate to Hunts Peak said it was subject to seasonal closures, but didn’t have a reopen date. All the other gates said they were closed due to Sage Grouse mating/nesting/hatching season, and opening on May 15^th, so I crossed my fingers the gate would be open today (May 16^th).

I didn’t have a plan b today (mainly because I had a short window: my youngest has prom tonight), so I was thrilled to find the gate open.

From 285 it’s a 3.65 mile drive east on 980 to the good campsite. There are a few potential turn offs, but stay on 980.

At the junction of 980 and 982 you can either camp, or drive the .6 miles southeast and park just before the trailhead. Here’s the sign where the camping area is, and a view of the camping area (on the right).

Notes about this section if you choose to drive further: it’s narrow, there isn’t a spot to turn around/let someone pass, it can be muddy, and only 2 vehicles will fit at the parking area at the hill above the trailhead, so choose wisely depending on the day of the week you’re there and the time of day you’re entering. I have a 4WD vehicle, but didn’t need to put it into 4WD (good thing too, because my 4WD is currently out and I have a new truck on order that unfortunately won’t be here until the middle of summer: this seriously messes with my mountaineering plans!). Here are some pictures of the road

I parked my truck just before the second stream crossing at the top of a small hill. I’d advise doing this, especially if you don’t have 4WD (when I arrived it was dark and I didn’t want to chance it in my truck’s current condition). I parked and was on the trail around 4:40am. This was by far the warmest start to a hike I’ve had so far this year: 45 degrees at the trailhead! I opted not to put on my snow pants and was on my way (something I’d regret later). It was a short distance to the trailhead, and the creek was easy to cross.

I walked around the closed gate and followed the old road.

The road was easy to follow northeast

It was obvious this road hasn’t been used by vehicles since the fire, because there were downed trees all over the road. There was a little bit of snow as well, but totally manageable without traction.

Eventually the ‘road’ fizzled out. I followed the contour of South Rock Creek and then the mountainside as it headed east. In the daylight the route to the ridge is easy to see

I followed the drainage as far as I could, then headed east to gain the ridge. This was steep, but the bushwhacking was minimal due to the fire

I gained the ridge, and followed it southeast over this hump

I had a good view of Hunts Peak at this point

The rest of the route was straightforward: I went southeast over the hump, and then followed the ridge east to the summit

It was easy to avoid most of the snow, and what was unavoidable was consolidated

There was a short trek southeast to the actual summit

I summited Hunts Peak at 7:10am

Hunts Peak:

It was very cold and very windy. I regretted not wearing my snow pants now. Pulsing my fingers, I descended the way I’d hiked in. Advice here: the ridges look similar, especially if you’re summiting in the early morning/dark. Be sure of your route down! Here’s the route back

Back over the bump

Here was where I encountered the most snow of the day. It was mostly consolidated, with the odd postholing up to my thigh

Now it was back down the ridge and down the gully, back to the old 4WD road.

Once back on the 4WD road it was easy to follow it back to the gate, keeping South Rock Creek to my right

At the gate I turned right and followed the road back to my truck.

I made it back to my truck at 9am, making this a 6.79 mile hike with 3582’ of elevation gain in 4 hours, 20 minutes.

Here’s the easy part of the dirt road on the way out. I didn’t see another person/vehicle/grouse all day. I did see a few antelope though.

Colorado Trail – Segment 2

South Platte River à Little Scraggy à South Platte River

November 21, 2020

RT Length: 22.15miles

Elevation Gain: 3069’

High Point: 7762’ Low Point: 6099’

Time: 8 hours

Partner: SkydiverHiker

I had so much fun last week hiking Segment 1 I decided to hike Segment 2 this week! Actually, the weather was nice below treeline and yes, now I’ve caught the Colorado Trail bug, so this was an easy hike to choose for today. We arrived at the South Platte River Trailhead just before sunrise, and were on the trail at 6am, bundled in our warm weather gear.

The trail starts at the east end of the parking area, and then circles under the bridge before heading southeast.

The trail is well marked and easy to follow

Shortly after crossing the bridge the trail starts switchbacking up the west side of the mountain.

We hiked past an area we assumed was the abandoned Quartz Quarry (it wasn’t). Also, here I realized SkydiverHiker had thought we were going to a crystal quartz quarry (nope, a rock quarry). We met a hunter here wearing a bright yellow vest. He told us to be on the lookout: there were hunters up further along the trail, and let us know we’d missed the junction and were headed the wrong way. We thanked him, turned around, and wondered what they were hunting this time of year?

Unbeknownst to us, we passed the quarry in the dark (orange route, quarry circled in red. More on this on the way back, as we stopped here for a while. The quartz quarry is located 1.3 miles from the trailhead.

As dawn approached we came to a large burn area. This burn lasted over half of the hike. I hear this area is quite pretty in the spring and early summer, but today it looked desolate.

We started seeing tons of deer, and wondered if it were deer hunting season? We saw three sets, totaling of about 10-12 deer, but never heard a gunshot. Neither did we ever see the hunters (and they should have been visible due to the lack of foliage). The deer were no more than 10 yards away from us, and would have been easy to shoot if we’d been prepared.

As we hiked, I noted how different the mountains look with the trees gone. There were large, exposed boulders and drainages which would otherwise have been disguised by trees. It’s amazing how little has come back since the 1996 Buffalo Creek Fire.

We continued following the well-defined trail west

After hiking for 2 miles we were back in the trees. Side note: there were far fewer trail markers on this segment of the trail than on segment 1. I realize there’s been a fire and not many trees to post markers on, but in the treed area there were far fewer markers as well. And many of them diamond shape (instead of the triangle I’ve been so used to).

Shortly after making it back to the trees we crossed 4WD road 539, which looked like a forest service road.

This would make sense, because next we came upon an area that’s experiencing logging operations. I’m assuming the area’s being mitigated due to the fire. Still, the signs were pretty cool. Since it was a Saturday, I figured the forest service had the day off and we wouldn’t be experiencing any ‘flying debris’ today.

The trail continued through the trees, and past a really neat rock outcropping/camping area

After hiking for 6.25 miles we crossed another 4WD road (this one said it led to Raleigh Peak, and was a more well-defined road)

As we topped out at the highest elevation for this hike we came to a slight junction, keeping straight (west)

Then we came upon more tree mitigation. This was intense mitigation! There were dozens of piles, each no less than 20 feet high and 50 feet across, all of dead trees. It seems what the fire hadn’t decimated the forest service was now trying to cull in order to prevent another fire.

We soon exited the trees, and were in for another 3.5 miles of hiking through the Buffalo Creek Fire area. Here we encountered crows and ravens that seemed quite interested in us. They’d sit in a tree and watch us until we got close, then they’d fly off to a tree further in the distance and watch us as we hiked, flying off again when we got too close.

The final stretch of this segment took place again under the trees. At this point we could hear the road in the distance (126). Also, if you need emergency water, the fire station is circled in red. The only water we encountered on this trail was at the South Platte River Trailhead. After that, there was no water.

There is fencing all along the left side (east) of this trail, with many signs saying ‘no trespassing’. It seems they mean that here. The trail takes you to a road

There seems to be a trailhead at this road. Indeed, you can park here. However, the segment was not yet over. We passed a few parked vehicles and continued along the Colorado Trail

We passed a private community (Spring Creek Ranch)

Before making it to what we thought was the trailhead (our gpx file ended here). It looks like there’s a few spaces to park here, and the trail picks up on the other side of the road.

There is parking here as well, and you can also see the other parking area along the road (circled in red). This is where you want to park in winter, as the ‘true’ Little Scraggy Trailhead is located beyond the locked gate, about a mile away. This is where I parked when I started Segment 3.

In any event, this is where I’ll park when I start segment 3, just so I can claim I’ve hiked the entire trail.

It was here I took off some outer layers, and tried to put my phone in my pants pocket, only to find I’d worn my pants inside-out this entire hike1 I looked both ways, sat down, and fixed the problem (much to SkydiverHiker’s embarrassment).

SkydiverHiker and I took a picture at this point of the trail. We made it here at 10am, after 10.79 miles of hiking (roughly 4 hours).

We didn’t stay long, because we were only halfway done with our hike. If parking here, this is the way we took back to South Platte River Trailhead, first starting with the entry point off road 126

This led us back past Spring Creek Ranch. Here we wet a man on horseback, riding a very fine looking paint. This might be a horse community.

Then back past the first parking area we’d encountered

I’m going to note this here just because it’s one of the many places we saw bones while on this hike. There were several bone fragments of animals we found along the trail (some of the bones were not there on the way in, but were there on our way out). They seemed to be from multiple animals, but all deer and elk.

OK, back to the trail description. We passed the parked cars and continued on the trail. Note the sign for the fire station ahead, should you need assistance/water.

Then it was back into fire territory

Here’s an overview of the hike back to the trees

There were some especially pretty mountain mahogany plants along the way, their feathered seeds backlit by the sunlight.

Once back in the trees we passed the burn piles, or piles of trees. I’m not sure what they intend to do with these large piles, but it seems a waste to leave them there/burn them.

More evidence of ‘flying debris’/ tree trimming (this area is different than the one pictured on the way in)

At the highpoint, once again stay east (right this time) to stay on the Colorado Trail 177

Crossing the well-maintained dirt road

I came to an area where the trail was littered with clumps of pine needles. Looks like the squirrels have been busy!

We continued following the trail. Suddenly, I started seeing snow. Or were those spots? I get a bit scared when this happens (when I see spots it means my blood pressure is low). It was sunny out, so I wasn’t sure how I could be seeing snow. I mentioned this to SkydiverHiker and we stopped for a bit. I had indeed seen snow, as it was lightly falling all around us (despite the lack of clouds and abundance of sun). It didn’t last long though, and the flakes were few and far between.

There are a lot of campsites all along this route.

We crossed the service road again (this road doesn’t look like it gets much use)

And followed the trail through scrub oak and mountain mahogany.

Along the way we got in a good view of the route down (or up) from section 1 at South Platte River.

And now back to the burn area. Here is where we started seeing people. We passed a few groups of people here, and a couple of really cute puppies! It was also very windy and cold these last few miles.

On the way back we had a clear view of what was actually the quartz quarry. There are rocks in this entire area.

We first went to what looked to be an old parking area (or maybe there was a structure here, but there was no foundation to suggest so). It kind of looked like it had caved in. There were old vehicles and pieces of equipment here.

To the west was the actual quarry. We hiked over to inspect, and it was a little underwhelming.

Basically, just a hole in the ground with rocks. No rails or carts or wires, cables, etc. Just rocks.

But they were cool rocks! I was surprised at how white the quartz rocks were.

Here’s how we exited the quarry and made it back to the trail. This was a quick and fun side attraction.

SkydiverHiker fixing the trail. We accidentally hiked the wrong way here for a bit because the junction isn’t obvious (especially in the dark). There isn’t a sign here, but I think going to the south takes you to Eagle Rock.

Then it was switchbacks down to the river. We took this part slow, as we may have had extra baggage at this point.

Back down at the river there were no camping signs. This is a bummer, since I’m sure a lot of hikers want to hike here after filtering water. No worries though, if you’re headed NOBO there are great camping spots just after the trail starts to section 1.

We also saw a memorial sign on the bridge (a dead fish in the water), and some graffiti.

I hiked under the bridge, circled around and took the bridge back to the parking lot. SkydiverHiker took a shortcut, but to be fair, his pack weighed about 100lbs.

Here’s a view of the South Platte River from the bridge

They’re really serious about no motorized vehicles (etc.) on the bridge. I’m not sure you could get a horse through this either. In any event, I’m glad they’re keeping motorized vehicles off the trails.

We made it back to the trailhead at 2pm, making this a 22.15 mile hike with 3069’ of elevation gain in 8 hours. (Side note: feel free to contact me if you’d like a copy of the GPX file for this route).

Final thoughts: this was a long hike to hike with someone. I usually hike alone, and have no problem filling that time with the thoughts in my head. It’s different when you have a partner. You need to work out things like pacing (I was actually slower today, but I blame that on the hike I did the day before), when to take breaks (I never do, but I realize that’s unusual. I don’t see them as necessary), and conversation becomes difficult (I learned to turn my head around and speak directly to him when I had something to say, otherwise I’d get a “what?” and need to repeat myself).