segment 3 – Wild Wanderer

Colorado Trail – Segment 3

Little Scraggy –> Rolling Creek –> Little Scraggy

November 25, 2020

RT Length: 29.59miles

Elevation Gain: 3362’

High Point: 8321 ’ Low Point: 7349’

Time: 12 hours

Segment 2 can be found here Colorado Trail – Segment 2 – Wild Wanderer (wordpress.com)

It was an icy drive to the trailhead. I chose to do segment 3 today because all hikes I was interested in above treeline were too windy. I did realize this hike was a gamble though, as yesterday it had snowed. I wasn’t sure how much, but reports said 4-6”. Since I was here last week, I knew this would be the first accumulation in the area. If figured I could handle 4-6” of snow.

I made it to the Little Scraggy Trailhead to find the gate to the trailhead closed. I was expecting this, as when I was here last I’d noticed the gate was already closed. There are 3-4 parking spaces just outside the gate on the side of the road. There was a lot of snow on the side of the road, so I spent 10 minutes or so backing in and out of a space, packing down the snow. It was 12 degrees outside. I put on all my cold weather gear and was on the trail at 6am. The trail follows the road behind the gate. (Obviously, this picture is from last week, before the snow).

After hiking along the road for about 1 mile I came to the Little Scraggy Trailhead. Even through the snow, the road was visible.

I passed a large woodpile

This part of the trail has a lot of obvious signage.

The Little Scraggy Trailhead has an information sign and bathrooms (I didn’t check to see if the bathrooms were closed for winter, but I’m assuming they are, as the road’s closed.

From here I followed a trail instead of a road. The trail was covered in snow, but I was still able to tell where it led (most of the time).

As the sun rose, I passed a really cool rock outcropping that looked like a great place to camp

And I started seeing a lot of deer (and deer tracks)

I saw a sign that said ‘overlook’, and wanted to take a look, however, my toes were frozen. I told myself I’d take a look on the way out (which didn’t end up happening, for reasons I’ll explain later). Instead of heading straight I followed the trail to the left. Here I heard a pack of coyotes. They sounded close, yipping just over the hill. At the end of the yips I heard a bark that sounded suspiciously like a dog (but I’m sure what I’d heard initially were coyotes).

This next part of the trail was bitterly cold. I realized later in the day that due to the position of the mountains and time of year, this part of the trail never sees sunlight. The snow was sugary and soft and kept my toes frozen. I kept trying to move my toes inside of my new shoes, willing the circulation to continue flowing. Over and over again I wondered if I should turn back? How did one know when you got frostbite? At what point should I worry? What was the point of no return? Lots of these kinds of thoughts ran through my mind as I continued on. I’m not one to give up easily. The views of Little Scraggy Peak and Green Mountain were nice however.

Here are more photos from this part of the hike. Sometimes the trail was easy to follow, and other times (due to snow) almost impossible. Luckily there were good signs at junctions

I passed through a wildfire mitigation area

And some historical trash along the side of the trail. It was weird to find an old bedspring and cast iron and debris but no structure.

More good signage

Here I came to the most beautiful part of the hike. The trees and bushes were bent over, their branches weighed down with snow. As the sun rose the forest became magical, and in places the trail became difficult to navigate. After appreciating the beauty I took my trekking pole to the branches to disperse the snow, and the branches bounced back and stood upright again.

As the sun warmed up the trees, snow started falling from the branches. It was warm out, but I kept my hat on because of the falling snow.

There were several small creeks to cross on this segment, which means plenty of water. These were easy to cross and weren’t entirely frozen over, so I got to hear the water flowing underneath the ice. Most of these areas had logs to walk across. There wasn’t a log here, but the ice was solid enough for me to walk on top (I had microspikes on for this entire hike).

The snow seemed to be heaviest here. I’m guessing 8 inches or so. I contemplated putting on my snowshoes, but that sounded like too much work and brought with it the possibility of frozen fingers, so I postholed instead.

At 8.75 miles I came to the junction with Buffalo Campground

And then crossed three roads. The first went to Meadows Group Campground, but it didn’t look like anyone was headed there today

The next road was road 543. This is the low elevation point of the segment.

The final road went to a rifle range, and actually had tire tracks!

It was so nice to be hiking in warm weather. I use that term loosely (it was still below freezing), but the sun on my face was magical. Also, I could feel my toes again.

Now I was getting excited. My research had told me this was a 12.2 mile hike, and I knew I had to be getting close to 12 miles. I kept hiking, and came across signs asking me to stay on the trail because I was near a rifle range. No problem!

I hiked, and hiked, and hiked some more, excited I was getting near the halfway point for my hike today. I knew I had to be over 12 miles at this point, so I should be turning around soon. That’s when I saw it: a sign saying the trailhead was 2.5 miles away!

NO WAY! My spirits plummeted. I did some quick mental calculations, as I had a decision to make. It was now 2.5 more miles to my turnaround point. This would add 5 miles to my hike, and 2 hours to my day. If I continued on, I’d be hiking 30 miles today in the snow, trenching the entire way. Also, I’d most likely get back after dark, and I didn’t have cell service, so I had no way of telling anyone I’d be home late. In the end I decided I’d already gone this far and I didn’t want to waste the progress I’d already made: I was going to continue on to the Rolling Creek Trailhead. Also, this was going to be a long day! I resigned myself to not getting pictures of the start of this trail, since I’d be both starting and ending in the dark.

I hiked around what must be private property, given the fencing. This fence must have fallen inwards a few times: they steadied it with a large rock.

Yep, I’m still on the right trail! I was excited to see a Colorado Trail marker here. They are few and far between on this segment (although there is great signage).

The last 2.5 miles seemed to take forever!

I hit the high point of the trail, saw power lines, and then descended a short distance to the trailhead.

I made it to the Rolling Creek Trailhead at noon. I’d hiked 14.84 miles in 6 hours. Doing the math, I’d definitely be getting back after dark (dark now is 5pm, although, as I was to find later, it comes earlier on this segment). There was one vehicle parked in the small lot at the trailhead (taking up every spot available with the way they’d parked)

Even though it was noon I knew daylight was limited, so I didn’t waste much time here. I quickly turned around and headed back the way I’d come. The segment started with a little bit of elevation gain

Route finding was much easier on my way back, as I just followed my tracks in the snow

One really cool thing about this part of the day: all the snow that had been covering the trees was being warmed by the sun at a dramatic pace. Within minutes the trail became a rainforest, with snow melting and falling all around me as water as I went. It truly felt like it was raining! By the end of this part all the snow was gone from the trees, and there were water marks in the snow below them.

Some more trail pictures

With the snow, much of this trail looks the same. I did see more tire prints on the road on my way back out

(Sorry about the water droplets scarring the picture: the water was falling from the trees at a rapid pace)

Besides the deer, my tracks were the only ones on the trail on my way back

While the sun was quickly melting the snow off the branches at the more exposed spots, snow still lingered on the trees in the shadowy areas. In the morning I’d gingerly walked through this area. Now, I whacked every tree with my trekking pole to remove the wet snow so I could pass.

As I rounded the north side of Green Mountain I once again entered the shadows. It was now I realized this area doesn’t get sun in the winter time. The temperature dropped, and I quickly became cold again. Little did I know, but even though it was still afternoon, I wasn’t going to feel the sun again today.

The snow once again became sugary. I assume this is due to the lack of sun/melting. I passed the fire mitigation area

And followed the well marked “Colorado Trail” signs

The sun was rapidly setting. It wasn’t yet 4pm and it was already getting dark out. I quickened my pace, knowing I still had a few hours of hiking left in my day, and also cognizant of the fact I had people who’d be worried about me getting back after dark.

The sun seemed to abruptly set, just as I passed Road 550. I still had 2 miles left to hike in the dark. I don’t mind hiking in the dark (in fact, I do it on just about every hike), but the lack of a visual aid became troublesome here because it seemed someone had brought their family to go snowshoeing in this area sometime earlier in the day. There were several sets of tracks and prints that didn’t really lead anywhere, and my tracks from earlier were lost in the melee. I also wasn’t able to get any good pictures of the last 2 miles of the trail (which I’d also needed for the first 2 miles).

I passed the Little Scraggy Trailhead in deep darkness (despite the early hour) and easily followed tons of tracks in the snow on the 2wd dirt road back to my truck.

I made it back to 126 and, just for good measure, walked to the other side of the road and tapped the Colorado Trail sign on the other side, just to make sure I’d adequately linked segments. I turned around and took a picture of my truck on the other side of the road (and the closed gate)

I made it back to the trailhead at 6pm, making this a 29.59 mile hike with 3362’ of elevation gain in 12 hours. I’d like to note I’d expected this segment to be around 23-24 miles, even with the added mileage from parking at the winter closure. Here’s a topo of my route. (Side note: feel free to contact me if you’d like a copy of the GPX file for this route).

My shoes were covered in ice when I got back to my truck. I shook most of the ice off, but some clumps stayed on my shoes for the 2 hour drive home, and even for a while after I set them by the fireplace. I was pleasantly surprised the hiking shoes I’d worn had kept my toes from frostbite in the conditions I’d hiked (30 miles, in consistent, sugary snow, for 12 hours, in below freezing temperatures). I have Raynaud’s, so this is phenomenal!

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).