Friday – Saturday, September 20-21, 2024
This weekend I headed up into the Mount Zirkel Wilderness of the Park Range for what will most likely be my last trip into the mountains of the season. Since I’m leaving for a week-long river trip early on Monday morning and need to finish prepping and packing for that, I was hoping to stay closer to home on Saturday by heading up into either the San Juan Mountains or The Flat Tops, but the weather forecast was not looking good for any of the ranges nearby this weekend, so I had to start looking for alternate options. After looking at the forecasts for other areas throughout Colorado and Utah, the only place that looked like it might have decent weather on Saturday was the Park Range, so I decided to drive a little further east so I could hike the Zirkel Circle, which has been on my to-do list for a long time anyways. I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed a quick dinner in Rifle and then headed north where I started following the Yampa River and Elk River into the heart of the Park Range. I found a campsite on the ridge above the South Fork of the Elk River shortly before sunset and then went for a short walk until dusk.
After finding a campsite along the South Fork Road, I went for a walk down the road to see if there were any openings with views.
This was the best view I was able to find, so I turned my attention to the changing colors along the road instead.
Early fall colors along the South Fork of the Elk River.
I returned to camp at dusk, read for a little while, and then went to bed early.
On Saturday morning I got up early, drove down to the Slavonia Trailhead, and started hiking into the darkness about an hour before sunrise.
Entering the Mount Zirkel Wilderness by the light of my headlamp.
I passed by Gold Creek Lake just after sunrise.
The colors along the trail were looking good after passing the junction with the Wyoming Trail.
A few clouds appeared in the sky briefly as I followed the trail up and over the Front Range, but they didn’t stick around for very long.
Front Range Trail
Looking back over Gold Creek as I neared the pass.
Front Range Pass
On the other side of the pass I had a great view over Gilpin Lake.
Big Agnes Mountain is just barely visible over the lake.
Just off to the left is Little Agnes Mountain.
I followed the trail down to the shore of Gilpin Lake.
I liked how the trail met and followed this tall rocky cliff.
Hiking around Gilpin Lake.
I even caught the moon above the lake.
When I reached the shore of Gilpin Lake I stopped to rest and take in the views.
Gilpin Lake Reflection
After my break next to the lake, I continued on down the Gilpin Creek Trail to complete the loop.
Mount Zirkel, which is the highest peak in the Park Range, was just visible to the north.
Gilpin Trail View
Leaving the Mount Zirkel Wilderness.
There were some nicer fall colors beginning along the lower portion of the trail when I passed by this beaver lodge in Gilpin Creek.
Since I got an early start, I didn’t see anyone on the trail until I was up near the pass and around Gilpin Lake, but there were only a few people around. Once I was hiking down the final two miles of the loop I started seeing a lot more people coming up the trail, so I was glad to have started as early as I did. By the time I returned to the trailhead at 11:30am I had hiked about 12 miles with 2,600 feet of elevation gain.