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Tag: moose

Colorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental DivideColorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental Divide

Colorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental Divide

Friday – Sunday, September 6-8, 2024

With the mountain season coming to an end in just a few short weeks and a busy schedule for me later this month, I wanted to make sure that I got out for some more hiking above treeline in the high country this weekend before it was too late. I thought a good way to do that would be by hiking part of the Colorado Trail along the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains starting from the Carson Saddle above Wager Gulch, so that’s where I headed when I left work on Friday afternoon. I didn’t want to deal with the Middle Bridge over Blue Mesa on US 50, so instead I opted to go over Red Mountain Pass into Silverton and then took the Alpine Loop over Cinnamon Pass to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.

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East Brush Creek: Ironedge Trail & Mystic Island LakeEast Brush Creek: Ironedge Trail & Mystic Island Lake

East Brush Creek: Ironedge Trail & Mystic Island Lake

Holy Cross Wilderness | Friday & Saturday, August 16-17, 2024

Aside from my weekend visit to the Red Table Mountain late last summer, I haven’t spent much time exploring the area at the very northern end of the Sawatch Range, so I decided to stick around after the GIS Colorado Summer Meetup to hike a couple of trails on the west side of the Holy Cross Wilderness, hoping they would be a little less popular than those found on the east side. After the GIS presentations at Sylvan Lake were completed early on Friday afternoon, I drove over Hardscrabble Mountain into Eagle for fuel and snacks and then headed up East Brush Creek and the Hat Creek Road to the Peter Estin Hut, which is one of the popular 10th Mountain Division Huts. From the parking area near the hut I hiked over to the Ironedge Trail and followed it to the ridgeline that makes up the boundary of the Holy Cross Wilderness and then continued up to the Charles Benchmark.

CONTINUE READINGEast Brush Creek: Ironedge Trail & Mystic Island Lake
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Red Castle Lakes via the East Fork of Smiths ForkRed Castle Lakes via the East Fork of Smiths Fork

Red Castle Lakes via the East Fork of Smiths Fork

High Uintas Wilderness | Thursday – Sunday, August 1-4, 2024

After Diane and I backpacked into Henrys Fork and then hiked to the summit of Kings Peak in the Uinta Mountains back in 2018, we had talked about returning to the High Uintas Wilderness every other year for a new backpacking trip. Unfortunately, we did not keep up with that idea and have not returned since that trip, but this year I was determined to finally get back and planned for us to spend a couple nights near the Red Castle in the East Fork of Smiths Fork, which is a location I have wanted to visit for quite a long time. Although I would have preferred to do this trip much later in August, Diane was pretty busy at that time and the only weekend that work for both of us was the first weekend in August, so that’s when we would have to go. We left from home after Diane got out of work on Thursday evening and drove up to the Red Canyon Campground within the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and arrived shortly after dark. We quickly got our tent set up and were in our sleeping bags by 10:00pm.

CONTINUE READINGRed Castle Lakes via the East Fork of Smiths Fork
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Medicine Bow Peak in the Snowy RangeMedicine Bow Peak in the Snowy Range

Medicine Bow Peak in the Snowy Range

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

After spending my first night at the Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Tower I got up extra early on Wednesday morning so I could drive to the nearby Snowy Range and hike to the summit of Medicine Bow Peak, which at 12,013 feet is the highest peak in this small but spectacular subrange of the Medicine Bow Mountains. After leaving the Fire Tower, I dropped down into the Centennial Valley and then followed the Snowy Range Highway, which is also known as the Great Skyroad, up to the Lewis Lake Trailhead near Libby Flats. As I passed through the small town of Albany, I swear I saw a Ringtail Cat cross the road in front of my Jeep, but it was too dark out for me to be 100% certain. I arrived at Lewis Lake just in time to catch the pre-dawn alpenglow and then a beautiful sunrise, but as I was making my way to the shore of the lake I had to give wide berth to a couple of moose that were grazing right near the trailhead.

CONTINUE READINGMedicine Bow Peak in the Snowy Range
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Shadow Mountain Fire LookoutShadow Mountain Fire Lookout

Shadow Mountain Fire Lookout

The Only Remaining Fire Lookout in Rocky Mountain National Park
Fire Lookouts Extravaganza | Monday & Tuesday, August 29-30, 2022

Earlier this year I managed to reserve two nights this week at the Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Wyoming and thought it would be fun to make a longer trip out if it by trying to visit as many other Fire Lookouts in the same general area that I could. Since my first night at the Spruce Mountain Tower wasn’t until Tuesday, I thought it would make sense to stop and visit the Shadow Mountain Fire Lookout on the way there. Located near the small town of Grand Lake, the Shadow Mountain Fire Lookout was built in the 1930’s and is the only remaining Fire Lookout left within the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park. I left from work on Monday afternoon and followed the upper Colorado River to Grand Lake with a stop for gas in Kremmling.

CONTINUE READINGShadow Mountain Fire Lookout
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