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Post by happykamper on Feb 16, 2016 14:41:37 GMT -8
We'll be traveling to Denver to visit family this summer - probably in late July or early August and would like to add some time backpacking while we're in the area. We're looking for a trip of around 5 nights within 2-3 hours drive of Denver. We spent a little time in RMNP in 2008 but otherwise haven't done any hiking in CO. We love waterfalls and good views. It would be fun to do some peaks but that's not a high priority. We'd love to avoid crowds, but understand we're traveling in peak season so that may be unavoidable and that's fine.
We are experienced and completed the JMT in California in 2014, averaging 15+ miles a day, so I think we could do similar in the Rockies (but lower mileage than that is fine). Off-trail navigation skills are okay, but not great, because we don't have a lot of experience with that. We haven't had any history of issues with elevation and will have a little time to acclimate while visiting family, at least. We can have a rental car and can figure out the permit situation anywhere as needed.
Does anyone have any suggestions for us? Thanks in advance!
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 16, 2016 18:39:04 GMT -8
Lost Creek Wilderness offers a good trail system with lots of interesting areas to explore. It's not exactly high timber country, but it is stunning and could pretty easily absorb 3-4 days.
Gore Range offers a traversing trail that allows easy access to some high alpine lakes, and more spectacular areas for those willing to bushwhack.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2016 10:33:34 GMT -8
I've done a few segments of the Colorado Trail near Kenosha pass (north of Fairplay). The trail had nice scenery and good access to water. I headed east from the pass, on Segments 5 and 4, in that order.
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Post by happykamper on Feb 17, 2016 13:01:11 GMT -8
Thanks for the suggestions so far! I forgot to mention that I'm hoping we'll be able to thru-hike the Colorado Trail in a few years, so I don't want to do that quite yet. I'm keeping it on hold for if nothing else works out, though.
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Post by cweston on Feb 17, 2016 13:33:07 GMT -8
I second hungryjack's Gore Range suggestion if you like getting a little more off the beaten track. Gore Lake/Snow Lake/Deluge Lake is an excellent 3-4 day loop trip with a few miles of fairly easy off-trail travel in the middle of the loop.
Most extended trips in that area require some off-trail ability, as the trail system is fairly minimal. But the payoff is solitude in some of the most spectacular country in Colorado.
The east side of the range, in the Black Creek drainage, is for the doughty off-trail adventurer.
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 18, 2016 14:18:19 GMT -8
CWeston - you had quite a trip to the Gores a few years ago if I recall. Some really great pics in that TR. That route is not for the faint of heart.
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Post by cweston on Feb 18, 2016 15:03:54 GMT -8
CWeston - you had quite a trip to the Gores a few years ago if I recall. Some really great pics in that TR. That route is not for the faint of heart. Yeah--that was in the Black Creek drainage, and it was definitely a pretty gonzo route. We went up the S Fork of Black Creek, over a pass to Bubble Lake, over another pass to Duck Lake, then over another Pass to the Eagles Nest cirque. From there we dropped down the main fork of Black Creek a bit, then climbed to Dora Lake and out via Surprise Lake and the Gore Range "trail." The toughest segments, from a technical standpoint, were the pass from Duck Lake to the Eagle's Nest and the climb from Black Creek to Dora Lake. Both were steep class 3 routes with some definite route-finding challenges. But the bushwhack up the S fork was also extremely "invigorating" (especially with the pine blight providing endless deadfall). The southern part of the range has a much more extensive trail system, though, from trailheads in East Vail. A person capable of crossing passes above treeline (class 2 or low class 3 with fairly easy route funding) can create loops of varying lengths in that area that are mostly well-traveled trail routes. (The Gore/Snow/Deluge lakes loop I suggested above would be an example.)
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 18, 2016 20:31:05 GMT -8
I remember looking into the Black Creek drainage from a ridge near Lost Lake and thinking it looked like one gnarly bushwhack. I discovered a spur trail that peeled off the ridge and looked like it dropped into the valley above the private property. Never had a chance to explore it.
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Post by cweston on Feb 18, 2016 21:44:32 GMT -8
I remember looking into the Black Creek drainage from a ridge near Lost Lake and thinking it looked like one gnarly bushwhack. I discovered a spur trail that peeled off the ridge and looked like it dropped into the valley above the private property. Never had a chance to explore it. Yeah, that's the route. You can follow that abandoned trail for a few miles into the hanging valley of the south fork. The trail is still pretty decent, but a lot of deadfall. It ends in a big meadow at about 10,000 ft. Then it's about 4-5 miles of very gnarly bushwhack from there to the timberline. [edit--the bushwhack is probably more like 3 miles. It just feels a lot longer] The more sane access to the upper black creek high country is over knee-knocker pass from the Piney River, although that is a fairly challenging route in its own right.
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Post by cweston on Feb 19, 2016 5:19:58 GMT -8
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Post by happykamper on Feb 19, 2016 11:31:23 GMT -8
Wow, that looks like a beautiful area! It sounds like the Black Creek drainage route is a little beyond what we're looking for, but the Gore/Snow/Deluge loop or something similar sounds good. I'm usually good at Google but I'm coming short this time. Can anyone point me to any sort of map online that I can review to get a better idea of the area? I've found some descriptions and info at summitpost, but no map and I'm curious about route options, mileage, terrain, etc.
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Post by cweston on Feb 19, 2016 12:33:34 GMT -8
The Gore/Snow/Deluge loop starts on the Gore Creek trail from the East Vail trailhead. (Right off of I-70). There is a USFS campground nearby that has reservable sites which is handy if you want to start your trip in the morning. You go 6-7 miles up Gore Creek on a well-traveled trail, then head north (on trail) into the hanging valley of a tributary and to Gore Lake. From below Gore Lake, you ahead off trail north and then west to Snow Lake. Most of the off-trail portion is above treeline--the travel is easy and you can see forever so route finding is easy. From Snow Lake you travel west over snow pass to Deluge Lake. This is the toughest part of the loop: there is often extensive snow on the Snow Lake side of the pass, and the Deluge Lake side is a tedious (but not too difficult) descent in talus to Deluge Lake. From there you are back on trail back to the trailhead. It would be a relaxed 3-4 day trip. Some people do the whole loop as a day hike, even.
Several years ago, backpacker magazine ran a small story about this loop--you might be able to find that.
My daughter and I did this as a three-day trip, with camps at Gore Lake and Snow Lake.
If you lookup Gore Lake Eagle County CO on google maps, you can see the loop pretty clearly.
If you decide to do this, I could give you more detailed info about the off-trail portion from Gore Lake to Snow Lake.
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Post by cweston on Feb 19, 2016 12:47:24 GMT -8
Here are some pics from that loop: Gore Lake Basin below Snow Lake Snow Lake Snow Lake drainage from Snow Pass Deluge Lake from Snow Pass Snow Pass Descent to Deluge Lake
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 19, 2016 17:49:06 GMT -8
Spectacular trips-both of them!
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Post by cweston on Feb 20, 2016 5:18:15 GMT -8
Wow, that looks like a beautiful area! It sounds like the Black Creek drainage route is a little beyond what we're looking for... Right. Because you are (presumably) sane Black Creek is a high-adventure route for sure. The Gore/Snow/Deluge route is much more reasonable. You will see other people, due to the easy access trailhead, but we had the whole Snow Basin to ourselves when we did it. The only thing you might be disappointed about is it's a shorter trip than you were initially asking about. But you could add a side-trip to Red Buffalo Pass on the way to Gore Lake, or take a layover or climbing day at Snow Lake. (Snow Peak is a pretty easy class 2 climb).
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