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Goose Creek TH Loop Map
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May 23, 2011 at 10:01 pm #1740368
Posted some photos of my trip here:
I may be out again this weekend around Goose Creek.
May 24, 2011 at 8:19 pm #1740764Does anyone know about when the aspens start to leaf out in LCW say at around 9000-9500 ft? Im thinking of a 4 day loop up there around June 9th or a little later and would surely love to enjoy some of that spring green.
May 24, 2011 at 10:49 pm #1740792Hey David,
Here's a shot taken the second week of June in LCW a couple of years ago. The elevation was around 9000'.
BTW, like your new avatar. It makes you look scary.
May 27, 2011 at 12:33 pm #1741874Thanks Dondo I cant wait to get out there. Yeah, that avatar,scary mostly to myself and any small children who might be trolling BPL !
May 27, 2011 at 3:38 pm #1741924David, just back from 3 days in LCW. Aspen are just starting to leaf out. You should be hitting it just about right.
May 30, 2011 at 8:37 pm #1742979I saw the same thing as Dondo this weekend. Here's a teaser from the Goose Creek trail.
There were definitely some patches that haven't leafed out yet so early June should be golden (or green as it were).
May 31, 2011 at 7:59 am #1743086Christopher,
Which route did you take? We started off clockwise from Goose Creek TH around 1 on Saturday and went over Hankins Pass . After seeing how many cars were at the TH, I thought that would be the less crowded option and I'd pass everyone in the middle of the loop. Unfortunately, my back flared up overnight and I decided to head back out on Sunday. Too bad as the weather was so nice. Although it was extremely windy at my house Sunday night so probably there as well.
May 31, 2011 at 11:55 am #1743190Randy,
I had the same line of thought as you and decided to do the smaller ~20 mile loop clockwise. I made it to Goose Creek TH around 5:30 on Friday evening. I figured it would be crowded and sure enough I got one of the last "real" parking spots. I hiked in a couple miles and camped then stayed in Refrigerator Gultch the 2nd night. I saw a lot of monster packs getting hauled up to McCurdy park on my way down into Refrigerator Gulth. Not too many smiles! Overall the weather was excellent. There was some rain Saturday night but mostly sunny otherwise. I made it out around noon on Sunday and it was finally feeling like I expect for this time of year. Not much wind at that point either.Sorry to hear about your back. Where did you end up camping Saturday night?
Chris
May 31, 2011 at 12:48 pm #1743220I ended up having to bail when my buddy's knee wasn't going to allow him to do the full loop and so ended up doing a day hike in RMNP instead. I may give it a go this weekend if I can find a partner.
May 31, 2011 at 6:28 pm #1743373Thanks Chris. I'm recovering from neck surgery and haven't been carrying a pack in order to let it heal as long as possible. Probably led to my lower back issue but I'll be fine.
Did you go through Lake Park? Due to Lars report I planned to avoid it and heard 2 people say it was impassable.
I only stayed one night but to maximize the fun I had 2 campsites. :) I first setup camp just after the first stream you come to when descending from Hankins pass which is after all the switchbacks and Lizard Rock TH. Found a good high and dry spot. Was there for about an hour and just about to cook dinner when I heard yelling and big branches being broken off trees a ways off. I know how that plays out so I quickly packed up and went another half mile down the trail and found a decent spot with darkness approaching. Not as nice a choice as the first as the mosquitoes proved. But good enough. Nice and quiet. I met two very nice couples with traditional gear and asked them about the climb to McCurdy Park. It wasn't the highlight of either couple's trip, that's for sure!
@Randy MartinThis weekend will be a great time to go. A ton of people did it last weekend so it shouldn't be crowded at all. But the trail is still well traveled if that makes a difference for going solo or not. Have fun!
May 31, 2011 at 8:22 pm #1743425Good to hear the trails are mostly dry up there. I was suppose to go on a trip there with a buddy a while ago but, my buddy had a stroke recently so no go for that one.
Anyways, since we all seem to love LCW we should schedule a CO BPL trip there, we can all share some of our secret spots and plan a fun on/off trail trip some weekend. What ya think?
Jun 1, 2011 at 11:25 am #1743611I'd be in for a LCW BPL trip.
Jun 1, 2011 at 11:48 am #1743617Randy N,
I avoided Lake Park as well because of Lars' report and my experience two weekends ago. I met and hiked with another solo hiker at McCurdy Park who had made it through Lake Park. He said he was post holing pretty good on the North side but at least had some other holes to follow :)Peter,
I think that's a great idea! I've been noticing a lot of CO BPLers on here lately and thought it would be fun to do something like the CA members have done. I'm down to help organize/plan. Maybe we talk offline more? Shoot me a PM if interested.Chris
Jun 1, 2011 at 6:40 pm #1743768I will be going on a day hike tomorrow up Goose Creek. I was hoping to do Bison Peak but sounds like there is quite a bit of snow up there and my hiking partner does not have boots. Anyway I would love to hear back if you guys plan a little outing sometime. I am also looking for people who can hike on Thursdays and Fridays as those are my weekends and I enjoy spending time in the outdoors with other people. I will let you know on the conditions when I return.
Jun 1, 2011 at 7:47 pm #1743809I'm off to LCW *next* weekend. Going to be a very short trip (maybe 15-20 miles total?) A buddy of mine (and father of two small children) was given an early Father's Day present to take off for the weekend (kind of! We can't leave until late Sat morning! :D)
Anyway, I'll have to give a report when I get back…
Yeah, and there are a lot of us on here from CO who love this place indeed! :)
Jun 4, 2011 at 11:09 pm #1745060Hiked up to the "Shaft House" and did some bouldering down the back side to where Lost Creek dives under the rocks and then back over to where it comes out. Glad to say it was beautiful and everything was starting to turn green. No snow as well which is good. Anyone else have any good snow free hikes they would like to share? I am itching to go on a comparable hike/overnighter soon that is snow free. Here is a pic I snapped on Thursday 6/2/11
Jun 5, 2011 at 8:52 am #1745141I was told last weekend that the whole loop was snow free if you avoided Lake Park. With the warm weather lately, that may even be gone or at least not an issue. I'm going to try Bison later this week. That or the "lost" trail mentioned earlier in the thread. I'll report on conditions when I get back.
Jun 5, 2011 at 10:55 am #1745182Nathan, Here's another early season trip in LCW you can try. Just ignore the snowshoes in the first pic. They weren't needed for this trip
Randy, keep us posted on conditions around Bison, if you go there. I'll be headed that way soon.
Jun 5, 2011 at 3:46 pm #1745254I just got back from doing the full 24 mile loop, Hankins Pass to Lake Park to Brookside McCurdy to Refrigerator Gulch to Goose Creek. Lake Park only has a few very minor spots of snow on the trail as you decend from Lake Park to the Brookside McCurdy trail intersection. Hardly worth mentioning and easily avoided if you want.
Pictures from my trip here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1722386462083.2086715.1310985357&l=061bc91d6c
Jun 5, 2011 at 5:10 pm #1745283Thanks for sharing your pics, Randy. It's amazing how fast the snow melts in LCW. How are the mosquitoes now?
Jun 5, 2011 at 8:17 pm #1745354Mosquitoes are definitely active. The were a few buzzing around the netting of my Bivy last night. But really I didn't have much of any issue with them since I always had a long sleeve shirt and long pants on.
Jun 13, 2011 at 9:39 am #1748556Didn't make it over to Bison this time but I did run into a couple on a 30 mile day hike loop (!!!) who said Brookside McCurdy was snow free and it appeared you could get to Bison without any issues.
Jun 15, 2011 at 1:57 pm #1749665Thanks, Randy. Just back from a few days in LCW. Hiked up Bison Peak and McCurdy Mountain. No snow to speak of. I guessing that all of LCW is pretty much snow free now.
Jun 16, 2011 at 3:54 pm #1750088Nice shots Randy! Seeing pics of LCW always makes me want to go back. I was thinking about checking out how deep the snow is in Indian Peaks Wilderness this weekend but the snow free-ness of LCW is beckoning me for an overnight… Anyone been up to IPW recently?
If I go LCW, I might check out the Rolling Creek and Colorado trail section. Anyone hiked those yet?
Jun 17, 2011 at 3:51 pm #1750486Christopher,I haven't been on them this year but they will be fine condition wise. Not the most spectacular part of Lost Creek but still a nice walk. Rolling Creek is a pretty steep climb. In case you didn't know, there's a fire ban right now, so no fires and stoves have to have an off switch. I don't mind the no fires but I hate having to take a canister stove. We got some good rain today and hopefully we'll get some more soon to get us out of this fire danger. Have fun.
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