Crosby Manitou State Park

[D LARSON]

This is rather long but oh well…

My brother, his wife and I arrived at the Crosby Manitou kiosk around noon where we found only two sites available. We decided on site 11 after some confusion as to whether it was open or closed.

Parked near the trail head, the forest looked dense and I had no idea what to expect. Another hiker was just getting back to his vehicle after some time on the trail and he was in good spirits. He called Crosby Manitou a "special place" and wished us well as we assembled our gear. My brother and sister-in-law had heavy packs that took some time to strap on, especially for her, and then we walked to the trail head. Starting down the trail it quickly became clear that this was a rocky and rooted place.

The hike in was a gentle downward slope as we traveled along the ridge. There were a few small streams, lots of little red-orange mushrooms, and other interesting vegetation. The scenic overlook about halfway in was partially obscured by a large tree but it was none the less interesting to see such dense wooded land. As we reached the river valley and began our descent the trail became more challenging and we could hear the rush of rapids from the river below.

The forest trails had little breeze with higher humidity but once we reached the river trail we were greeted by the moving cool air. The river trail twists and snakes much like the river through the rocky landscape and offered a great view of the river as we headed toward our site. Nearly all of the sites are off the main trail on short spur trails. When we arrived at the marker for site 11 we were a little confused because the spur headed up a steep bluff and then dissipated into nothing about halfway. My brother headed up first followed by my sister-in-law and myself at the rear. When the trail disappeared we stopped and there was some discussion about whether we should hike all the way up if the site wasn't there. My companions were well fatigued from their heavy packs. My brother said he would go scout it out and started charging up the bluff. (I told him I could do it, my pack was lighter, but he said he would do it.) Sure enough, he reported back without his pack so we trekked up to the top of the bluff. We didn't keep close track but the hike was about 3 hours.

The site was long and narrow with a tent pad near the ridge and a fire ring further up at the other end. It was supposed to be a two tiered site with two tent pads but we just didn't see a second tent pad. We began looking around for the best options and even talked about trying to squish the two tents in the one spot along the ridge. I told them to just setup their tent and I would figure something out. I ended up setting up at the top end of the site about 15 feet further up from the fire ring in some short leafy vegetation. The spot had an incline to it but was free of roots and rocks for the most part.

Heading up from the site was the trail to the latrine and just short of the midway point were the skeletal and fur remains of a deer strewn across the path. This explained the deer skull propped up on a tripod of three foot branches near our fire pit!

Saturday we washed up in the river, lounged along a large flat protrusion of rock in some rapids, and hiked the river trail. My brother is an avid fisherman and tried fishing the shallow river but only caught a small 4 inch fish he had to release.

On Sunday we didn't start our hike out until after noon. We washed up in the river again and lounged for lunch before heading out. The hike back was a challenging climb out of the river valley. The ridge trail was easier and the scenic overlook was even cooler the second time knowing how far up we had just climbed. My companions where still lugging huge packs on the way back and I didn't envy them one bit. My pack was even lighter with no food and the 1+ liter of water I was carrying ended up being just the right amount. My brother noticed that there were a lot of dead decaying trees. He made mention of all the natural destruction in nature and how it isn't like the perfect pretty pictures you see in magazines. I agreed and thought about the old growth forest we were hiking through and how things used to look across the entire state before man arrived and developed everything.

Overall the park was strangely quiet and void of wildlife. We only saw some crayfish in a still rocky pool and then one female deer on the day we hiked out. Two other hikers had seen a pair of wolves across the river but we didn't see them. There was also very little bird song and I was expecting to hear more. At night the wolves didn't yelp and it seemed that even the crickets were sleeping. On the other hand, it was incredibly peaceful and serene.

In conclusion, I enjoyed hiking the trails, seeing some pretty raw natural landscaping and getting into the thick of it. My lightweight gear performed perfectly and made the experience more enjoyable. I did have one small malfunction with my alcohol stove when the threaded insert started slipping as I opened it to add fuel. I couldn't put the screw back in because the insert would just spin with the screw. Luckily, I noticed a penny on the ground in my cooking area. "Perfect!" I thought as I covered the fuel hole on the stove. I figured someone else was probably using a Pepsi Jet penny stove in the same spot and lost their penny. It was the luckiest penny I've ever found.

[Sam Haraldson]

You'll have to convince your brother to get you the pictures! Thanks for the report, Dana.

[D LARSON]

As soon as I decide on a small light camera I'll bring my own! I was just given an Argus Bean Sprout camera. At 1oz it's interesting but the resolution is low and storage is small.

[Sam Haraldson]

I bet you could remove a bunch of that superfluous carabiner/handle from that little camera and make it even lighter… but perhaps that a discussion best left to elsewhere on the forums.

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