I took advantage of the long weekend to do a three-night trip in a large southern Colorado wilderness, almost to the New Mexico border. Because of all the highway work going on, it took me 6 hours to get to the TH. With the late start, combined with the fact that I’m slowing down more and more each year, it is getting harder to get into the wilderness far enough on the first day. I keep telling myself that I will leave the previous afternoon and sleep at the TH, and I think next time I will do that.
I parked at a popular TH and saw quite a few vehicles, but only ran into two parties hiking out with their fly rods within the first couple of miles. I didn’t know it at the time, but those were the last folks I’d see until I returned to the TH. The trail followed a creek through alternating narrows and meadows for more than 10 miles, although we turned off it at the start of the second meadow.
After a couple miles of gentle climbing, we came to the picturesque “First Meadow,” continued through a rocky narrow section, and turned off the creek trail to start the climb. We rose steeply through mixed aspens and conifers, and eventually reached a high plateau. At that point, I was pretty tired and we camped at a pond within sight of the tail.
In the morning, we continued on a trail that rolled through the wilderness near timberline (about 11,500 ft in southern Colorado), alternating through alpine tundra and stands of trees. This area has been hit pretty hard by the pine beetle infestations, and after 20 years, many big trees are down. There hasn’t been any trail maintenance to speak of, so some sections of trail are becoming hard to follow. The trail eventually joined a creek known for good fishing and we passed through a meadow where outfitters often set up large tents for the summer, but it was empty. Just upstream of the meadow we came to one of the large lakes that this wilderness is known for.
After the lake, the trail became increasingly exposed as it turns west towards the continental divide. At the same time, the wind really started to pick up, and the walking was less enjoyable. My original plan was to join the CDT, go south a bit, and then drop down to a lake west of the divide, but I could see that it was not going to be pleasant. Once I realized that I was emotionally attached to the plan, it was easy for me to let go of it (something ingrained in me from my teen-age reading of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), and I pulled up Gaia to see if I could find a likely spot to camp. I found a lake a couple miles from and a few hundred feet below the trail. I had never scouted this lake before and I had no idea what I’d find, but as I came over a final rise, I found a lovely lake in a broad rocky valley. I set up camp in a protected area to the west.
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In the morning, we took a shortcut back to the east, traversing easy terrain near timberline. At one point, Max fell in love with a huge leg-bone that he wanted to take home with him, and I actually had to leash him for a while because he kept going back for it. We did see a ton of elk throughout the entire trip, but no people. We made our way to a remote off-trail lake to make our final camp. Like all the water on this trip, this lake was extremely low in this record dry year. Â We found a peaceful campsite and enjoyed the solitude. In the morning we made our way back to the trail and enjoyed an uneventful hike out, feeling fortunate that it’s still possible to find places like this, where you can roam for days without seeing another soul.
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