This is a lightly used trail that starts from the end of a dirt road and climbs gradually toward the Continental Divide. It parallels the Little Cochetopa Creek and, while the hike is actually 9 miles round trip, I only hiked a little over…
Monthly Archives
July 2016
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The hike to Pass Creek Lake trail climbs to a high mountain basin and a small lake at the treeline. The beginning of the hike is rocky and steep, but the middle gets easier with a gently rolling trail along Pass Creek through pine…
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OK… OK… Technically, I only started on the Graham Gulch Trail. There I was, dutifully following the directions in “The Mellow Mountain Trails” book, when it told me to “stay right” just one too many times, so of course, I went left. Everyone knows…
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Lake Ann, located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, is a spectacular alpine lake surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks. It’s about a 6.4 mile (round trip) hike – although my GPS said it was more – if you can get to the trailhead with a…
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Poplar Gulch lies just outside historic Saint Elmo, a ghost town with many original buildings. The trail begins at the base of Tincup Pass and winds up through pine and aspen forests before switchbacking up the mountain. It climbs along a mountain creek to…
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Buffalo Peaks Wilderness encompasses 41,232 acres and it gets it’s name from the 2 – 13,000+ foot Buffalo Peaks that are there. It’s one of those places you go to, not for views of majestic peaks, but for solitude. It’s a mix of conifers…
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At the top of Cottonwood Pass is the Skyline Hike. It’s only a 1.6 mile hike (round trip) to the small summit at 12,574′ in elevation but you can continue on the Colorado/Continental Divide trail as far as you want. I continued down over…
I found myself back in the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness area again on Monday. I had been there before but I had hiked in from the opposite end on the Four Mile Creek Trail. This hike combined the Rich Creek Trail and the Rough and…
Taylor Reservoir was created in 1937 by the Taylor Park Dam and is surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks. It’s about an hour drive from Buena Vista (over Cottonwood Pass) and to the west side of the Collegiate Mountains. There were plenty of places to…
Ptarmigan Lake (12,154′ in elevation), which is a beautiful 6.4 mile hike (round trip), is named for the ptarmigan birds which live in the area year-round. The lake is just over the timberline and the trail starts at Cottonwood Pass and climbs through dense…