NO VACANCY
This
year’s trip was less planned than usual.
Originally we were going to fly into Las
Vegas. Then we switched to Denver. Initially we planned to include three Umphrey’s McGee concerts at Red Rocks in the agenda. Ultimately we
weren’t able to work that into the trip.
The biggest challenge was also the primary purpose for our trip. Christy has had major knee problems for 10
years now. She has no cartilage left in
her knees. A couple of years ago a
friend recommended the Steadman Clinic, in Vail & Edwards, Colorado, to
her. They are on the cutting edge of
stem cell therapy. One of their
procedures involves removing stem cells from the patient’s hip and placing them
in the knee the re-grow the cartilage.
They aren’t the only clinic that provides this service. Christy found a doctor in Charlotte that
performs his own research. His patients
fund the research, as he charges $15K for the procedure. The Steadman clinic charges $3K. We booked our flights for Colorado. We scheduled Christy’s surgery for the end of
the trip, since she wouldn’t be able to hike afterwards.
This
year’s trip featured tremendous variety.
We started out in the mountains of Colorado. Then we headed to the deserts of southern
Utah and Northern Arizona. After a
couple of weeks there we got tired of the heat.
We headed back to Colorado and spent the rest of the trip cooling off in
the mountains. We visited canyons,
cliffs, rivers, lakes, meadows, and mountain tops. Along the way we were treated to arches, rock
towers, slot canyons, waterfalls, swimming holes, and wildflowers. We backpacked, dayhiked,
and car camped. Christy even spent a
couple of days mountain biking. We had
been to all of these areas before, but we had never combined them into a single
trip. Also, most of the actual hikes we
did were new to us. There were only a
couple of repeats, and even they were somewhat different. Previously I had dayhiked
Upper Calf Creek Falls, near Escalante, Utah, and we had dayhiked
the Virgin River Narrows in Zion. We
repeated those hikes, but this time we did them as backpacking trips. Everything else we did was completely new to
us.
We
flew into Denver on a Saturday in mid-June.
I’d gotten a great deal on a SUV from Airport Van Rental, a new rental
company that specializes in SUV’s and vans.
Their rate was less than a compact car from any other agency from the
Denver airport. The service was slower
than Avis – we had to wait 30 minutes for the shuttle van to arrive. The car ended up being a Nissan Pathfinder
with 4WD. We were ecstatic! Having 4WD opened up a number of options for
us. One of the hikes I really wanted to
do is 10 miles down a rough dirt road that might require 4WD. Suddenly, getting to that trailhead was not a
problem. It would help us get to several
other places over the course of our trip, too.
And we didn’t have to pay extra for it.
We
stopped in Denver for lunch and hit a Wal Mart for supplies (cheap camp chairs
and a cooler) and groceries. Then we
drove to Dillon. The first weekend of
our trip had been full of uncertainty right up until the day before we
left. Christy had her initial
appointment in Edwards at 2pm on Monday.
I wanted to make the most of our time before the appointment. Ultimately, I planned a hike in the Lost
Creek Wilderness on Sunday. On Monday morning we’d do a ½ day hike, with another short hike on the
agenda for that evening. I thought we
might manage a short hike Saturday evening, too. I’d decided that our best strategy would be
to camp near Dillon. From there we’d
have a fairly long but still reasonable drive to and from the Lost Creek
Wilderness on Sunday. It would be a
convenient starting point on Monday though.
We
drove north from Dillon to the Blue River Campground. It is fairly small, and it was completely
full on Saturday afternoon. My map
showed another campground nearby, on Boulder Creek. However, that campground doesn’t exist. We decided to drive back to Dillon, as there
are several campgrounds situated around the Dillon Reservoir. We stopped at the REI there to pick up stove
fuel and other supplies. Afterwards, we
picked up a few things at the Whole Foods in Frisco. We also hit the Basecamp Liquor store right
next door. The service there was
fantastic. I chatted with an employee,
who directed us to a gluten-free beer that Christy really liked. After telling him my preferences, he
suggested 3 excellent beers. I tried
them all, but liked the Crank Yanker IPA (Buena
Vista, CO) the most. At $9.50 for six 16 ounce cans, it’s a pretty good deal.
Then
we went looking for a campsite. The
first campground was full. The second, a
much larger campground, was also full.
The final overflow sites had just filled up right before we
arrived. Sigh. I talked with the campground host, and he
told me that all of the other campgrounds around the lake were full. I had picked this area because there are a lot
of campgrounds. Apparently
there are a lot of campgrounds because they are popular and easily accessible. At least the host saved us the trouble of driving
to each of them. It was time for plan C.
We
decided to drive towards the Lost Creek Wilderness. That way, we would be closer to where we
planned to hike on Sunday. We drove
through the busy little town of Breckenridge and on to South Park (Fairplay, CO). Over
the next 24 hours, we managed to hit all 3 gas stations in that town. From there, we headed north on highway 285. After a few miles we
saw a sign for a campground. It was 8
miles up a dirt road. On the one hand,
it was in a remote area, a long way from pavement. On the other hand, it would really suck to
drive all the way up there only to find that it was full. Still, we decided to give it a shot.
Initially
we passed through a desolate, run-down area that was a little creepy. We were listening to Widespread Panic, and
“Henry Parsons Died” came on.
Me:
“How appropriate”
Christy:
“Why?”
Me:
“This certainly looks like a Henry Parsons Died kind of a place”
We
were 5 or 6 miles up the road when we passed the trailhead for the Rocky Point
Trail. I noted that it looked like we
might be able to walk down that trail a short distance and camp. I wish I’d actually stopped and investigated
it. We stopped the next morning, and
found a good spot a short distance from the road. Just beyond was a great view over a deep
valley to a rolling ridge of snow-capped peaks.
We ended up at the Selkirk Campground.
For $17, the campground provided an outhouse, a picnic table, and a fire
ring with a grill. There was no water,
but we had enough to get us through the evening. The Rocky Point Trail had a great view and
was free. At least the campground was a
decent, quiet place. We were just happy
that we didn’t have to spend any more time searching for a campsite.
It
was fairly late when we arrived, so we organized the car and grilled chicken
for dinner. We were exhausted from a
long day of traveling and went to bed shortly after dark.
PEDRO’S BRIDGE
It
was cold at 6 the next morning! We fell
into our normal campground routine – I get up first and make coffee and
breakfast. Christy gets up when coffee
and breakfast are ready. She usually
cooks dinner though, so it is fair.
The
major drawback to where we camped is that we had to leave and find a new place
for Sunday evening. Our location was
simply too far from Edwards. If we
camped there Sunday night we would spend most of Monday morning just driving to
Christy’s appointment. I wasn’t willing
to sacrifice a half day hike on Monday morning for the convenience if staying
at the same campground a second night.
After
we ate Christy started cleaning the dishes.
She was nearly finished when she held up the coffee filter and asked, “How
do you clean this?”. Then she lost her
grip on it and it fell in the dirt. I responded,
“not like that”.
We
drove back to Fairplay and stopped at a gas station
to buy water. We bought a lot of water
(and ice) during this trip! Most of the
campgrounds in Colorado do not have drinking water, even though they are
usually near a lake or stream. It goes
without saying that camping in the desert requires carrying lot of water, too.
From
Fairplay we made a long but scenic drive to the Goose
Creek Trailhead in the Lost Creek Wilderness.
We passed through a desolate area of red rock cliffs and scrubby trees
that looked more like Utah than Colorado.
We passed a number of primitive campsites along the way, but most of
them were occupied. The Goose Creek
Trailhead was bewildering. It is in the
middle of nowhere, but there is a large parking area, and there must’ve been at
least 30 cars there. Where did all of
those people come from? Presumably
Denver and Colorado Springs, which are 2-3 hours away. The Lost Creek Wilderness is a popular
destination in late spring and early summer, when the higher mountains still
have a lot of snow.
Our
plan was a 10 mile round trip hike to the namesake of
the wilderness, Lost Creek. Christy, my
friend Dave, and I had attempted this hike way back in 2000. We’d gotten a late start and then got hammered
by a monstrous thunderstorm that pelted us with hail. We had bailed out from that hike before we’d
gotten very far. I was eager to make
another attempt at it. Oddly, the
parking lot and the first part of the trail were not familiar at all. I was surprised that it wasn’t
recognizable. I wonder now if we had
even been in the right place on that previous attempt. That had been long before you could plug
directions into a smart phone. Perhaps
we’d taken a wrong turn and had ended up hiking an entirely different trail?
After
a short distance we reached a junction. From here it is possible to make a 20 mile loop that is a popular weekend backpacking
trip. We turned right towards Goose
Creek. After a short distance
we reached “Pedro’s Bridge” over a small stream. I’m not sure how it got that name, but that’s
certainly what I would’ve voted for. A
bit farther on was an unnamed bridge over Goose Creek. After that, we hiked along Goose Creek,
passing numerous boulders and cliffs and a bunch of appealing campsites. We also passed a lot of backpackers on their
way out. I was surprised to see so many
people finishing up their hike before noon.
What was the rush?
We
passed a spur trail to a large camping area along the creek. Then we began climbing switchbacks, away from
the stream. We traversed a wooded hillside
that offered up a few views of the cliffs and rock formations above the far
side of the creek. This included Finger
Rock and Harmonica Arch, both of which are well-named.
We
entered deeper forest and did a short but steep climb to a minor ridge. Although we were in the woods, it offered a
cool, shady spot for lunch. After eating
I walked down the ridge for 5 minutes.
The ridge ends at a promontory high above the Goose Creek Canyon. The view here is incredible. There are cliffs, boulders, and rock
formations in almost every direction.
This would be an awesome place to camp, or eat lunch. We resumed the hike, and reached another
minor ridge a bit later. I hiked a
well-traveled spur trail out to another great viewpoint. This trail is very scenic overall, but for
the best views, you have to explore a bit off the main trail.
A
little farther on we reached an obvious side trail that led us down to a pair
of historic cabins. There used to be
more, but one has collapsed, and another was burned by vandals
years ago. There are all kinds of
historic artifacts here, including the remains of a car abandoned in a small
stream. There is also supposed to be a
grave near here, but we couldn’t find it.
We
continued on the spur trail, which took us to an incredible area of boulder
caves. One source of information claims
that the area has the most extensive network of boulder caves in the
world. I don’t know if that is true, but
it could be. I explored a few of them
before we continued on to the remains of the old shaft house. Years ago, somebody came up with a bizarre
plan to dam Lost Creek to provide water for Denver. The problem is that Lost Creek disappears
underground numerous times (one source of information says 22 times). So, they tried to build an underground dam,
which would’ve flooded the canyon. As
you might guess, the project was a complete failure. Hooray!
The historic remains of the project did add some interest to a very
scenic hike.
I
attempted to continue on to Lost Creek.
One of my sources of information states that the trail continues to the
brink of a cliff. A pair of rickety
ladders lead down to the bottom of the canyon.
From there it is possible to canyoneer
upstream, following the creek as it disappears and reappears among the
boulders. I hiked to the brink of the
cliff, but the ladder is long gone.
Somebody had propped a scrawny, 20’ tree limb against the cliff. I suppose hikers with more courage than me
use it to get down. I spent a few
minutes trying to find a route through the boulder caves to get around it, but
had no luck. I gave up and returned to
the shaft house, where Christy was waiting for me.
We
started back, but stopped again at the old cabins. Christy went ahead, while I explored a
prominent trail leading downhill towards the creek. It passes several campsites, including one
that must be very close to where the creek reappears. I suspect that you can start at that point
and canyoneer upstream, which would enable you to
bypass the cliffs with the missing ladders.
I thought about exploring further, but Christy had already started out
and I didn’t want her to end up waiting for me.
The
hike back was mostly downhill and fast, despite the afternoon heat. Along the way I saw a snake and a deer. We also passed an antelope on the drive
out. Back at the car, cold beers were
exceptionally refreshing after a hot hike.
On the drive back out, we were startled to encounter a search and rescue
operation. There was a car parked on the
shoulder in a rather odd place. Just
above the road was a big cliff. We hoped
that there hadn’t been a rock climbing accident. It didn’t look good though, as there were
several police officers, 2 ambulances, and several other rescue vehicles.
We
drove all the way back to Dillon and on to the Blue River Campground. It was only half full on
Sunday evening. We got a nice spot right
next to the river. The campground
doesn’t have water, so I ended up driving back to town to get water and
firewood. While I was gone a moose
wandered right through our campsite. I
couldn’t believe that I missed out on the most exciting wildlife sighting of
the trip.
We
ate dinner and enjoyed a nice fire that evening. Due to the heat and fire restrictions, it
ended up being one of the few campfires of our trip. It got really cold that night, partially
because we were camped so close to the river.
We were quite comfortable in our sleeping bags in our tent, but we were
glad we hadn’t tried sleeping in our hammocks!
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