228 miles: Red Mountain Trail to Valley View Campsite, Colorado River Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

On June 22, 2020June 22, 2020 By Annie1 Comment

Date: Friday, June 19, 2020 (hike in) & Sunday, June 21, 2020 (hike out)

Miles: 7.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 1483 feet

Difficulty: Moderate

Time: 4 hr total (backpacking)

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/colorado-river-and-red-mountain-trail

Notes:

This past weekend was our first backpacking trip of the season! We took Friday off work and spent two nights in the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park with four of our friends. Our site, Valley View, was tucked into the Never Summer Mountain range area of RMNP, off the Colorado River Trailhead. To get there, you can either take Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park, or take highway 40 to the Kwanee Valley entrance near Grand Lake. This is a great beginner to moderate backpacking trip for one or two nights.

We started off on the Colorado River Trail, a shaded flat and wide trail near the river for the first half mile. At the trail intersection, we went left to follow the Red Mountain Trail (Grand Ditch via Red Mountain Trail). The next mile gained the majority of elevation, hiking up the side of Red Mountain. Around 1.7 miles in, the trail levels out for a little while. We crossed Opposition Creek twice— there were several beautiful small waterfalls and lots of bridges over the creek. They were easy to maneuver with a backpack. At mile 3, the trail began to gain the final ascent to Grand Ditch Trail, an old wide road that is not open to the public but accessible to hikers. Our campsite turn off was left, where we crossed a narrow wood bridge over the Grand Ditch and then followed the red arrows to the site. We got to our site just in time for it to briefly start snowing! Luckily it was just a quick passing storm.

The site was one of the most scenic views from a RMNP backcountry site! It was a great location to the Grand Ditch Trail, LuLu City and Thunder Pass trails (will cover in later blog post). There was not a privy, but we can close access to water from the grand ditch. This trail is not super scenic if you are not backpacking. We packed out on Sunday morning to avoid I-70 traffic. On our hike out, there was a moose on the trail! As you will note below, our hike in was slightly longer than our hike out. Slightly off navigation 🙂

Scary and narrow log bridge to our campsite

220.7 miles: Evergreen Lake Trail, Evergreen, CO

On June 19, 2020June 17, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Miles: 1.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 43 feet

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/evergreen-evergreen-lake-trail

Notes:

We had our first date night in awhile and decided to drive up near Evergreen to eat on a patio and go for a quick easy hike. Evergreen Lake is located right off Bear Creek Road, close to several local restaurants. The trail encircles the lake, with several parking areas that have access to the trail. We parked at the Dedisse Park area and completed the hike clockwise. This is an easy, wide and flat trail. The route passes by the spillway, where there were a ton of bugs. There are a few sections of boardwalks over the marsh areas, with beautiful views of the foothills. Great quick trail!

219.3 miles: Gem Lake Trail, Lumpy Ridge Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, CO

On June 16, 2020June 16, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Sunday, June 14, 2020

Miles: 5.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 1293 feet

Difficulty: Moderate

Time: 2 hr 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/gem-trail-to-balanced-rock

Notes:

I finally made it back to Rocky Mountain National Park after a quarantine hiatus. We have some upcoming backpacking trips planned, so I needed to head up to the backcountry office and pick up our upcoming permits. To follow social distancing, Rocky Mountain National Park has implemented a timed entry system for all visitors between 6AM – 6PM. I spoke with the park ranger on the phone earlier in the week and inquired about the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead. He told me that I was fine to hike without a reservation as long as I got to the trailhead prior to the timed entry reservation start. So, that’s what I did! Early bird gets the worm 🥰

I took the Gem Lake Trail to Gem Lake, then hiked beyond the lake on Gem Lake Trail, before heading back to the trailhead. The first quarter mile of the trail is moderate, before splitting right at the trail junction and adding elevation. It is about 1.7 miles from the trailhead to the lake, gaining around 1000ft. The trail was heavily shaded in the morning. I was pleasantly surprised with how quiet the trail was— I’ve seen this way busier in the winter time.

Once at the lake, I continued the trail about a mile following signs for Balanced Rock Trail. This section of the trail flattened out and began to slowly descend. At around 2.5 miles, I sat on a nice boulder before heading back to the trailhead on the same trail.

214.2 miles: N Shanahan Ridge, Mesa and Bluestem Trails Loop, Boulder, CO

On June 15, 2020June 15, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Saturday, June 13, 2020

Miles: 5.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 1073 feet

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Time: 2 hr total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/shanahan-ridge-trail

Notes:

Oldie but goodie! This south Boulder loop is one of our go to hikes, especially in the evenings. We went right after a Saturday afternoon rainstorm, relieving us from crowds and the heat. We parked in the Greenbriar neighborhood and started hiking from the Shanahan Ridge Trailhead (no fees, dog friendly).

Normally when we do this hike, we complete it clockwise for an easier elevation grade. We decided to shake things up and punish ourselves! We started uphill on North Shanahan Fork, gaining the majority of elevation in the first mile. Once to the Mesa junction, the route makes a hard left. As you can see in my Alltrails recording, I missed this turn at first 🙃. From the Mesa trail, you continue uphill about a quarter of a mile, before the trail flattens and begins to descend to the creek. We took the Upper Bluestem Trail a mile to Lower Bluestem, then followed the Bluestem Connector, then finished the loop. The trail recently had a cattle migration, so there were a lot of close by cows on the Lower Bluestem Trail. Great wildflowers this time of year, frames by the flatirons.

208.9 miles: Jerry Creek Reservoir Trail Loop, Jerry Creek & Mogenson Ponds State Wildlife Area, Molina, CO

On June 10, 2020June 10, 2020 By Annie1 Comment

Date: Saturday, June 6, 2020

Miles: 1.5 miles

Elevation Gain: 256 feet

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 min total

Trail Head:

Click to access JerryCreek_MogensenPondsSWA_geo.pdf

Notes:

We stumbled upon this state wildlife area off the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway. We followed a sign pointing towards Vega State Park, then saw a faded sign for “Jerry Creek” and decided to swerve on the chance for adventure. The trailhead had a bathroom and a faded map for a quick hike up to a reservoir. There was also a gravel road (not open to vehicles) that you could take up to the reservoir for a more gradual elevation grade. We opt for the trail, which started to the right of the gravel road.

The trail began at a wooden bridge and snaked up the mesa side through sage brush. Despite the trail being narrow and overgrown, it was easy to spot and navigate. There were two trail markers (metal posts) in the sections that were the most washed out. Once at the top, we found ourselves at the base of a reservoir, with picturesque views of the red rock canyon on one side and the Grand Mesa on the other. We followed the gravel path around to the second reservoir, past a single stall bathroom. The trail then descends back to the trailhead crossing the gravel path (you could also back track and go the other route). This section of the trail did not have any signage, was easy to spot, but was really steep.

The area seemed to be mainly used for catch and release fishing. I looked it up online afterwards and I was surprised to see that it is part of BLM. Check out the link above.