207.4 miles: Coal Canyon Trail, Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Area, Cameo, CO

On June 10, 2020June 10, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Saturday, June 6, 2020

Miles: 1.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 92 feet

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/herd-management-areas/colorado/little-book

Click to access whb_co_littlebookcliffs_map.pdf

Notes:

Travis and I really really wanted to see wild horses while we were on the western slope. I read about Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Area, a wild horse refugee located northeast of Palisade. This is a 36,000+ acre BLM area where horses and burros roam free in herds. I could not find this trail on Alltrails initially, so I looked up trip advisor reviews and found that most wild horse spotting happen early morning or late at night. So, on Saturday we woke up at 4:45 AM (only a 15 minute drive from my parents) so that we could get to the trailhead before dawn.

From 1-70, we took the Cameo exit (45) towards Kokopelli Farms. Once off the exit, we followed the road under the interstate, past the energy plant and over the train tracks. Here the road turned to gravel, and we saw signs for Cameo Shooting Range. Kept driving straight for a few miles and the road reached a dead end at the trailhead. At 5am, we were the only car on the road and at the trailhead. When the road is dry, a 2WD car is fine.

The trail head had a faint sign riddled with bullet holes that had the trail mileage. Other than that the trails were not marked. There was a gate to open / close to get into the wild horse area, then we followed a faint trail to an old dirt road (Coal Canyon) and hiked slightly uphill towards the canyon mouth. We saw mounds and mounds of wild horse poop, some that looked fresh. Despite these obvious signs of horses, we did not see any.

We had hiked a little over a half mile when something unexpected started to happen— it began to pour rain. We ducked under a pinyon tree to seek shelter, but the storm did not appear that it was going to pass. After a few minutes, the dirt road we were hiking on quickly turned into wet slippery mud. “If the rain gets worse our car will get stuck,” Travis realized, and with that— we were running back to the trailhead. I was disappointed that we did not see any horses and had to turn back early with the rain. However, our car did not get stuck on our way out so that was a win! We will definitely be coming back to peep some horses.

206 miles: Rustlers Loop, Kokopelli Trailhead, McInnis Canyon National Conservation Area, Grand Junction, CO

On June 10, 2020June 10, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Friday, June 5, 2020

Miles: 3.6 miles

Elevation Gain: 295 feet

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 1 hr 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/rustlers-loop

Notes:

Why did it sound like a good idea to go for a hike in 103 degree weather? I thought I was in a brick oven during this hike. The desert heat is no joke. No wonder we only saw two other people this entire hike. I would recommend completing this hike during a shoulder season, since there is no shade.

McInnis Canyon National Conservation area is located west of Grand Junction. This BLM area is free and conveniently right off the interstate, despite feeling remote. We followed signs for the Kokopelli Trailhead, then followed the dirt road until it dead ends at Rustlers Loop Trail. From the trailhead we went clockwise, immediately gaining altitude to the top of the bluff. From there, the trail levels off for awhile and provides widespread views of the valley, red rock formations and Colorado River. This trail was pretty narrow, despite it being a multi-use path. Based on the trail markings, I believe the trail is mostly used by bikers.

Rustlers Loop was easy to follow. The last mile featured a little bit of shade thanks to the wall of the canyon. In this cooler area, we saw a bunch of wild horse poop under some trees. If you do this hike, bring lots of water and a hat.

202.4 miles: Mesa Lakes and Lost Lake Trails, Grand Mesa National Forest, Mesa, CO

On June 9, 2020June 9, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Thursday, June 4, 2020

Miles: 3.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 463 feet

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Time: 1 hr 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/mesa-lakes-trail

Notes:

This past week we drove out to the western slope to help my parents move into their new house! We were able to fit in a few hikes as well, checking off a few bucket list items we wanted to complete. This hike we did with my mom on her birthday. Travis and I have wanted to explore the Grand Mesa National Forest for a long time— this is definitely the best way to escape the desert heat in the summer on the slope! Located about 45 minutes east of Palisade on the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, the Mesa Lakes Trailhead is nestled right below 10K ft elevation, for spectacular views of the valley.

This trailhead has a $6 vehicle fee, although a national park pass can be used for access. We parked at the main trailhead and took the trail around Mesa Lake a quarter of a mile, until the junction with Lost Lake Trail. From this trail junction, we gradually gained elevation through the shaded forest to the base of South Mesa Lake. From this lake, we continued around to the left for Lost Lake.

The trail has a few switchbacks to the saddle, then descends to Lost Lake. We passed a few snow patches, but the trail was dry. Lost Lake was SO GREEN! We also saw a ton of wild strawberries. After we stopped at Lost Lake, we backtracked to the start of Lost Lake Trail, then continued around the main Mesa Lake to make it a loop. This area was extremely buggy— we all got a ton of mosquito bites!

Follow trail left to South Mesa Lake then continue to Lost Lake

199 miles: North Standley Lake Loop, Westminster, CO

On June 9, 2020June 9, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Miles: 2 miles

Elevation Gain: 108 feet

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 40 min total

Trail Head:

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

Notes:

Quick, easy local hike that I completed after work last week! I was really impressed with the beauty and convenience of Standley Lake South the previous week, so I decided to check out the north side trails after work last Tuesday. The park is open sunrise to sunset, requires no fee and is dog friendly. The trail was wide for social distance and is multi-use— I saw more bikes than walkers!

I started from the parking lot on the wide main trail leading straight towards the lake. This trail then intersects with a wide gravel road (currently closed to motor vehicles), where I made a left and followed it east of the lake. I did not find the north side trails as scenic as the south, since the spillway separates the trail from the lake itself. There is an embankment blocking the view of the reservoir, so instead you get some views of a neighborhood and the spillway. I followed this trail down to the trail junction with some other paths, then back up to the main trailhead. Not too exciting, but it was nice to stretch my legs on a weekday!

197 miles: Mason Creek, Bear Paw, Old Mill and Staunton Ranch Trails Loop, Staunton State Park, Conifer, CO

On June 9, 2020June 9, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Sunday, May 31, 2020

Miles: 9 miles

Elevation Gain: 1542 feet

Difficulty: Moderate

Time: 3 hr 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/mason-creek-trail-to-bear-paw-trail

Notes:

We loved our first visit to Staunton State Park so much we came back for a second weekend in a row to do another loop! We started a little earlier than our previous weekend, and parked at the Mason Creek Trailhead— a multi-use trail with a wide parking lot for horse trailers and mountain bikers. This trailhead has limited parking— when we left for the day, it was one car in, one car out.

We completed a 9 mile hiking loop by combining Mason Creek, Bear Paw, Old Mill and Staunton Ranch trails. There is a slight modification you can make for the hike to be closer to 7 miles by following Mason Creek at the Bear Paw junction— however, that section of Mason Creek trail is currently closed. We completed this hike counterclockwise to spread the elevation gain evenly, although in the future I will probably do it clockwise to maximize shade in the afternoon.

We took Mason Creek trail to the junction of Bear Paw, about 2.5 miles. This section is shaded and gains the majority of elevation. From Bear Paw, we went left and were treated with some overlooks illustrating Pikes Peak and surrounding mountains. once back to Mason Creek, we made a left and started to descend towards the historic sawmill and Old Mill Trail.

The junction of Mason Creek and Old Mill Trails featured an abandoned bunkhouse and what is left of the historic sawmill. Both of these ruins are not preserved too well. We descended Old Mill Trail, a hiker-only spur that connects you back to Staunton Ranch Trail. We took this wide main spur back to the junction of Mason Creek, then went right to finish the loop. Great hike!