Just returned from a 4 day hike in the Colorado Mountains west of Colorado Springs. I had my DIY Tablecloth (purple) with a UGQ Zeppelin (orange) and my fellow hiker (Known here as ringtail-THFKAfood) brought his WBBB. It was the first time I have ever seen a WB and let's say I was impressed. Ringtail is also known as the "King of Lost Creek." He really knows the area well, so we were on and off trails, exploring gulches, squelching across bogs, clambering over beaver dams and, of course, enjoying the Aspen colors.
We started out rather late on day one, leaving the Lost Park trailhead around 3, so only did about an hour and a half of walking before we found a place to hang. We went off the Wigwam trail almost immediately and were on the north side of Lost Creek drainage for our camp. Already there were the strange rock formations the area is known for.
We made camp and settled in for the night. It got down to 31 degrees, the lowest my gear has ever been, and I was snug as a bug. We woke up to frost everywhere. When the sunlight hit, it was like diamonds in the grass. Setting off after breakfast, we slogged through 3? 4? bogs...one looses count after a while. Suffice it to say our feet were wet for quite a while. Finally regaining the trail, we set up and over a pass and came down into Refrigerator Gulch, where we set up in an Aspen grove. Only 37 degrees this night, and we had a clear stream next to us.
The next day was the "short hike", only about 6 hours worth of walking, but full of stories and Lost Creek becoming un-lost for a while, only to be swallowed up by the rocks. We saw Mountain Lion Scat, but later read that only Bobcat frequent the area, so we must have been wrong.The wonderful, clear weather continued and the fall colors were in full swing. Up and over the final pass for the day and we ended up at the lower end of McCurdy Park where we camped near the McCurdy Tower.
We broke camp at daybreak and had our breakfast at McCurdy Park proper. We then left the park and headed up over the pass, through the Ghost Forest and onto McCurdy Peak. As we were coming across the pass to Bison Peak, Ringtail spotted a herd of Elk on the meadow below us. We ate lunch at around 11,500 feet, and then headed down the mountain and along a HUGE area that was perfect for Moose, only we never saw any!
As we neared the traihead, we discovered the Beaver Corps of Engineers had flooded the trail. Ringtail did not let that stop him and used the beaver dam as a bridge. The cold water felt so good on hot, tired feet!
What an amazing trip. We only met with 5 other ppl the whole 4 days.
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