Poison Ridge
Poison Ridge is a part of the Continental Divide Trail. Seen here with sheep mountain in the background. Poison Ridge has a high point of 11,400 feet and can be a designation of itself.
8/15/2020
Poison Ridge to it’s high point.
4 miles hiking
869 feet elevation gain
Trailhead: We headed out of Tabernash, west on route 40, through the town of Granby, to CO route 125, which is directly across from the Windy Gap Wildlife Viewing Area. We drove north on 125 over Willow Creek Pass and down the north side to Forest Service road 106, which is also route 52. We drove west on 106 which is a nice well maintained dirt road until it dead ended into a T intersection with Forest Service road 730. If you head in this way, you will benefit from a high clearance vehicle on 730. We took a right on 730 and after climbing 2 miles we came to a level open meadow where often times people are camping. The trail starts at the North side of the meadow.
Route: We decided to check out Poison Ridge after our hike up Sheep Mountain (not the one pictured above, if you are confused please read my Sheep Mountain post). The trailhead sits just across the meadow from the start of Sheep Mountain, where we had parked the tuck. The hike begins with a short steep section for 1000 feet and then begins a relatively gentle climb just below the ridge proper on the west side of the ridge. Initially it wonders through an open area and then into a forested section at 0.6 miles. The forest offered a nice reprieve from the summer heat. At 1.6 miles the trail come out of the forest with nice views of the Cold Water Creek drainage, the Hendricks Ranch and a peek of Matheson Reservoir. We continued along the well established trail until it took at sharp descent at 1.9 miles. Form here ,Poison Ridge descends and then climbs back up to Arapaho Ridge Trail where the Continental Divide Trail continues onward. We went off trail at this point and climbed up the steep slope to the ridge above. On the ridge,, we heading back south following the ridge up and down, mostly up to it’s high point at 11,400 feet, 1.9 miles of hiking. Lots of unobstructed great views from the top of the many ranges in the area. Unfortunately, both the Cameron Peak and Williams Fork forest fires were creating smoke plumbs in the distance. After a brief snack, we continued to follow the ridge south and down paralleling the trail and did a quick bushwack at 2.4 miles to the trail just below, following the trail back to the trailhead. Never saw another hiker the entire day even though it was a weekend. It is a bit of drive to the trailhead and I recommend hiking both sheep Mountain to the south and Poison Ridge on the same day.
Poison Ridge trail as it enters the forested section
Back out into the open 1.2 miles
View of Matheson Reservoir
Headed South on the ridge towards the high point
High Point with Sheep Mountain in the background
Haystack Mountain
Haystack Mountain sits on the Continental Divide west of Parkview Mountain. View of its South side from Troublesome Creek area.
8/8/2020
Haystack Mountian Northeast Ridge
3 miles round trip (out and back)
1563 feet elevation gain
Trailhead: We headed out of Tabernash, west on route 40, through the town of Granby, to CO route 125, which is directly across from the Windy Gap Wildlife Viewing Area. We drove north on 125 over Willow Creek Pass and down the north side to Forest Service road 106, which is also route 52. We drove west on 106 which is a nice well maintained dirt road until it dead ended into a T intersection with Forest Service road 730. If you head in this way, you will benefit from a high clearance vehicle on 730. We took a left on 730 and after climbing 2 miles it took a sharp left turn. Looking into the drainage on the right at this curve we could see an obvious trail.
Route: I have had Haystack Mountain on my bucket list since I backpacked in the Troublesome Creek Roadless Area years ago where it is a prominent sight. I finally got a chance to summit it this week. This year there are two wild fires burning west of Grand County. A 35,000 acre fire near Grand Junction over 200 miles away and a smaller fire near Glenwood Springs. We got up early for our ascent and our usually view of the continental divide was obscured by smoke. This trail is now part of the Continental Divide Trail but there is no signage and it does not show up on many maps.
Trailhead for Haystack Mountain at the two mile mark on 730. Enough room to park several vehicles off the road.
We headed up the well maintained trail for 0.2 miles where the scree field that forms the northeast side of Haystack Mountain came into view. The trail continues around the base of Haystack Mountain on the south side of the mountain. We left the trail and avoided the scree by hiking up the vegetated area between the scree and the forest on the left, which brought us to the northeast ridge, at which point we were forced to start climbing the scree field.
View of route where it leaves the Continental Divide Trail. The vegetated area where we started our route is on the left of the scree field.
There is no apparent trail going up the ridge. The scree field was steep but relatively stable and the views of the surrounding area began to open up. We climbed the scree field until we got to a small saddle where the forest came up from the south side at approximately 10,800 feet. We climbed up through the steep forest for a short section and then back out onto the scree. We could see a small cairn above us that appeared to be the top, but it turned out that the scree field rounded off at the cairn and it was a short distance more to the summit.
Smoke from the fires hundreds of miles away made for a surreal view.
Cairn near the summit with Bugaboo on the summit.
The summit at 11,495 feet is spectacular with 360 degree views of North Park, Never Summer Range, Rocky Mountain National Park, Indian Peaks Wilderness, Eagles Nest Wilderness, Gore Range and more.
View into North Park
The tentative plan of the day had been to climb Haystack and then descend the western slope that makes up the continental divide to the ridge line below. Possible following the ridge line to Troublesome Pass and on to Sheep Mountain. We peered down the steep slope. Emily felt we should descend a ridge to the south that appeared less steep. However it would take us away from the ridge line. I saw a grassy depression on the south slope and wanted to keep to our plan.
I should have listened to Emily.
We started down the steep grass slope that was quite stable and I started to feel good about my choice. The grass slope ended on scree which initially was relatively stable. This changed quickly as we continued our descent. The slope became steeper and the scree got looser. We picked our way down through the loose rocks and saw a gully with dirt and few rocks and headed to it. The reason there were few rocks in the gully, was that it was too steep to hold rocks. Our German Shepherd, Mocha, dislodged a large rock above me and it bounced down mindlessly past me. We retreated back onto the scree slope. The scree slope ends above a cliff band about 20 feet high. We carefully traversed the loose and shifting rock above the cliff band and finally down onto the ridge line below where the slope leveled out.
At this point we decided to abandon our original plans and hike down to the Continental Divide Trail that appeared on our map below us. Using the GPS on our phone we bushwhacked down and located the trail. It is an excellently maintained trail that wanders through the forest and through some of the biggest aspen trees I have seen. Someone has spent a lot time maintaining the trail. Near the saddle where the trail meets the ridge line on the east side of Haystack, there was an avalanche path that had taken down a dozen trees. The trail would have been impassible but fortunately someone has spent a lotto time with a chainsaw and the trail is open. Thank you to who ever worked so diligently on this trail. At the saddle, the trail spilt and the right path continued up the ridge to the east towards Parkview Mountain. We headed left and down, a short walk back to our truck.
If you are looking for a climb with great views and solitude, this is a hike for you. we did not see another soul the entire day. The best route would be to climb to the summit and then reverse the route back to your vehicle. A nice three mile round trip. Do not head down the west face whatever you do, I will never repeat that descent and I’m glad we made it without a serious injury, just a few scratches. .
Columbine Lake
Columbine Lake is a beautiful alpine lake sitting in the west cirque of Mount Neva. It is a popular hike starting at the Junco Lake trailhead.
8/10/20 Columbine Lake from Junco Lake Trailhead
6.4 mile round trip
1000 feet elevation gain
I usually look for a hike with solitude but this is not one for that. We were looking for a close hike that we could do before we headed down to the Front Range. Columbine Lake fit the description. Heading north on US 40, we turned right onto CR 83. As soon as we rounded the private pond on the right, we took a left on CR 84. We wound our way up to Meadow Creek Reservoir. You need a recreation area pass to park at the Junco Lake trailhead so stop at the kiosk and get a pass. The Junco Lake trailhead turnoff is at the east end of Meadow Creek reservoir and is well marked. The last few miles of the road is full of potholes. People bring all types of cars to the trailhead but you will be happier in a high clearance vehicle if you have one. Your dogs will need to be leashed on this one. There is a small cabin at the parking area where the Forest Service often stations a ranger on the weekends.
The trail starts as an old jeep road full of rocks, there are smoother paths to the sides of road. In a downpour this road turns into a small river. In the early summer this hike is quite wet. You pass the High Lonesome trail cut off almost immediately. The road climbs up to an old ruin of a cabin and slowly narrows and smooths out to the border of Indian Peaks Wilderness at 1.4 miles where it becomes a nice trail.
The trail follows Meadow Creek until it turns to the left and starts to climb steeply up the hillside. After a switchback, you see the Caribou Trail cut off and the trail becomes less steep. This a a very well maintained trail that will take you over several log bridges and across a marshy meadow where there is a stepping stone path. After the meadow the trail climbs steeply up a path that follows the stream coming out of Columbine Lake at about 2.8 miles. This climb is steep but only lasts 0.2 miles where is rounds off, winds around a few large standing water ponds (mosquito breeding grounds), over some lovey rocks and ends at the lake. My Garmin app showed a total round trip distance of 8.1 miles but I trace the route at 6.4 miles. It didn't feel like 8 miles.
Stone path across the marshy meadow
Headed back out
Parkview Mountain
Parkview Mountain at 12,296 feet is the highest Moutain in the Rabbit Ears Range. The summit hosts a small historic fire lookout built in 1916 and still usable as a shelter. Parkview Mountain straddles the continental divide and is on the border of Grand and Jackson counties. It sits southwest of Willow Creek Pass with easy access from CO 125.
July 31 2020
Parkview Mountain Traverse Southeast Ridge to Northeast Ridge
11 miles round trip
2875 feet of elevation gain
Emily, Anna and I got a late start on our adventure and did not hit the Parkview Mountain trailhead until 09:45, which is a bad idea when planning to be above treeline for a good part of the day. In addition we were not set for a speed climb. I had broken my right great toe four days earlier, and Anna, my daughter, had just come up from Memphis which sits 338 feet above the sea. But the skies were clear and we got underway.
The trail starts as a decommissioned jeep road, which was initially steep but then settled down into a mild steady climb up for 1.8 miles to Forest Road 750. We then took a left on Forest Road 750 and after 0.4 miles we came to a split in the road. Going straight went downhill and going right headed uphill.. After a bit of debate, we elected to take the uphill branch, which was correct and took us to the eastern cirque of Parkview Mountain after another 1.8 miles. It is possible to drive to the cirque on the forest service roads, but you would miss a lovely warmup walk of 4 miles.
We followed the jeep road into the cirque. It made a switchback and then quickly faded into a well established path which faded into a series of cairns as it climbed its way up the south end of the cirque, steeply onto the southeast ridge (The southeast ridge is in reality an east ridge but often referred to as the southeast ridge). The last part of the climb onto the ridge did not have any cairns but the way was obvious. The southeast ridge is steep and somewhat loose. There is no obvious path but the ridge was well defined.. We continued to climb the ridge and after one false summit, the ridge rounded off..
Anna on the lower left with Radial Moutain in the back ground
From there it was an easy spectacular walk to the summit. Crows soared at eye level, 360 degree views, and a few scattered clouds.
The wind was blowing steady on the summit. We explored the old fire lookout that was open, ate our sandwiches on the leeward side protected from the wind. Took in sweeping views of the town of Rand, Ruby Lake, Never Summer Range, Indian Peaks, Byers Peak, Ute Mountain, Eagles Nest and more.
We then started our decent down the northeast ridge. We passed a trail coming up from the west and continued on the ridge proper. Initially there was a faint trail but it faded into nothing. My toe began to hurt as it pressed into my boot and I changed into a pair of sandals which alleviated the pain but were a poor choice for the somewhat steep loose decent. As we descended the clouds began to build and look threatening. At 11,600 feet just below a false summit, we left the ridge and descended the south face back to the jeep road. The slope was steep and very loose. We slipped and slid our way down and were happy to be safely back on the road. I would not recommend this descent, the ridge proper appears to continue down to the road and the next time I hike this route I will explore this option. From there it was a casual stroll, reversing our route back to the car.
BTW, we were lucky with the weather, start early and be safe.
Blog Post Title One
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Two
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Three
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Four
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.