Hiking to Upper Cascade Falls, Ourary Colorado

** Video link at the bottom of post **

I had visited Ouray several times, but until July 2016 I had only seen the lower Cascade Falls.  I had not hiked up to the Upper Cascade Falls and Chief Ouray mine.  The abandoned building of Chief Ouray mine can be seen high above Ouray to the east above Lower Cascade Falls, but Upper Falls can not be seen from town.

The trailhead is located in the Amphitheater Campground at the southeast corner of the parking lot and the campground is in the southeast corner of the town of Ouray.  The trail is well marked and easy to find.  There are other trailheads which intersect the trail.

Trailhead is easy to find

The trail meanders through the forest and begins to ascend up the side of the mountains with a series of switchbacks.  The trail starts at 8,475 feet and reaches 10,000 feet prior to making it to the falls. 

Early on the trail

An interesting grove on the trail

With an elevation gain of 1,525 feet in approx. 2.2 miles the trail is considered moderate-strenuous.  The views of the San Juan Mountains and the town of Ouray from the trail are awesome.

Looking south from the trail

The trail never gets above treeline, but the trees do thin out allowing great views of the area.  About 2 miles in the trail makes a sharp turn at the edge of the mountain, which is the high point of the trail,  and begins to descent to the falls.

The trails turns sharply just past the rocks on the right and descents to the falls.

It was not long after the switchback I began to hear Upper Cascade Falls and soon the falls came into view. 

First view of the final crest of Upper Cascade Falls

After spending some time at the falls I continued on the trail with a slight elevation gain to the abandoned equipment building of the Chief Ouray mine.

Chief Ouray equipment building

 The old building was surprisingly sturdy and it was obvious hikers had visited a lot.  I hike a little past the building stopping to enjoy a picnic of trail mix and turkey jerky while soaking in the peacefulness and views.  I hiked down the same trail and never saw another hiker.  I enjoyed the solitude.

I highly recommend the hike.  It is worth it.  Check out the video below slowing a lot more from the hike.  Please also visit the video on Youtube where you can like, share, comment and subscribe!

Watch video on YouTube

Life sure can get hetic!

It has been almost six years since my last post.  I could try to enumerate all the reasons I have not posted, but at this point it does not really matter.  I am just glad that I can once again post about "Taking it outside."

Lake in the Sangre de Cristo mountains near Cuchara, Colorado

During the years I was still able to do some camping and hiking.  I had some great trips and purchased some new gear, I just did not find or take the time to post.

Hammock camping is awesome!

Trinchera Peak (13,517 feet) - Colorado

I am now in position to be much more consistent with posts on campgrounds, hikes, gear, restaurants...  I hope all the info will be useful and interesting.

 Hummingbirds at North Park KOA near Gould, Colorado

Mystic Falls Trail in YNP

According to Yellowstone.net there are over 1,100 miles of hiking trails in Yellowstone National Park.  Considering that YNP encompasses 2.2 million acres I have no trouble believing the claim.  I was fortunate enough to hike a little over 12 miles of those trails in July 2010 - only 1,088 miles to go!

The longest hike was to see Osprey Falls near Mammoth Hot Springs. - See earlier post for review of the trail.

The second hike was the Mystic Falls Loop.  The trail begins at Biscuit Basin which sit on the northern edge of Upper Geyser Basin, which is home to the iconic Old Faithful Geyser.

Probably the most recognizable geyser in the world.

We parked our motorcycles at the Biscuit Basin parking lot and viewed the numerous geysers and springs that the boardwalks surround before hitting the trail to visit Mystic Falls and Biscuit Basin Overlook.  We saw Sapphire Pool which looks so inviting, but at 200+ degrees Fahrenheit is not the place for swimming.

Sapphire Pool is so clear, looks like a natural swimming pool. 

After looking at the other geysers and springs we started the trail on the west side of the boardwalk loop and quickly entered the pine forest.  We passed an information board that the trails from that area including the much longer Fairy Falls Trail and Summit Lake Trail.

The trail forks about 1/8 mile after leaving the boardwalk.  We choose to go right (counter-clockwise), but afterwards I wish we would have taken the trail clockwise.  The sloping is not as steep on the way up and the views descending would have been better in my opinion.

Map of some trails in the Biscuit Basin.

We encountered a series of switchbacks and ascended about 1,000 feet to reach the Biscuit Basin Overlook. From the overlook we watch Old Faithful erupt as well as some other geysers that also erupted.  We could see the features in Biscuit Basin, the Firehole River and most of the Upper Geyser Basin.  The view was spectacular.

Upper Geyser Basin as seen from the Biscuit Basin Overlook.

The Biscuit Basin Loop boardwalk.  Sapphire Pool can be seen.

We continued west on the trail as it ran on top of the ridge and through the forest still trying to recover from a fire many years ago.  After about 1/2 mile the trail has another fork.  To the right/west the trail goes to Fairy Falls.  We took the left fork and turned south towards Mystic Falls.

The trail continued on the ridge.  The effects of the fire is still visible.

The Little Firehole River seen from the trail on the ridge.

The trail soon begins a gradual descent. We could see Old Faithful again.  After another 1/2 mile or so we could see the crest of Mystic Falls.  We continued the trail and were able to get a great view of the entire 70 foot waterfall.  It was a great view.

The crest of Mystic Falls.

Mystic Falls

The trail descent a little farther and then flattened out as it continued to skirt the Little Firehole River.  The trail slows works it way slightly northward and away from the river, back into the forest and intersects the Summit Lake Trail.  We turned left and hiked past the first fork that we took to begin the hike.  Through the forest we hiked until we emerged back at the Biscuit Basin Loop boardwalk.

The hike is roughly a 3 mile loop from the parking lot and is easy to moderately strenuous.  The views are great and you will leave the crowd behind.  I am glad we took the hike.  It was really nice to see Yellowstone from areas that were not crowded and were very peaceful.

Waldo Canyon near Manitou Springs, Colorado

Just west of  Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs and right off of US 24 is a nice hiking trail in Waldo Canyon. I left my son to play with his cousins at my sister's house in Colorado Springs and drove to Waldo Canyon for a nice easy/moderate hike one October Sunday afternoon (a couple of years back) and really enjoyed my hike.

Leaving Colorado Springs on US 24 I passed Manitou Springs, which is a neat town to visit also.  The trail head was about 2 miles west of Manitou Springs right off of US 24.  I am told that on nice days the parking lot can be full.  When I parked there was only one vehicle other than mine.

Waldo Canyon as seen from the loop/trail head intersection

From the parking lot I followed the trail east as it ascended up some landscaped steps and some switchbacks.  With the trail head and the first portion of the trail near the highway it was a little noisy, but the scenery was great.

At about 1.5 I had to make a choice of following the trail east or west, either way would loop around the canyon and bring me back to this intersection.  From this part of the trail I could see Manitou Springs.  After some consideration  I headed west (clockwise).

Trail heading west a distance from the intersection

The trail was well marked and easy to follow.  The ascent was gradual.  Not long after heading west the trail took me through a lot of trees.  I enjoyed the shade.  The trail slowly turns north and then back east where the trail heads east for a good distance.

I stopped and enjoyed the silence (once down in the canyon the noise of the highway is blocked) and a snack.  There are a lot of good boulders to rest on.

From the higher portions of the trail I could see Pikes Peak. 

Pikes Peak seen from north side of Waldo Canyon

The trail crossed a small stream several time, but crossing was easy.  There were numerous birds along the way and evidence of deer in the area.  The views of Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs were great.  The leaves were changing and the splashes of yellow & red were really beautiful.

The trail is less than 7 miles (6.8 according to this site).  Elevation gain is around 2000 feet.  I am not a expert hiker, but I would consider the trail easy to moderate.  I did enjoy having my trekking poles with me.

This short trail is a nice get away with some great views.  I think it is well worth the drive up US 24.  If you decide to take the trail in the morning leave early and drive past the trail head to Woodland Park and enjoy breakfast at The Hungry Bear.  You will have a great hike after an awesome breakfast.

Hiking Pikes Peak

There are two hiking trails, that I know about, to the summit of Pikes Peak; the Barr Trail and the Pikes Peak from the Crags Trailhead. The Barr Trail is 13 miles one way while the trail from the Crags is 12.5 round trip. I chose to hike Pikes Peak from the Crags which is on the west side of the peak while the Barr Trail is on the east side.

I left my sister’s house in Colorado Springs around 4:30 a.m. and drove US 24 west pass Pikes Peak to Woodland Park. I stopped and grabbed a couple of nutritional bars for breakfast. I continued west on US 24 to Divide and then turned on CO 67 towards Victor and Cripple Creek. 4.3 miles later I turned left on a gravel road that took me to the Crags Campground where the trailhead is located. On the way I passed Mueller State Park on the right and to the left was a ranch and a sign for the Rocky Mountain Camp and Crags Campground (3.5 miles). The trip was about 30 miles total from Colorado Springs.

The trailhead begins on the northeast corner of the parking lot and it was well marked. I made sure I had plenty of water, food, trekking poles, sunscreen, and other necessary items for a big day hike. I had read that the elevation gain would be 4100 feet. I did not measure it with my altimeter, but I bet that is accurate.

The sun was just starting to rise, but the mountain kept the west side dark and shaded for a long time. The trail ascended about .1 mile before it split to the left for the Crags Trail or to the right to Pikes Peak. Before the split on the left there are three pipes sticking out of the ground. 100 more feet and the trail divides. Turning right the trail descended and crossed a steam via a split log bridge and then turned left and ascended for over a mile with very little change of direction. As I was walking up that portion of the trail I saw a mule deer at a small stream, once he saw me he paused and then took off. I crossed the small stream several times. I suspect in the spring and early summer there is a good amount of snow melt making the stream bigger, in July there was very little water.

The trail suddenly turned left and then back right and the trail will cross an opening that looks like an old road. The timberline is visible to the north. The trail reentered the trees and began a series of switchbacks that ended above the timberline. Before reaching the timberline I saw a couple of Dusky Grouse (later I discovered that they are known to be in the Rockies, but are not commonly seen). The trail continued up the ridge to the east/southeast. This part of the trail is the second most difficult part with the final 500 feet being the most difficult. During the first part of the hike I could see the Crags for which the original trail was made. Once above the timberline I could see the entire Crags area and Mueller State Park. The vistas were awesome!

At the top of the ridge Pikes Peak is visible and still over 2 ½ miles away. The trail turned northeast and then east on a small road passing between a series of huge boulders. The trail turned north again, goes through the parking lot of Devil’s Playground (12,000 ft  - so named because of the way lightening jumps from rock to rock during thunderstorms), crosses Pikes Peak Road and turns southeast beside the road for about ¾ mile.

From a natural lookout area at about 13,000 feet I could see in all four directions. To the East I could see Colorado Springs and Lake Moraine. To the North I could see the Manitou reservoir, Woodland Park and Pikes National Forest. When looking west I could see Sentinel Point (12,527) and Mueller State Park. Looking South I could see Sheep Mountain (12,397 ft), Bighorn reservoir and Wilson reservoir.

The trail became very faint as it turned east through rocky tundra and to the north of Little Pike (13,363 ft). Little Pike is to the right of the trail, steep cliffs are seen off to the left and Pikes Peak is straight ahead. ¼ mile past Little Pike the trail becomes very steep as it becomes more like rock climbing. Big sharp rocks lead up to the summit and the visitor’s center parking lot, the end of the trail.  The views are amazing.

On my way back down to the car I passed a heard of Big Horn sheep.

With any hike in the mountains one should be prepared. In the Rockies there will be cool temperatures and windy conditions. Thunderstorms can arise at anytime. The trail I took is snow covered in late fall to early spring. Be prepared for changing weather conditions and enjoy a great trail to the peak that inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write “America the Beautiful” in 1893.

Jeeping in the San Juans

My brother-in-law had been telling me for years how much fun and invigorating taking a jeep ride over the mountains in the San Juans near Ouray was.  I decided to do just that during our annual motorcycle trip this past summer (June '09).  The guys and I rented two jeeps and tried it out ourselves.

We stayed 3 nights in cabins at the Ouray KOA, which is a great campground in a very pretty and quite area just north of Ouray.  We rented the two jeeps at the campground and picked them up at 4:30 on Sunday June 14, '09 and returned them before 5pm the next day.

We left the KOA around 8 after breakfast and headed into town.  We stocked up on snacks and drinks, after all there is not a Burger King on the Alpine Loop. :)

We drove south out of Ouray on US 550 for about 3+ miles and turn left on Country Road 878 a.k.a. The Alpine Loop.  We left the nice paved road and began a day long adventure. (Photo of 1/2 our group as they round a corner on the Alpine Loop)

Within the first 2 miles we hit some pretty big (by this amateur jeepist's standard) rocks and it was pretty rough, but became much better quickly.  The vistas were great.  To the south of the road snow covered Tuttle Mountain was visible.  (That is the picture at the top of the blog.)

The trail continued to ascend up the mountains and we passed several abandoned mines and cabins including Mineral Point that was founded in 1873.  Soon after passing Mineral Point we ascended above the timberline.  Snow patches were plentiful and the higher we went the more snow there was.  Snow melt made the road muddy in places and fed the mountain streams and falls.

Mineral Point as seen from the Alpine Loop.

Another abandoned mine on the loop.

The closer to Engineer Pass the colder it got and the muddier the roads were.  Prior to Engineer Pass there  is a big pull off area named Oh! Point.  There was plenty of room to park (room enough for our two jeeps, ten 4-wheelers that arrived from Lake City on the east end of the Alpine Loop with room to spare). The view was spectacular.  From Oh! Point we could see Engineer Pass and the road that continued east.  (See the next photo)

We continued to Engineer Pass (12,800 ft) in spite of one in our group who was having a difficult time with the sheer drop offs and narrow trails.  At the pass we were rewarded with an amazing view, cold winds, a lot of snow and the thrill of making it to our destination.  We enjoyed the moment and took several photos.

(Here is a link I found on Youtube of jeeps going to Engineer Pass that can give you an idea of the trail.)

We back tracked passed Oh! Point and headed to Animas Forks, an abandoned mining town.  Animas Forks is a great ghost town and is at elevation of almost 11,200 feet. Several buildings are still standing.  We walked around and in buildings. There is a lot history there.  Animas Fork at one time had a newspaper known for being printed at the highest elevation for any newspaper.  A record it still holds.

We continued west through California Gulch surrounded by snow.  At times the snow banks on either side of the trail were 8-12 feet high!  We passed Hurricane Peak (13,447 ft) and drove through Hurricane Pass and continued pass Red Mountain 1(12,592 ft) and down the appropriately named Corkscrew Gulch. (photo on the right was taken at the beginning of Corkscrew Gulch)

At the end of Corkscrew Gulch we come to US 550 and head back to Ouray.  This was my first jeep outing in the mountains, but it will not be may last!  My rating of the Alpine Loop and jeeping around the Ouray/Silverton area is:                                   

Ft. Parker - near Mexia, Texas

Getting away from the Dallas/Ft. Worth metromess is always a treat.  It is great to get away from the traffic, the noise, the air pollution, and the light pollution.  Texas has many great places away from the big metropolitan centers to visit.  One such place is a small historic Fort Parker State Park just south of Mexia, Texas.  - Map

Fort Parker State Park is one of two area historic sites connected to the 1836 abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker, mother of the last Commanche Chief Quannah Parker.  The other site is the Old Fort Parker Historic Preservation.

The state park has 750+ acres of land and a 700 acre lake on the Navasota River.  The heavily wooded area is home to a variety of wildlife including raccoon, opossum, deer, coyote, squirrel, and a wide range of birds.  The lake is a popular site for canoeing and fishing.

Most campsites are shaded and many are heavily wooded on at least one side.  The park is away from the state highway so it is a quite campground.  We set up our camp on site 12.  It had a nice flat area for the tent, a fire ring, and a picnic table.  The showers were about 100 yards from the site and the pier was about the same distance.

We enjoyed two nights of fine campfire cooked food, quite evenings around the fire, and unobstructed views of the stars (we had to walk out from under the trees, but there was no noticeable light pollution).  On the second day camping out we visited the Old Fort Parker Historic Preservation in the morning and in the afternoon we went on a short hike in the park.

After breakfast we drove 3.7 miles to the Preservation (map).  The Old Fort Parker Historic Preservation is a 37.5 acre park that was rebuilt in 1967 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  This is the actual site of the abduction of Cynthia Parker.  We visited the visitor center and gift shop after touring the fort and viewing the cabins.  When touring the fort we were able to climb the blockhouse and look over the top of the fort walls.  It was quite enlightening to see how the fort was constructed and how the defenses were arranged.  My son and his friend really enjoyed it.

Once back at the park the boys, my friend, and I decided to go on the short hike to the Fort Parker Lake spillway.  The Springfield Trail Loop was about 3miles.  The trial winded through the forest tracing the northeast end of the lake.  There was not much change in elevation.  There were two different piers we walked out on to view the waterfowl and the lake.  Once at the east end of the lake we viewed the spillway and then proceeded to the end of the trail where there is a natural spring.  We backtracked for about 0.2 miles and then the loop took us north and away from the lake.  We crossed fields with wildflowers and Texas shrubs.  We did notice deer tracks, but saw no deer.  The loop took us to the Springfield Cemetery where there are some very old graves, including soldiers from the Civil War.  The trail then continues back to the trailhead.

The park is very simple, but a nice place to get away and get outdoors.  I highly recommend Fort Parker State Park for a good camping experience.