000 Anneliese’s Continental Divide Trail Pages Page Eleven - Today’s Date is 24 July 2003

My CDT Hike 2002

August 31 - September 1 - Grizzly Lake It was Labor Day Weekend - typically considered signaling the end of summer. Rob wanted to visit a work colleague in Steamboat Springs. After a stop at the Farmer's Market in Parker we headed out via I-470 to I-70 and then Hwys 9 and 40 to Steamboat Springs. Before Steamboat Springs we drove the designated CDT route from the intersection of Hwys 40 and 14, following 14 to FR 103 to FR 700. Because of private land ownership the trail here has you hike for 10.2 miles on busy Hwy 14, not exactly an ideal situation. Once you turn off onto FR 103 you're hiking on a gravel road. I only encountered one car when I hiked this segment earlier but did not see any potable water sources on this segment. The mileage on the odometer pretty much matched the mileage given in the guide book. We spent the rest of the day visiting with Rob's friends and walking around Steamboat Springs. The next day we made our way back to Parker via Buffalo Pass and Route 14 to Fort Collins where we picked up I-25. At Buffalo Pass we hiked the 4 miles south to Grizzly Lake on the CDT. It was a lovely fall day with a hint of the coming of winter in the air. This trail segment is open to equestrians and motorized bikes and we encountered several of the latter. The sky was its usual deep Colorado blue, there were a few white puffy clouds and at times a little bit of a breeze. We had lunch at an unnamed lake and then continued to hike to Grizzly Lake before turning around and retracing our steps. As we were hiking I was planning on doing before too long the now missing 13.4 mile segment from Grizzly Lake to Hwy 40.

September 21 - Hermans Gulch Trail to Jones Pass It was one of those days where I just took my time in the morning. I needed to make a stop at the post office and then at the Farmer's Market. Finally I got on the road and headed for the mountains. My destination was Herman's Gulch Trailhead which is directly off I-70 at Exit 218. There were lots of cars at the trailhead and when I started hiking it was almost 11 AM. The trail started out steep and rocky through a forested area with the hum of traffic from I-70. To my surprise the noise of the highway was soon replaced with the pleasant sound of a pretty good running stream. After about 1.5 miles the trail winds through subalpine forest and subalpine meadow. When a junction is reached, the trail to the left goes to Herman Lake and the right fork continues as the CDT route. At this point the views are quite spectacular. The CDT route takes you up over a saddle, back down and then steadily makes its way up to the Divide and over to Jones Pass.

After the trail junction I only saw one other hiker. It was a young woman with a British accent and she was practically crying and very happy to see me and also happy to see the trail. Apparently she had followed a faint trail to a summit and then ended up in forest and without a trail at all. I took many "catch your breath and look around breaks" as I made my way up and up. Once on the ridge it was much colder; the wind had really picked up, and I even walked through several patches of snow. As I was laboring uphill and coming around a bend I saw several mountain goats. They were as surprised to see me as I was to see them. I was able to capture them on film before they disappeared around the other side of the peak.

At 3 PM I turned around to go back because I was planning to meet at my friend Hilde's condominium in Silverthorne for dinner. In the meantime the blue sky had been replaced with very threatening looking dark and fast moving clouds. I hurried back down the trail, often being pushed along by the strong wind. I hiked this segment because I had chosen an alternate CDT route earlier this year but wanted to see what this segment might be like. My reaction is that this segment would be difficult or even impossible to hike early in the season. During the summer months this is a terribly exposed segment to be hiking on. The thunderstorms in Colorado are quite severe and it would not be easy to retreat to a lower elevation rapidly if caught on the Divide during a storm. The terrain is rocky and steep with spectacular views in all directions, but is not a good place to be in during inclement weather.

September 28 - 29 - Highway 40 to Grizzly Lake The account of this hike is being written from (poor) memory July 9, 2003. I believe I had written this diary last year but something happened when I sent the copy of it to Campy - he didn't receive it - and I kept putting off the re-write. On the morning of Sep 28 I set out to participate in a trail crew work trip on a segment of the CDT at Herman Gulch. There was to be the installation of a bridge by the US Forest Service, using a crane, etc. When I arrived at the trailhead I found out that the equipment was not in place and therefore the group was doing trail work on the CDT North of I-70 up Herman Gulch. Since I had been itching to hike the segment between Hwy 40 and Buffalo Pass (Segment 3) I decided to move on and head toward Steamboat Springs. Since this was a spur of the moment thing (although I had packed food and my pack and camping gear) I had not made arrangements for a shuttle. When I got to Steamboat Springs I stopped at the home of a friend but since no one was home I decided to just hike in and out which would mean a 26.8 mile round trip. I only needed to go to Grizzly Lake since Rob and I hiked from Buffalo Pass South to Grizzly Lake a couple of weeks earlier (see Aug 28 - Sep 1 above). The first part of the trail is on FS 311 until Base Camp TH. Although it is a roadwalk it really is not too bad. Essentially, the trail is directly on the Divide and undulates gently. The scenery is pleasant enough with open meadow areas and groupings of Alpine Fir trees. There is SUV traffic but it really isn't constant and if you need a ride to Steamboat this may be a way to get one easily. I did not see any CDT markers but rather a TH sign that says "Trail 1102". I truly enjoyed the peacefulness and quiet of this area and decided to make camp earlier because pretty close to the trail at Elmo Lake was this wonderful sheltered campsite next to the Lake under some big majestic trees. There was no one around except me and a few ducks on the Lake. It was a very special place to be at, so serene and beautiful. As the stars came out and light was reflected on the lake I felt truly blessed to be able to hike and enjoy scenery many people will never see or even imagine exists. The next morning I got up early so that I could complete my mission and get to Grizzly Lake and back to my car. As I was hiking it started blowing and getting colder and colder and finally it began to snow. The big flakes covered the trail quickly and I was debating if I should turn around, rather than make it to Grizzly Lake and turn around then. I decided to go for it and it was so different from the day before. It was grey, cold and very windy, and when I got to Grizzly Lake it surely looked different than when Rob and I had been there Sept 2, only 4 weeks earlier. I had a quick lunch and then turned around to head back to my car. I felt good about having accomplished my goal and the miles I did this year on the CDT. As I was trekking back to my car I was already planning how I could perhaps finish the remaining CDT miles in CO in 2003 while holding down a full time job. Now that the snows are finally melting in the high country I hope to hike from Hwy 149 to Wolf Creek Pass in Aug and hopefully from Buffalo Pass to the WY border before the hiking season is over.

||| Return to Index