July 18-24
Hiking Uncompahgre National Forest
Big Blue Creek Trail
Along on this trip: Earl, Jacob, Zachary Atnip
Well, I took a break from the kayaks and my twin 16yr olds and I went on our annual high country trip to Colorado. We have climbed a 14k mountain for the last 6 yrs in one part or another of Colorado. This year we returned to a place I have been in the past with my now 20yr old son, Uncompahgre National Forest to climb Uncompahgre, 14,309 ft. The easy way to climb this mountain is from a 4wd only trailhead outside of Lake City and gets you to within 2 miles and about 2k ft of the summit. The longer more scenic route is to start at the Big Blue Creek Trailhead, which is our path.
I am so blessed to have time and means to spend with my boys. I truly treasure these times and know they will reduce in frequency as they get older and move on to college, jobs, and of course girls. This was the first year without my oldest as he is busy with summer college coursework. The twins Jacob and Zachary are very fit with both running cross country and track so the old man has to keep up the pace.
We arrived at the Big Blue Creek Trailhead campground about 1pm July 18th and set up our hammocks and tarps as there was some thunder in the area and we noted many puddles and a very damp forest floor from the prior’s days rain. I got a nap to recover from my all night drive and the boys gathered firewood and went on a hike. Later I cooked some grilled salmon, and rice for dinner which was totally consumed by the boys in minutes.
The next morning we were on the trail by 8am with our destination tree line near the base of Mt Uncompahgre, about 9-10 miles and 2200 ft elevation gain. I had purchased a DeLorme InReach SE and turned it on when we hit the trail. Not more than 2 minutes in I get a text on it from the wife saying she could see we were on the move.
As we hiked we noted how green and wet everything was, much more than in years past. I have not seen the forest floor this wet in 20 years. We arrived at a great location right at tree line and just under 12k feet elevation. A very nice stand of trees with a stream about 300 feet across a meadow and sitting between two 13k ft peaks. You could not see the summit of Mt Uncompahgre as it was in the clouds. Just as soon as we got our hammocks and tarps set up the rain set in. After a few brief showers it let up and went scouting out the next day’s hike and looking at all the elk up on the ridges and even came up on a small heard. Back to camp we got our firewood and fire going which took the chill off a bit then got dinner started and finished. We sat by the fire until a bit after dark then hung the food and put to bed. The sound of complete silence kept me awake for a bit, not a single noise on that mountain side.
The next morning I got up about 5am and sunlight was just making its way through the upper atmosphere. I puffed on the fire a bit and got some warmth going as temps were in the upper 30s. Shortly after 7am you could tell it was going to be a rainy day with the clouds moving in and everything was socked in and we were actually in the clouds at that point. After hiking a couple of hours we heard our first crack of thunder about 9am and we still had 2000 ft to climb and about 3 miles. You could not tell what direction it came from as we were still locked in the clouds and surrounded by peaks. We sat for a bit then heard more thunder and made the decision not to make a go for the summit, just not our day. We decided to hike back to a lake called Slide Lake and spend the night. We arrived there about 2:30pm and right away put up our hammocks and tarps back away from the lake an in the trees a bit. Just as soon as we finished it started to rain and did to off and on for an hour or so. We were in our hammocks taking naps and staying dry when I heard a dog. I got out and some fellow had walked up and was about to put up his tent no more than 40ft from us. I had my red raincoat on and he spotted me once I emerged from my hammock. I guess our green tarps really camouflaged us so well he never saw us or did really look either. This was the first person we had seen in two days. He picked up his stuff and was about to move on and I told him he was welcome to stay and we could share a campfire. The boys had really made a mound of wood and we got that lit and started on dinner about 5pm. We no more than had our dinner down and then the real rain set in. It was heavy and did not stop until past mid-night, so much for that nice warm fire.
The next morning I got up and enjoyed my coffee sitting by the edge of the lake watching the sunlight filter into the valley and the bird slowly filling the air with their songs. We had only packed enough food for two nights on the trail so we needed to head back to the truck about 4-5 miles back down the valley. We were in no hurry so spent some time scouting future out of the way places to camp along Big Blue Creek for next year. That night I cooked a large amount of chicken pasta which the boys were really thankful for some real food beyond the dried meals we had the prior two nights, it is hard to keep those two runners supplied with their hyper metabolic rates. After dinner Jacob got his sling shot out and hunted down one very large jack rabbit. They cleaned and skinned that thing up in the woods later with their head lamps on and while doing so could hear something off in the dark about 30 yrds or less with some heavy breathing. They threw rocks at it but it did not move.
The next day we drove out of the valley and stopped for a day hike along a trail on the east side of the slope. As we hiked early that morning we spooked up 3-4 Grouses along the trail. After an hour or so we stopped along a stream and had some snacks and just enjoyed the sunshine, serenity and warmth. As we hiked back to the truck we decided to let Jake lead with his sling shot at the ready as we came into the meadow where we had seen the grouse earlier. Jake slowly entered the meadow while Zach and I remained in trees watching. Sure enough something gets Jakes attention and he is pulling back to take the shot. Bam, head shot kill and we have a grouse to clean. I cannot believe how good Jake is with that thing. We cleaned it and took it to the truck to put on ice to supplement our dinner later that night. We then drove into Lake City and had some lunch at a patio place, great burgers. Later that afternoon we drove a campground along the Rio Grande about 8 miles upstream from South Fork. Dinner was Dutch Oven Frito Pie with a grouse appetizer. We had a really nice campsite next to the river with some very large spruce trees right at the river’s edge, the perfect place for our 3 hammocks. After dinner and about 6 hrs of sleep I got us on the road home.
Now I am off to New Mexico tomorrow to spend a few days on the Rio Chama
Here are a few pictures from our trip.
Mt Uncompahgre in the clouds
First night camp at 11950 ft treeline
Sunrise on peaks around our camp
Some Elk we spooked
The rabbit by sling shot
My boys on the trail
Grouse Breast
Grouse in the pan
Earl