Post date: Nov 22, 2014 4:13:49 PM
Date: 9/1/14
Adventurers: Me
Duration and Difficulty: 10 miles, long but easy.
Trailhead: Crag Crest TLHD, Grand Mesa, CO
Map My Hike Links:
Kannak Creek Trail Route
Notes: I arrived very early and grabbed a lake front spot at Eggleston Lake in primitive campground. Due to my very limited sleep the night before i elected to take a nap upon arrival and the head to the Grand Mesa Visitor's Center that afternoon. The Visitor's Center is great if you are in the market for a stuffed animal but lacks much hiking intel. I did find some helpful brochures but that was it. They didn't even have a place to fill up your water bottle, weird.
The next Day was reserved for hiking the Crag Crest Trail. It is a 10-mile loop hike atop a mesa. The views were amazing even for an overcast day. This hike was long but very easy as far as terrain and navigation go. I think I counted 15 lakes/ponds along this trail. I was also lucky enough to hike mid-week so the trail was pretty vacant except for near the visitor's center. This hike had been marked in my book for year's and my awesome husband suggested that I plan my Solitude trip around it since I'd have the time to drive across the state.
After a full day of hiking it was time to climb in my hammock and lay in the sun under my Tijuana Warming Blanket. I must have spent several hours here because it was dusk when I finally dismounted my Eno. My final hours this day were spent by the lake drawing and enjoying a bit of wine.
The next morning I packed up and headed about 10 miles across the Grand Mesa to hike a remote trail that was mentioned in one of the pamphlets I picked up. My plan had been to do the Kannah Creek Trail crag crest map my hike
which with a look back should have been about nine miles. After getting lost several times, I decided it was best to make my way back to the car since no one had any idea where I was. I'm pretty sure I heard a moose which sparked my faster than normal pace out of a marshy area. I followed game trails and checked my GPS every so often until I found the parking lot. After a quick towel bath at a nearby lake it was time to drive east to my next destination.