Boulder Lake Hike

A beautiful sunrise ushered in the day as five hikers met at the designated meet site.  Transportation was decided quickly when Joe offered to accommodate everyone in his vehicle.  Despite the early morning commuter traffic, we made good progress getting to the west side of Denver and I-70.

Mother Nature shows her good side to open the day.

We made a brief pit stop at the Conoco Service Plaza, north of Idaho Springs, then it was on to Exit #205 at Silverthorne.  There, we followed Rt. #9 north 7.7 mi. to Rock Creek Road.  This dirt road became more and more crowded with exposed rocks and pot holes as we made our way toward the TH.  One large recess in particular extended the width of the road and was a few car lengths long.

Being cautious, Joe stopped to consider a course of action.  Images on TV of vehicles stranded in flood water flashed through my mind.

NOTE:  Four images were added to this article on 10/17/13.

Would we be forced to park on the side of the road and walk to the TH?  I remembered being faced with a similar situation myself, a few years ago.  I slid out of the vehicle and tossed a stone or two into the pool in an attempt to gauge its depth.  Then a piece of tree route was spotted.  Using it as a kind of dip stick, a few pokes in the water as far to the middle as possible proved the water was less than 6" deep.  Behind the wheel, Joe now felt confident he could move through the water and on to the TH.

We didn't know it at the time but the early part of the day for both Ed and I was far from routine.  At the meet site, Ed indicated he had overslept.  I later learned, he had set his alarm to wake him in plenty of time.  Problem was, the clock was set on p.m. not a.m.  Arriving just before 7, he was obviously stressed because he was forced to compress his normal hiking day routine into a few precious minutes, then deal with pre-dawn traffic.

Add to that we both had no time for breakfast.  We both broke a critical rule for hikers...we didn't pack a map.  In addition, I broke a critical rule for photographers...I didn't pack a fully charged backup battery.  After one click of the shutter,  my camera was dead.

My routine was further demolished due to an accident one week earlier.  My truck is in the repair shop this week, thanks to a guy who was distracted by his cell phone while ramming me from behind at a traffic light.  That meant I would be out of bed extra early today so my wife could drop me at the meet site before 6 a.m. on her way to 9 Mile Station.

While sitting on the curb, sipping coffee, waiting for first light to cascade across the horizon, I spent time watching people come and go from the gas pumps across the parking lot.

Was the man in the BMW a doctor, a teacher, or an attorney?  Was the woman in the SUV, who pumped gas in her bare feet, on her way to the office, and couldn't bare to slip into heels until she was forced to.

A white pickup with a cracked windshield, and loaded with landscaping gear and machinery coasted by me. I did a double take to calibrate the number of passengers I thought I first saw in the cab.  Were there three or four people in that pickup plus the driver?  I'll never know. What I do know is how uneasy I felt sitting there as the driver backed into a parking space outside the service station, then turned off the engine and headlights.  Were all eyes in the pickup looking at me sitting a short distance away?  For ten minutes nothing around or inside the pickup moved.  Then the driver started the engine, and the pickup and all it's passengers headed for Parker Road and their first job of the day.

Finally, the guy in the rusted out Buick Cutlass...after clicking the lever on the gas pump to automatic...strolled around his vehicle admiring the things he was most proud of...over sized tires and chrome wheels.  Was he beginning his workday at Kings Sooper down the street or was he on his way home after a night of partying?  Based on the odd sounds coming from the vehicle as he sped toward Parker Road, I wondered if the vehicle would die in traffic before he reached his destination.

In one hour, I experienced a random slice of our society, not soon forgotten. 


I had been to this TH in the summer of 2011.  Wildflowers were in full bloom.  The Gore Range had provided the extraordinary landscapes one might expect to see in a remote area like this.

But this was early October.  We saw large areas of snow on the higher slopes during the ride on I-70 and on approach to the TH.  The question was, how much of the white stuff would we encounter on trail?

The Gore range is a magnet for camera buffs.  This time of year, Aspen groves proudly display their unique patchwork of bright colors.  One more reason to get into the Colorado back country.  The image below is but one view from one spot.

View of the Gore range.

There are no facilities at this TH (9,487').  The dirt parking area can accommodate a handful of vehicles and there is limited space in which to maneuver large SUV's.  As we slipped into our boots and cinched down our day packs, I felt a sense of quiet optimism that this would be a day filled with adventure.  None of us had any idea of the type or degree of adventure we were about to experience? 

Rock Creek TH is located on the eastern border of Eagles Nest Wilderness.  A wilderness covering an area of 13,496 acres, and 180 miles of trails.  It is part of the massive White River National Forest, consisting of over two million acres and in excess of three thousand square miles of rugged back country.  



THE HIKE:

Cool yet comfortable air greeted us as we secured boot laces and cinched day packs.  The sun helped  moderate the effect of cool morning temperatures on exposed skin.

Trail bed was stable until we decided to go off trail, testing our adventurous side.  Sections of loose and exposed rock on trail would not be a problem, and did not affect our pace.  A few sections of trail that were shielded from the sun, were in fact snow covered.  One to two inches of the white stuff at a few places added a small degree of concern in terms of safety and stable footing.  Areas of melted snow that had refroze was limited.  Nobody considered packing a pair of  Ice Cleats (YakTrax) either today.  I would recommend that you take a pair for the remainder of hikes this year.

With no map to verify that we were where we wanted to be, and a spotty memory on my part, we blew by the clearly marked trail junction that would have taken us to our destination...Boulder Lake. Was I that mesmurised by the raw beauty and scope of rugged terrain of the Gore Range.  This spectacular alpine valley along the Rock Creek drainage is arguably one of the most inspiring hikes this hiker has done in Colorado.

Jagged snow-covered peaks of the Gore range stretch as far as one can see; a pile of abandon mine tailings (debris) peaks through the pines at far right; in foreground, thick alpine grasses cover the slopes.

We found ourselves among a series of piles of abandon mine tailings.  Trail leading through old  mining claims can be tricky.  A well defined path can slowly fade out or simply dead end (we experienced both today), leaving the hiker to check his map...yeah right...to confirm his location.

It's obvious we missed the junction (a mere .4 mi. from the TH) leading to Boulder Lake and we are now more than 1.5 mi. beyond that junction.  Boulder Lake is north of us but in order to get there we must climb the slope behind us.  We are at 10,250' and the ridge above us tops out at over 11,150', but we don't know it, because there is no map.  What we do know is what we can see...a steep rocky and grass covered slope.

View of the Gore Range from trail.

We decide to start climbing.  Progress is slow, as the mounds of mine tailings fade into the trees below.  Now past noon, it is increasingly important to allow adequate time to get back to the TH.  The better part of the last hour has tapped much of our energy.  We had not reached the top of the ridge, so we never did get to see exactly how close we were to the lake.  We would have had to bush whack at least 1.5 mi. farther after reaching the ridge line, in order to get to Boulder Lake.

A large porkupine was spotted making it's way through the forest.

Instead, we traversed an area below the ridge looking for a spot to make our descent and relocate trail.  The thought of returning down the same slope we had just climbed a short distance behind us didn't necessarily put good and safe thoughts in mind.  We had been bush whacking for the past hour+, the morning was gone, and if we listened through the crunch of dry leaves under our boots,  some empty stomach grumblings could be heard.  It was past noon.   

Making our way down slope through a combination of under brush, areas of rock scree, tufts of alpine grasses, and downed trees, the group became separated.  Two would stop on a pile of tailings.  The remaining three would come out on trail below.  Communication was made between the two groups via whistle to locate everybody.

One of many scenes from trail throughout the day.

Knowing all members were safe and close, both mini groups selected a spot to have lunch.

Soon, all five of us were reunited where we first left the tailings before making our ascent.  We were on trail and headed for the TH.


Total Estimated Miles = 5.2

Total Estimated elevation Gain = 1,570'