Palmer Park, Colorado Springs, CO

The Oasis in the Middle of Colorado Springs, CO

Location:  Palmer Park sits right in the middle of Colorado Springs.  There are two entrances to the park.

To the WEST entrance: take Fillmore east, just past the major intersection at Union Blvd; you will see some medical office buildings, and then the golf course on the left.  Turn LEFT onto Paseo Rd, just at the end of the golf course.  It is a small street, but the sign is clearly visible.  Paseo winds past the golf course, through a residential area, and right into the park.  The actual park entrance is gated and marked by signs.

To the EAST entrance:  From Academy Blvd, turn WEST onto Maizeland.  There is a large park right there at that intersection, that’s the east end of Palmer Park.  The entrance is about 250 yards up on Maizeland, also gated and marked with signs.

What you need to know:

The only restrooms are at the west entrance.  There are picnic tables in several areas, but there is no water available, so make sure to bring your own.  Pets are welcome, in fact there is a dog park near the east entrance.  Wear good sneakers, and bring your mountain bike if you have one.
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Arthur’s Rock at Lory State Park, Ft. Collins, CO

Highlights: A fine spring hike to summit the granite crag overlooking Horsetooth Reservoir, Ft. Collins and the endless plains. During a moist spring, wildflowers are abundant.

Location: West of Ft. Collins, CO, about 50 miles south of Cheyenne, WY.

Elevations: Trailhead, 5,600’, Top of the Rock, 6,780’.

Distance: 1.7 miles one way

Map and Guide: “Colorado State Parks: Lory” pamphlet. The map and fine trail descriptions are also online at http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/Lory/Trails/LoryTrails.htm

Trailhead: Take I-25 south from Cheyenne, exiting at Wellington. Follow Colorado 1 west and south, making a right on N. College (US 287). In just 1 ½ miles go straight to Laporte. (From here you can follow the “Lory State Park” signs except for the last turn. That sign is gone.) Turn left at Vern’s Liquor (52E), then left at the Bellevue Store (23) then 1.4 miles and right on 25G. Continue 1.6 miles, turning left into the park. After paying your entrance fee at the visitor center continue south through the park to the last picnic area.

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Huston Park Continental Divide Trail

Highlights: This hike is a resplendent walk along the Continental Divide Trail where it weaves together a succession of verdant meadows, each a vast, rich, colorful carpet of wildflowers rimmed with pines, rising and falling along the gentle crest of the southern Sierra Madre Mountain range.

Location: West of Encampment, Wyoming in the Huston Park Wilderness area of the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Elevations: Red Mountain Trailhead, 10,067′; high point, 10,500′, Pipeline Trailhead, 9, 190′/

Distance: Entire trail through Huston Park Wilderness is 13.5 miles one way. The hike is out and back as far as you wish to go.

Maps: Forest Service brochures “Medicine Bow National Forest Continental Divide National Scenic Trail” and “Huston Park Encampment River Wilderness Trail Map”, Medicine Bow National Forest Map, USGS quads Red Mountain, Solomon Creek

Guide:Marc Smith’s Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest – Third Edition

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New Food For Hikers and Hunters

New Food for Hikers and Hunters: Pouches is the Word

I guess I’m kind of a traditionalist. I’ve been eating the same stuff on the trail and in camp for thirty years. Freeze dried meals. Crackers. Salami. Cereal. Cheese. Some jerky. Raisins. A Snickers bar being the big treat. That is, until last spring.

We were mapping a portion of the Continental Divide trail in New Mexico. Matt was a young buck from the east with all the best gear. Joe, a rock, newly back from service with the infantry in Iraq. Grizzled Michael, a 25 year veteran of the Forest Service, fighting fires across the west.

Sitting down to eat was like opening your brown bag in elementary school. As I unwrapped mine I glanced around. What do they got?

Man. They had stuff I’d never seen. By day two I was salivating over it. By day three it was clear there was going to be no trading. I carried no food currency. At day five I was asking questions. Almost all of this grub came from a grocery store. It was not only better than my lunch, it was probably cheaper.

So here’s what’s new in outdoor, lightweight, belly-filling food. Pouches is the word.

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BLISTERS: How to Prevent and Treat Them

BURNING BLISTERS

Nothing can turn the Sound of Music into the Batan Death March faster than blisters. The sure footed hunter or hiker can be reduced to a tender foot, limping, hobbling home.

The scientific formula to produce a blister goes something like this: Friction + Pressure + Heat + Moisture + Tenderness = Blisters. In other words, increasing any of the above, friction, pressure, heat, moisture and tenderness will increase the odds of blister formation.

So what can be done?

1. Decrease friction with shoes that fit well, tied properly. The heel should be snug enough to stop slipping, possibly using a runner‘s loop at the ankles. The padding of good socks helps. Known trouble spots can be covered with moleskin in advance. Duct tape is OK if nothing else is around but it doesn’t stick too well as feel sweat.

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Horsetooth Rock, CO

Highlights:  A short, pleasant, early season jaunt to the top “tooth” of this Front Range hogback, giving generous 360 degree views of mighty peaks, great plains and deep blue waters.

Location: Just west of Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Elevations: Trailhead at 5765`, Horsetooth Rock, 7256`.

Distance: Approximately 5 miles round trip, about a 3 hour walk.

Guides: Larimer County’s “Horsetooth Mountain Open Space” brochure; Caryn & Peter Boddie’s Hiking Colorado II.

Getting There: From Cheyenne, WY, take I-25 south to Harmony Road exit (#265), then west on Harmony.  Past the intersection with Taft Hill Road follow the signs to “Horsetooth Mountain Park“.  Harmony becomes CR 38E, climbing up to the Horsetooth Dam and then around the south end of the reservoir.   A large, well marked and well appointed parking area is on the right, about 58.5 miles from Cheyenne.  Daily permit is $6.  Toilets, water, picnic tables and free maps can be found there.

The Hike: Two trails begin at the north side of the parking lot.  Take the one on the right, signed to Horsetooth Rock.  There are what at first appears to be a bewildering number of trails in this 2,711 acre preserve.  Thankfully they are very well marked with steel posts.
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The Gap: North Gap Lake Trail, Sugarloaf Recreation Area, WY

Highlights: It’s the season for a foray into the Snowy Range, the high country of the Medicine Bow. This trail takes day hikers through the gap between Medicine Bow Peak and Browns Peak, past several crystalline lakes into the expansive tundra behind the range. The fish are jumping and the flowers are high.

Location: The high point of the Medicine Bow range, west of Centennial, WY.

Elevations: Trailhead 10,800′, high point 11,120′, Deep Lake10,500′.

Distance: 3 miles each way.

Maps: Medicine Bow National Forest (note the inset); USGS Medicine Bow Peak, Sand Lake quads; Forest Service pamphlet “Snowy Range Trails.”

Guide: Marc Smith’s Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest – Third Edition
Getting there: From Cheyenne, take I-80 west through Laramie to exit 311. Follow Hwy. 130 west continuing 11 miles past Centennial. Turn north into the Sugarloaf Recreation Area and continue for a mile to the Lewis Lake trailhead. Be prepared for a parking fee and a crowd.

The Hike: The North Gap Lake Trail (#108) begins above the Lewis Lake shoreline with a good perspective of the peaks and Sugarloaf Mountain. Within a quarter of a mile the Lost Lake Trail branches to the east. Stay to the left and begin your gradual ascent to South Gap Lake, nestled against the white quartzize of the range. As you reach the gap the view broadens to the vast lake district left by the glaciers of long ago.
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Savage Run, Medicine Bow National Forest, WY

Highlights: A walk across the length of the 1st Wilderness Area in the Medicine Bows, established in 1978. The trail passes through three distinct areas. The first is through one of the few remaining old growth lodgepole forests in the area with huge trees and a park-like savannah in between. The second crosses some large wet meadows, filled with sunshine and life. The third and final is a long ramble along the tumbling Savage Run as it makes it’s way through the deeply forested, v-shaped valley.

Location: On the western slope of the Medicine Bow Mountains.

Elevations: Trailhead 9,400′, Forest Boundary 7,725′

Distance: 9 miles from end to end, one way

Maps: Medicine Bow National Forest, USGS Overlook Hill & Keystone quads

Guide: Marc Smith’s Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest – Third Edition, Erik Molvar’s Wild Wyoming, Forest Service pamphlet “Savage Run Wilderness”

Trailhead: From Laramie take WY 130 west to WY 11 south to Albany. Here WY 11 becomes FS 500. Continue west about 14 miles on this long gravel road past Rob Roy Reservoir to FS 500.3A. Turn to the south and continue 1 ½ miles along this rocky track to the trailhead and parking. A high clearance rig is advisable for this last bit. Cars can park just off the road.

The Hike: The trail begins in the desolation of a clear cut but then steps into a magical forest primeval. This is the way the Medicine Bows must have looked when the first trappers entered the Native Americans’ world, before the loggers claimed it as their own. Majestic lodgepole pines are widely spaced, the floor open, the brush cleared by fires that barely licked the trees. Take some time to wander in these woods.
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Headquarters Trail, Sherman Mountains, Medicine Bow National Forest, WY

Highlights: A mountain trail that follows the spine of the Sherman Mountains, traveling through conifer forests and open meadows, passing rugged rock formations with frequent expansive views.

Location: Near the summit rest area of I-80, on the eastern side of the Pole Mountain Unit of the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Elevations: Summit Trailhead 8689′, high point 8856′, south trailhead, 8376′

Distance: Three to four miles, end to end.

Maps: USGS Sherman Mountains West quad; Medicine Bow National Forest Map

Guide: Marc Smith’s Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest; Bill Hunger’s The Hiker’s Guide to Wyoming.

Trailhead: Take I-80 west from Cheyenne about 37 miles, exiting at the summit rest area, exit 323. The Summit Trailhead is to the right on Forest Service 705 just beyond the rest area parking lot. (If you’ve hiked it before you’ll see that the trailhead has been moved about a quarter mile further to promote revegetation of the old trail.) To reach the south trailhead turn left from the I-80 exit on Happy Jack Road (WY 210). Continue five or six miles, turning right on FS 707. The trailhead is about two miles on your right and is well signed.

The hike: This is a well marked (with posts) and well maintained National Recreation Trail, blazed originally in 1868 by William Lovett. It is surprisingly wild in spite of being so close to the interstate. From the Summit Trailhead the route climbs a little, then begins its journey along the side of the rocky granite ridge of the mountain. After about a mile the route divides, with the right fork going out to a grand overlook. The trails come together and travel through ponderosa pine forests, aspen glades and open meadows. Browns Landing is a broad park worth exploring. Brown was an outlaw road agent who kept his hideout here prior to the coming of the railroad in 1869.

The trail enters the trees briefly before it makes its steep plunge down the west side of the mountain. It drops 480 feet in three quarters of a mile bringing you to the south trailhead. This trailhead is at the edge of what once was the Pole Mountain Military Reservation Headquarters.

Pointers: You are not likely to find water along the trail so you will need to carry all you need. This place can be very hot in summer, so spring and fall are best. Keep an eye out for mountain bikers who use the middle section of trail, coming in from the Tie City trailhead.