Broads Fork

We did a short but steep hike today. The book says it is only 2 miles up to the meadow at Broads Fork, but it seemed a lot closer to the 3 miles clocked on my Garmin.  Either way, it was about 2,000' of elevation gain in a short distance and pretty darn steep.  Another good day out on the trail.  And this trail was pretty empty compared to the Lake Blanche hike that starts at the same trailhead. Great view of Twin Peaks and Dromedary Peak.

Trailhead Elevation:  6,200 feet
Hightest Elevation:  8,300 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  2,100 feet
Total Distance:  5.86 miles
Total Time:  3:30 hours

Lofty Lakes Loop

Lofty Lakes Loop starts at the Pass Lake Trailhead.  It has been a busy summer in the Uintas and today was no exception, as we had to park in the overflow parking area.  It was a beautiful day out on the trail though.  This is a great hike with moderate elevation gain and great vistas of the surrounding mountains.  We did the loop counter-clockwise for no reason other than habit.  On this trail, we passed Scout Lake, Lofty Lake, and Kamas Lake.  Not too shabby.

Trailhead Elevation:  9,951 feet
Highest Elevation:  10,802 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  1,043 feet
Total Distance:  4.75 miles
Total Time:  2:40 hours

Ice Park Loop

For our last day in Ouray, we did the quick Ice Park Loop.  This loop is a short part of the longer Ouray Perimeter Trail that circumnavigates the entire town.  It was a nice little outing to stretch our legs before the long drive home.  Ouray has an amazing trail network and plenty of places to access the trails around the town.  And after long days on the trail, the mineral hot springs provide a nice way to relax and enjoy the view of the towering cliffs.  I can't wait to get back to this place.

Trailhead Elevation: 8,094 feet
Highest Elevation:  8,323 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  417 feet
Total Distance:  2.44 miles
Total Time:  1:15 hours

West Lime Creek

For our third day of hiking, we planned to do a high elevation hike outside of Silverton.  Unfortunately, we woke up to rain, so we had to improvise.  We drove up and over the Million Dollar Highwaay with staggering views of Red Mountain and dizzying drop offs to the Uncompaghre river gorge.  We tried three different trailheads until we found one at lower altitude where it wasn't raining.  We had a gorgeous hike in the sunshine for most of the way.  The rain and hail didn't hit us until the last mile on our way back.  Another good day to test out our rain gear.  And to test our nerves with the howling and crackling Colorado thunder.

Trailhead Elevation:  9,857 feet
Highest Elevation:  10,652 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  1,115 feet
Total Distance:  6.42 miles
Total Time:  3 hours

Upper Cascades

For our second hike of the weekend we hauled ourselves and our packs to the Upper Cascades waterfall which sits high above Ouray.  We had to change campsites (which took most of the morning) so we didn't get an early start, but the weather held out and was actually downright hot on this south facing hike.  We were able to do this hike right from the Amphitheater Campground.  This hike was a really good comparable for hiking in Nepal with an average gain of 1,000' per mile.  It was slow going on the uphill, but slow and steady worked for the day.  We didn't make it over to Chief Ouray's Mine due to some steep drop offs that I wasn't willing to cross.

Trailhead Elevation:  8,639 feet
Highest Elevation:  10,151 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  1,663 feet
Total Distance:  6.10 miles
Total Time:  3:30 hours

Blue Lakes

We spent the Pioneer Day holiday weekend in Ouray, Colorado for some spectacular hiking in the San Juans.  We are trying to focus on short and steep (not necessarily sweet) hikes to best match conditions for Nepal.  Our first hike of the weekend was to Blue Lakes outside of Ridgway in the Mount Sneffels area. While the lake wasn't all that blue, it was a gorgeous cirque around the lower lake.  Although we got an early start, the rain came earlier than expected, so we spent the last hour hiking down in the rain.  It wasn't too bad for us with our rain gear, but the dogs were thoroughly disgusted with the wet and mud.

Trailhead Elevation:  9,029 feet
Highest Elevation:  10, 871 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  1,644 feet
Total Distance:  8.4 miles
Total Time:  4 hours

Alexander Basin

Alexander Basin is a pretty steep hike up to a gorgeous cirque below Gobblers Knob.  I made it to the basin and the wildflowers were just about in peak bloom (though not quite).  I made it to the basin in about an hour and twenty minutes. There were a good number of people on the trail considering it is no easy task.  No snakes, but there were flies galore.  They were everywhere from beginning to end with no relenting. Other than the flies, it was a great hike for steeper trail training.

Trailhead Elevation:  6,928 feet
Highest Elevation:  8,925 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  1,729 feet
Total Distance:  4.5 miles
Total Time:  2:40 hrs

Lake Blanche - Partial

Lake Blanche is a beautiful lake shadowed by Sundial Peak up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  I got a late start, so had to turn around after just 2 miles in, but it was a good scoping mission. This trail provides some steep terrain that should be great training for the steeps of Nepal.  I still had another mile and about 1,500' of elevation gain to go when I had to turn around.  We'll definitely have to come back and do the entire hike.

Trailhead Elevation:  6,131 feet
Highest Elevation:  7,343 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  1,200 feet
Total Distance:  4 miles
Total Time:  2:15 hrs

Salt Lake Overlook

The Salt Lake Overlook is a nice hike up Millcreek Canyon.  This hike is the first part of the Desolation Trail that starts just past Millcreek Inn.  It was a crowded day on the trial for the holiday weekend, but a nice outing nonetheless.  The trailhead sign and hiking books say the Salt Lake Overlook is 2 miles up, but it is really more like 3 miles with lots of switchbacks.  It is a consistent uphill climb, but never too steep.  This is a good summer hike as the trail goes up a north facing drainage and there is lots of shade along the way.

Trailhead Elevation:  5,740 feet
Highest Elevation: 7,000 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  1,260 feet
Total Distance:  6 miles
Total Time:  3 hours

East Shingle Creek Lake

The trailhead for East Shingle Creek and North Erickson Lake is at the top of Upper Setting Road off of UT 150.  The total drive up is about 6.5 miles.  We parked about 2.5 miles from the top (which makes for a long hike just to the trailhead). With the long hike to the trailhead, we only made it about 1.5 miles into the hike.  Shingle Creek Lake is only about 1 mile into the hike.  We turned around at the creek crossing .  The Erickson Lakes were only another mile, but we were too tired to make it.  There were lots of biting mosquitos out.  Bring your bug spray.  Poor Riley was nearly eaten alive by the mosquitos and had plenty of bumps to show for it.

Trailhead Elevation:  8,993 feet
Highest Elevation:  9,580 feet
Total Elevation Gain:  968 feet
Total Miles:  8 miles
Total Time:  4 hours