This was my second attempt at completing the Big South - Lower Trail. The last time I twisted my ankle about half way through. Knowing that it would probably be a long day and wanting to be almost off the trail before the afternoon thundershowers came I started early and got on the road at 530a and on the trail by 730a. As before it had rained the night before so the trail was wet. Although my ankle was still sore, I made reasonable time throughout the hike. The Big South Fork of the Poudre was running fast and furious, but made for an entertaining sound as I hiked. Interestingly, as I would walked along, I could hear the echo of the river off the large rocks faces I passed. Nothing like sounding like you were in the river.
The many faces of the river
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| Rolling |
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| Turbulent |
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| Placid |
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| Falling |
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| Awesome! |
Once the trail worked its way off the river it became more rolling with lots of trees and heavy, wet vegetation. It didn't take long for my boots to get soaked. Glad they are water resistant!
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| Argh! Wet Boots |
The end of the trail is where there used to be an old footbridge that crossed the river, but was washed out many years ago. According to all the literature, the Forest Service has no plans to replace it. Bummer.
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| EOT on Big South Upper. |
All in all it was a good hike. The ankle ended up being sore, but nothing to write home about. Next stop; Big South Upper.
Overall Track Statistics for track Ft Collins - BigSouth Lower (success)
Length 14.391 miles
Start Elevation - 8501.54 feet
Maximum Elevation - 9292.78 feet
Minimum Elevation - 8501.54 feet
Date of Hike - Jul 15, 2015
Start Time - 07:33 AM
End Time - 02:05 PM
Total Duration - 6:31 hours:min
Total Ascent - 2324.74 feet
Total Descent - 2315.26 feet
Net Ascent - 9.48 feet
Maximum Grade - 15.85%
Average Speed - 2.20 mph
Maximum Ascent over Mile - 398.43 feet
Maximum Speed over Mile - 3.02 mph
Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 5.81%
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