Cameron - Lake Agnes

Many years ago a friend and I rode our mountain bikes along the Michigan Ditch to the Lake Agnes trail, then hiked the short distance to Lake Agnes.  I remember this as a nice outing and wanted to tackle it again, this time hiking it.  The Michigan ditch is a canal that transfers water from the east side of the Continental Divide to the west side, dumping it into the Poudre River.  I find it interesting how much work Colorado settlers have done to improve the water situation on the Front Range.  You can read more about the history of the Michigan Ditch and their other efforts here.

One of the reasons I chose to tackle this hike was that I wanted some miles, but really didn't want to climb all that much.  Since it is a canal the grade of the Michigan ditch is quite tame, so it seemed to meet the requirements.  You get on the ditch at the Cameron Pass parking area.  I got an early start since the drive would be over two hours.  Once I reached Cameron Pass, I was confronted with a sign telling me that the Michigan Ditch was undergoing an update and that the trail was closed to all uses for the rest of the summer.  Well...  There goes the idea of not so much elevation gain.  On to Plan B.

Plan B was to proceed a ways west down the mountain to the American Lakes trail, then climb back to the Michigan Ditch trail.  This would actually shorten the overall length of the hike, but would add a few hundred feet of ascent.  So, off I went.  I quickly reached the American Lakes TH and headed up the trail.  On reaching the Michigan Ditch I was confronted with this sign to my left.

More construction

And construction equipment and construction to my right.  Aargh.  Time to return to the truck and proceed to Plan C.  Plan C was to backtrack to the Crags CG and take an old logging road up the hill to the Michigan Ditch and try again.  So off I went.  Well, Plan C worked.  I finally intercepted the Michigan Ditch at about the halfway point of Plan A.

Finally on the plan

Now that I was on the trail I was supposed to be on, the hike was easy and very enjoyable.  I only encountered a couple of early morning trail runners.  In the winter this area poses moderate avalanche risk.  You can easily see places where avalanches can take place.

One of the more interesting geological formations in this area is called "Nokhu Crags".  Crags is a term used to describe steep, rugged rocks.  I think the name is appropriate.

Lake Agnes lies in a basin bounded by Mt. Richthofen, the Nokhu Crags, and Mount Mahler.  I believe it is one of the more stunningly beautiful lakes I have seen.

Lake Agnes, Mt Richthofen 

Lake Agnes, Mount Mahler

Lake Agnes outlet

Lake Agnes inlet

After a nice lunch and watching several fisherman try their luck, I decided to head home.  On the way down I followed an old flume that, I believe, diverted water from Lake Agnes to the Michigan Ditch. These old flumes required alot of work, but they have stood the test of time.

Old Flume, still carrying water

Original water tunnel?

As I was headed down a brief thunder/rain storm hit, but I was well down in the trees.  I donned my rain gear and kept going.  This area has been extensively logged so there were many short skid trails, some of which I explored, and a few abandoned logging relics.

Logging wagon

 Even though the original plan didn't work out, Plan C did and I had a wonderful day.  There are a few more miscellaneous pictures at the end.

Overall Track Statistics for Cameron - Lake Agnes p1,    285 data points

 Length 2.416 miles  :  Garmin Length 2.541 miles

 Start Elevation - 9821.00 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 10283.33 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 9798.65 feet

 Date of Hike - Jun 29, 2016

 Start Time - 09:34 AM

 End Time - 10:32 AM

 Total Duration -     0:57 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 523.98 feet

 Total Descent - 546.33 feet

 Net Ascent - -22.34 feet

 Maximum Grade - 11.77%

 Average Speed -  2.51 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.61 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 437.70 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  2.83 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  7.96%

Overall Track Statistics for cameron - Lake Agnes p2,    955 data points

 Length 7.160 miles  :  Garmin Length 7.585 miles

 Start Elevation - 9726.51 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 10633.46 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 9661.22 feet

 Date of Hike - Jun 29, 2016

 Start Time - 10:40 AM

 End Time - 01:46 PM

 Total Duration -     3:05 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 1255.81 feet

 Total Descent - 1321.10 feet

 Net Ascent - -65.29 feet

 Maximum Grade - 18.52%

 Average Speed -  2.31 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.44 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 537.73 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.42 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 10.07%

Lake Agnes outlet

Lake Agnes trail 

Road Maintenance

Indian Paintbrush?

Lake Agnes

Dismond Peaks & Hwy 14