A few years ago when we were out ATV-ing with the grandkids on Johnny Park road, I saw the trailhead sign for Coulson Gulch. It looked like an interesting hike, but it had been closed since the September 2013 flood. However, most of the trail is now available, so I thought it would be a good trail to tackle as a return hike.
Coulson Gulch is one of those trails that can fool you. It starts at the highest elevation then descends along a gulch to a small meadow where you can branch off and continue to descent to the Ralph Price reservoir. The fooling part is that while you go down, you feel like all is well, but you must never forget that with every down there is an up that can be hard. Coulson is like this, the 'back' is more difficult than the 'out'.
The scenery is not spectacular. The trail follows the gulch along dense forest with only a few views of the surrounding mountains and Higgins Park. Here are a few pictures.
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| The trail follows the gulch down |
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| The power of water. This refrigerator came from somewhere and got stuck in a tree |
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| Higgins Park (it is really dry) |
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| An old cabin with stove and bedsprings |
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| Ralph Price Reservoir (home of Longmont water) |
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| Typical trail conditions |
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| Trailhead |
Overall Track Statistics for CoulsonGulch, 1173 data points
Length 8.397 miles : Garmin Length 8.699 miles
Start Elevation - 7427.89 feet
Maximum Elevation - 7669.49 feet
Minimum Elevation - 6440.85 feet
Date of Hike - Nov 11, 2016
Start Time - 09:29 AM
End Time - 01:04 PM
Total Duration - 3:34 hours:min
Total Ascent - 1922.28 feet
Total Descent - 1984.12 feet
Net Ascent - -61.84 feet
Maximum Grade - 20.13%
Average Speed - 2.35 mph : Garmin Average Speed 2.43 mph
Maximum Ascent over Mile - 522.77 feet
Maximum Speed over Mile - 3.02 mph
Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 8.97%
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