Conifer - Staunton State Park

Staunton State Park is Colorado's newest.  I've been wanting to go there for a couple of years.  As usual this year, I didn't want to tackle snow, so I waited till May to try and tackle this one.  I finally determined that the trails were mostly dry, no snow, so this week was the week.  I decided to go on this day because we are scheduled for about a foot of snow in the mountains and foothills in the next couple of days.

The drive to Staunton is not bad, except that you must navigate Denver traffic; always an interesting experience.  I was a bit late getting out of the house, so I didn't get to the trailhead till almost 9:30.  One of the interesting aspects of this hike was that the trail maps were not as accurate as I usually have.  There were many trails that were not on the map or the map had in the wrong position.  There has been alot of work at Staunton, adding trails, routing trails differently, etc.  They are even starting to put in a campground.

I started out on the Mason Creek Trail and was immediately confronted with this sign.

First sign

I thought, 'cool', but alas no bears, no moose today. Sigh...  The Mason Creek Trail follows Mason Creek up the east side of the Elk Creek Valley.  It is a nice flowing stream with plenty of waterfalls and large meadows to enjoy.

Small waterfall on Mason Creek

Many small meadows like this one

The trail eventually moved off Mason Creek and began to climb over the ridge to the next drainage.  The first objective was an old sawmill.  As I moved toward the sawmill, it was easy to see how the area had been logged.

Logged area

It turns out that the sawmill was built in the 20's and operated until the early 60's.

Car parts @ old sawmill

What remains of the mill

The trail moves out of this draining, up and over the ridge.  I took lunch at the top of the ridge.  I had a nice view of the Elk Creek Valley and Pikes Peak in the distance.

Elk Creek Valley

The next destination was Elk Creek Falls lake.  Once at this lake, I would have to decide if I wanted to go on the Elk Creek Falls.  This was a nice, small lake with a small cabin nearby.

Elk Creek Lake

I decided to head for Elk Creek Falls.  One of the new trail additions that was not on the map was a loop trail connecting the Chimney Rock Trail with the Lion's Back Trail.  This would allow me to stop at both Elk Creek Falls and the Elk Creek Falls Overlook without retracing my steps.  The falls are on a spur trail that trail takes a steep descent, but brings you right to the base of the falls.

On this spur trail, I encountered another first.  I've seen ladders and stairs used to help people navigate steep sections of a trail, but this is the first time I've seen and used a chain. I must say, it worked great.

Chain to help descend this short section

I have to say, the climb down and back out was well worth the effort.  These falls were spectacular.  The pictures and video does not do it justice.

The Elk Creek Falls Overlook required another climb and descent to another drainage.  Again, the view was awe-inspiring.

Elk Creek Falls Overlook

Zoomed in

It was time to head home.  As it was, I would be lucky to get back to the truck by four-thirty to be home by 6-ish.  The hike back to the truck required one more steep ridge climb.  I was definitely pooped by the time I got back.

It turns out that by the time I got back to the truck, I had made the longest hike of the year. so far..

Overall Track Statistics for Conifer - Staunton SP,   2200 data points

 Length 16.716 miles  :  Garmin Length 17.672 miles

 Start Elevation - 8330.25 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 9384.48 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 8070.21 feet

 Date of Hike - May 15, 2017

 Start Time - 09:28 AM

 End Time - 04:20 PM

 Total Duration -     6:52 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 3383.43 feet

 Total Descent - 3643.47 feet

 Net Ascent - -260.04 feet

 Maximum Grade - 23.00%

 Average Speed -  2.43 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.57 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 512.40 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.16 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  9.07%