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

Ft Collins - Eagle's Nest Open Space r2

This Friday was supposed to be a nice day with temperatures in the low 50s.  There was still snow on the ground and I really didn't want to head too far into the mountains, so I chose to tackle the Eagle's Nest Open Space trails; Triple-bar and the OT.  Together these trails make up about a six mile loop or figure-8, depending on what you want to do.  Today, I did a clockwise loop.

The 'attraction' of the Eagles Nest is a small peak (aptly named Eagle's Nest), where there is an Eagle's Nest.

Eagle's Nest Rock (6286')

For me the other 'attraction' to the Eagle's Nest is a nice section of the North Fork of the Poudre River.  I keep telling myself to bring my fishing pole and spend a couple of hours fishing, but I haven't yet.  Here is a picture of the two 'attractions' together.

Eagle's Nest on the North Fork of the Poudre River

The hike is not too strenuous, but there are several steep areas.  Anyway, it had been a couple of weeks since my last adventure, so this was today's!  A nice, not too challenging hike.  Here are a few pictures.

Bench on the North Fork

North Fork of the Poudre

Cloud Bank

Overall Track Statistics for track RedFeather-EaglesNest r2

 Length 6.191 miles

 Start Elevation - 6054.72 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 6131.10 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 5635.96 feet

 Date of Hike - Dec 04, 2015

 Start Time - 10:03 AM

 End Time - 12:26 PM

 Total Duration -     2:22 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 1077.95 feet

 Total Descent - 1196.98 feet

 Net Ascent - -119.03 feet

 Maximum Grade - 10.71%

 Average Speed -  2.61 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 318.90 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.07 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  4.24%

Ft Collins - Big South Upper

This was the second half of the Big South Trail.  The Big South Trail is broken into two parts; upper and lower because a footbridge over the river has been washed out and the Forest Service has no plan to replace it.  The trailhead is located near Long Draw Reservoir and is about a 2:15 drive from home.  I got started a little late and didn't arrive at the trailhead till after nine, but I had all day so no worries.

I much prefer hikes that start by going up hill, then I know I will be headed down hill at the end when I am most tired.  Unfortunately this was not one of those trails.  I have to say this was one of the most beautiful trails I have been on.  There were wildflowers, various river moods, deep forest, and meadows galore.  For the most part the trail was rolling, although near the EOT there was a hefty climb out off the river, around a small peak, then back down to the river.

I started out along Corral Creek which was turbulently flowing down hill to the Big South Fork.  There was still plenty of runoff water so there were spots in the trail that were muddy and sloppy.  After about a mile, I hit the Big South/RMNP trail junction.  By going South, you can enter Rocky Mountain National Park's NW corner which has many lakes and remote mountains.  However, I turned north. I immediately encountered a nice meadow.  I saw no animals, but later in the day I met two folks from the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers that said they saw two moose in that meadow.  Bummer!

Trail Junction

Talk about tranquil, but no moose

I continued north where the trail followed the river closely.  I walked through a small meadow where the trail was marked by cairns.

Soon after the meadow I began to hear what sounded like fast water.  I encountered one of three rapid/falls on the river.  Each ended in a nice slow pool where, on the return trip, I encountered two guys fishing.

First falls

Same falls, different view

The second falls

The trail continued to meander along, but left the river and climbed along the side of the mountain for  a while.  When it again worked its way back to the river, I encountered the best part of the hike.  A long stretch of slow water that would be an excellent place for lunch, make camp, or to fish.

Fishing Spot

Peace, quiet, and serenity

All along both the upper and lower parts of the Big South trail there are primitive campsites.  In all there are 20 different sites all marked with a single sign, which is easy to miss.

I was near the end of my trail, but the hardest part was now coming up.  The trail left the river and climbed up and over a small unnamed peak, intercepting the Peterson Lake trail and then steeply descended to the washed out footbridge.

End of the trail

I had my lunch, then turned and headed for home.  I got back to the truck in plenty of time to make it back down the hill, so I decided to make a couple of sight-seeing stops along the way; one at Peterson Lake, the other at the Poudre Falls.  I even stopped to drop a fishing line in the water.  No luck, oh well.

Peterson Lake

Poudre Falls along Highway 14

Finally, I headed down the mountain to meet my wife for dinner at Olive Garden in Fort Collins.  All in all a great day!

Overall Track Statistics for track Ft Collins - Big South - Upper

 Length 9.978 miles

 Start Elevation - 10098.62 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 10098.62 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 9259.15 feet

 Date of Hike - Jul 17, 2015

 Start Time - 09:13 AM

 End Time - 01:59 PM

 Total Duration -     4:46 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 1855.02 feet

 Total Descent - 2031.23 feet

 Net Ascent - -176.21 feet

 Maximum Grade - 13.87%

 Average Speed -  2.09 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 424.97 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  2.87 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  6.95%

Ft Collins - Big South Lower (success)

 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

Rolling

Turbulent

Placid

Falling

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!

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.

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%