Tanglewood - Rosalie Trail

Distance: 5.6 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,340 ft - 10,405 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,065 ft (net),  1,150 ft (cumulative)
Bathroom at the Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash until the wilderness boundary at 2.8 miles
Date hiked: 28 June 2014

Views of the ridge line to the south from the western side of the Rosalie Trail

The Tanglewood to Rosalie Trail near Baily Colorado is a popular backpacking route into the Mount Evans Wilderness. I had no idea of this of course until I showed up at the trailhead to find at least 40 cars in the large dirt parking lot.  It was so crowded in fact that people had started creating three rows of cars, trapping the middle row!

The parking lot

The Tanglewood Trail heads due north into the Mt. Evans Wilderness and climbs to the top of a saddle at 12,000 ft, while the Rosalie Trail cuts left and winds its way between 12,000 ft peaks before finally coming out on Guanella Pass near Mt. Beirstadt.  The junction of these two trails is 1.2 miles and 450 ft up the Tanglewood Trail and is marked by a large and obvious sign.

The log crossing over Tanglewood Creek

Tanglewood Creek is pleasant and there are plenty of places to get close to the water.

The Rosalie Trail is by far the most attractive of the pair. The Tanglewood trail is very rocky and monotonous. It reminded me a lot of North Tenmile Creek near Frisco. The creek itself is pleasant, however, and was raging with the spring runoff. I ran into several groups with very small children, who most likely popped up from the nearby campground. No one was letting their kids play by the water though.

Heading up the Rosalie Trail

While there are several bridges that cross the creek, the first crossing was on a series of logs that were slippery and filled with debris. I ended up getting down on my toosh and crabbing over them rather than try to walk on their round, slick surfaces. When there is less water in the creek, it would be possible to walk across the shallow area nearby. 

Yellow Golden Banner dotted the trail, which became quite serene after an initial steep ascent.

Looking up the hillside to the north. If you scrambled to the top, you could see Mt. Rosalie.

The Rosalie Trail starts out on an old logging road. It is wide, steep, and just as rocky as the Tanglewood Trail. It levels out however, after a half mile or so and becomes a soft dirt track through young Aspens. At other times the trail hugs an open hillside with occasional views of the 12,000 ft ridge to the south. While Mt. Rosalie is just to the other side of the hillside, it is not visible without a scramble to the top.

Another typical segment in Aspens

On this trip, I turned around at the wilderness boundary (at 2.8 miles/10,357 ft) because I had my dog with me who needed to run off leash. Since I had already hiked several miles up the Tanglewood Trail before diverting up the Rosalie Trail, that was fine with me as well. I would like to go further though to see if the views improve. Note, that it seemed to me that the location of the wilderness boundary was a little further beyond what is drawn on the Trails Illustrated map.

A segment in willows. The trail is actually a running stream.

To get to the trailhead, drive west from Denver on US 285 for approximately 28 miles. Turn right onto CO Road 43A (at the Loaf and Jug), which quickly becomes CO Road 43. Travel 6.8 miles to a "Y" in the road. Bear left (downwards) for another drive 2 miles. At the sign for the Deer Creek campground, bear right (there is a tiny sign pointing to the Trailhead. This narrow, rocky road dead ends into the large parking lot.

The Rosalie Trail eventual descends downwards to the wilderness boundary.

With all the Aspens that encroach on the upper portion of the trail, it seems like this hike is better suitable to the fall, when the air is cooler and the colors dominate. As it is, however, there are very few trails close to Denver where dogs can run free, so I suspect I will need to return to the area at some point in the future.

Brookside-McCurdy Trail

Distance: 6 miles round trip
Elevation: 8,000 ft - 8,830 ft
Elevation Gain: 830 ft (net), 1,060 ft (cumulative)

The Ponderosa Pine Forest on the Brookside-McCurdy Trail. Ponderosa Pines (Pinus Ponderosa) have long 4-7" needles, dark red trunks, and full canopies. The tree in the right of this picture is a typical example.

The Brookside-McCurdy Trail (BMT) is a 36 mile (one-way) trail that transects the Lost Creek Wilderness. Looking for a doggie outing on a rainy 4th of July weekend, we did just 3 miles (one-way) on this trail to a pleasant outcrop overlooking the peaks on Guanella Pass. There are no killer views on this trail, but there is an amazingly open and living Ponderosa Forest, a beautiful grass-filled meadow, and a stand of old-growth Aspens that majestically tower upwards. I never new Aspens could grow so large.

The trail sign at the parking lot

The trailhead for the Brookside-McCurdy Trail is on County Road 64 near Baily Colorado. Once you get on Hwy 64 it is best to ignore the guide books and just drive until you see the rather large and prominent forest service sign pointing to a large parking area off to the left.

Flowers along the trail

There is no demarcations at the parking area to give you an idea of where you are except for a sign advertising the Lost Creek Wilderness. Don't be fooled by this sign. The wilderness boundary is more than 3 miles up the trail.

A view of the meadow. There were several hikers frolicing amoungst the flowers

We figured that this trail was so obscure, that we would have it to ourselves. This turned not to be the case. The parking lot was almost full when we arrived at 10 AM, so plan accordingly. It seemed to be a popular spot for families with small children.

Some of the old-growth Aspens

The trail itself is amazingly soft on the feet. Absent is the usual gauntlet of rocks that after 6 miles or so make one's feet ache. Instead, the trail was composed of packed earth and pine needles. We managed to walk along at 3.4 miles per hour almost effortlessly. I can envision coming back to run the trail. It seems ideal for that purpose. There are quite a few ups and downs however, so don't be surprised if you loose elevation. I calculated 115 ft one way in additional elevation gain out to 3 miles. Most of the dips are down, over, and up small streams.

The trail transitions into a Lodgepole Pine Forest. Lodgepole Pines (Pinus contorta) have very short 1-3" needles and tall, boughless trunks.

Normally, I hate walking in the trees, being the spoiled tundra-loving Coloradoan that I am, but this trail surprised me. Instead of the trees being dense and foreboding like those on Gold Hill, these trees were actually welcoming. There was a park-like feel to them that reminded me of my childhood camping in the Sierra Nevadas. The light filtering through a Ponderosa Forest and the smell of the sun-warmed pine needles will forever be Summer to me.

Elaine and Abby eat lunch while resting on a pile of rocks. You can see a peak in the distance.

Here are some milestones along our short route.... It is 1.9 miles to the junction with the Payne Creek Trail (8,495 ft), 2.11 miles to the old-growth Aspen forest (8,602 ft), 2.41 miles to the start of the Lodgepole Pine forest (8,712 ft), 2.62 miles to a defunct bridge, 2.82 miles to the turn off for our lunch spot, and 2.93 miles to the rocks where we ate (8,830 ft). Note that our lunch spot is not on the trail but is located off to the right. It should not be difficult to find but in case you have a GPS, it was located at 39° 23.638'N 105° 31.495'W.

The only view on the trail. I took this standing on a rock outcropping. There was no way to get a shot without that pesky tree in the middle.

I have no idea if the views improve farther up the trail or if there is a notable turn around point. Still, if you are looking for a pleasant and easy ramble in the woods, this trail may just fit the bill.