Two Elks National Recreation Trail - West Entrance

Distance: 5 miles round trip
Elevation: 8,140 ft - 8,839 ft
Elevation Gain: 699 (net), 980 ft (cumulative)
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash
Caveats: Trail is closed after the first two miles May 1st to July 1st for Elk calving. There is a shooting range a quarter mile from the trailhead, which can be noisy.
Date Hiked: 3 July 2014
Tags: #hiking, #coloradooutdoors
Nearby hikes: Game Creek

Mount of the Holy Cross is visible from the Two Elks National Recreation Trail.

The Two Elks National Recreation Trail (NRT) near Vail Colorado is a 12 mile "short cut" between I-70 and Vail proper and Highway 24 south of Minturn. Going the entire length requires serious stamina, a car shuttle, or a mountain bike. On this trip, we were looking for a less rocky trail with minimal elevation gain since my hiking partner had broken her arm several weeks before and falling on it would not have been good despite the new hardware screwed into her bone. Two Elks turned out to be just perfect.

The parking area

The trail starts out on shaded side of the creek.

From the west side near Minturn, this trail ascends gradually along a soft dirt trail that parallels Two Elk Creek. The vegetation was so lush that I felt half-naked without a pith helmet and machete. The gulch through which the creek travels is surprisingly deep, and the trail weaves up and down, sometimes close to the water but often as not half-way up the hillside. This turned out to be problematic because the weather was hot and we wanted to dunk our bandanas in the stream to cool off. Even in places where the trail was at the level of the creek, it would have been a "Doctor Livingston I presume..." adventure to bushwhack the 10 feet to the stream.

Two Elk Creek is ever present but not always accessible.

Now on the sunny side of the creek

Because the gulch is oriented east/west, the vegetation is quite different depending upon which side of the creek you are on. The southern/north-facing side is filled with Douglas Fir and other shade-loving plants, while the northern/south-facing side is more open, filled with Aspen, green grasses and the occasional wildflower.

The trail alternates between treeless hillsides and thick foliage.

One of the more rare steeper segments

The higher you ascend, and on this trip we did not go that far, the better the views back down the valley. The famous Mount of the Holy Cross (14,009 ft) is framed nicely by the towering trees although the angle is just slightly off and the cross itself looks crooked.

Thick carpets of Boulder Raspberry covered the trail.

The most voluminous plant in the area was the Boulder Raspberry (Oreobatus deliciosus) otherwise known as Mountain Plover. While yellow in the fall, this plant is verdant green in the summer with white, ostentatious flowers. Individual plants can grow 3-5 ft tall and 6 ft wide and I think every single one of them had, they were so thick. This trail must be bear heaven in the fall in the with all the berries.

Another picture of the creek.

I have seen pictures of the trail much further up the gulch than we made it. The trees disappear and green grasses dominate. In our case, we turned around at 2.5 miles (851 ft cumulative gain) in a very pleasant stand of Aspen.

Boulder Raspberry encroach on the trail.

The Two Elks Trail is a find that I will add to my early season hiking list. In July it was too hot, but I bet in late May or June it would be sublime. Be advised, because of its length, you are more likely to run into mountain bikers than hikers. The ones we did run into were generally courteous and were NOT racing down the narrow track like they were being chased by wolves. A novelty to be sure!

The pleasant glade of Aspens that was our turn around point. Because of the thick undergrowth, there were not many places to sit.

To get to the west entrance of the Two Elks Trail from Vail, take I-70 west to exit 171 (Hwy 24) and head south. Go approximately 2.7 miles to Minturn and Cemetery Road (marked with just a typical green street sign). Turn left and cross the bridge.  Follow Cemetery Road until it crosses the railroad tracks (you'll see the cemetery at that point).  From the cemetery, continue on the road and turn right at the first fork (a single lane dirt road...rough put passible with a low clearance 2WD) and left at the second fork. You'll be weaving up and down the hillside paralleling the railroad tracks. Just before the trailhead, you pass a series of shooting ranges. They were occupied, and we did hear gun fire for the first half mile or so of the hike despite the roaring sound of the Two Elk Creek.

Darling Creek

Distance: 4 miles round trip out of a possible 12 miles
Elevation: 8,740 ft - 9,601 ft
Elevation Gain: 642 ft
Bathroom at the Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash
Date Hiked: 28 September, 2014

While Darling Creek Trail is named after the creek, it is the Aspens that steal the show.

Darling Creek is an obscure trail on the east side of the Williams Fork Range near Silverthorne, Colorado. It wasn't until I took a fall color drive on Ute Pass Road that I even knew the area existed. While the upper slopes of the Williams Fork Valley are mostly dead Lodgepole Pine, there are several small groves of Aspens and it looked like this trail might go right through one.

A small sign points the way. The trail travels around the Henderson compound.

Williams Fork in Autumn glory

Interestingly, the trail starts near a tunnel where the world's largest conveyer belt, connecting the Henderson Mine (think molybdenum) in the east and the Henderson Mill in the west, comes out from beneath the Continental Divide. The belt is 15 miles long! Who knew? Molybdenum is used in the making of steel alloys. You will have seen the Henderson Mine if you hiked Butler Gulch or Vasquez Pass.

Some junctions are well marked. Much of the trail is indistinct.

The first half mile of the hike travels around the Henderson compound and up the Williams Fork River. Here too Autumn was evident. The willows were a rusty brown and I kept expecting a bull moose to wander into view all "geared" up for the annual rut.

The first mile of the route is the prettiest.

At 0.4 miles the trail splits with the South Fork Trail going straight along the river and the Darling Creek Trail doubling back up the hillside. This segment is very rocky but filled with Aspens. The trail then travels above and behind the Henderson compound (at 0.7 miles) and heads up the Darling Creek drainage.

Could not resist another Aspen shot

Be warned that the trail is often indistinct and hikers will need to be comfortable trail finding. On the way back we got sucked off on social trail that ended up on the east side of the fenced compound and had to back track, never a fun prospect, to find where we had gone wrong.

The blue sky belies a winter storm that was barreling down on us. By the time we returned to the car it was raining.

After the mine, the trail weaves up and down the drainage never straying far from stream. At one point (at 1.3 miles) the trail crosses the stream on a bundle of round, slick tree trunks. I hate such water crossings. My balance standing on pavement is poor. My balance on such a contrivance is non-existent and I am practically paralyzed with indecision on how to move. My preference is to ignominiously scramble on all fours over such obstacles. My hiking partner was disgusted with my timidity and zipped back and forth in a vain attempt to show me how easy it was. It is at times like these that I feel that a good wallop with a hiking stick is good for the soul. 

The trail wound around several hills filled with Aspen debris.

Since a winter storm was brewing, we only went 2.0 miles up the trail. At our turn around point, the Aspens had receded and only the stark skeletons of dead Lodgepoles remained so we did not feel guilty about turning around. The trail does continue for another 4 miles.

The perilous, at least to me, log crossing

 You get to Darling Creek from Silverthorne by traveling Ute Pass Road (County Road 3) west past the Henderson Mill (where the conveyor belt ends up) until it intersects with County Road 30. Take a right and travel south through the lovely Williams Fork Valley. Just before the road dead ends at the Henderson compound, it splits and travels under the conveyor belt through two tunnels. Take the tunnel even though it looks like private land. On the other side, brown signs point the way to a nearby campground and the Darling Creek trailhead. Parking is plentiful but right next to the compound, so don't get confused. A small wooden sign points the way.

The Aspens receded and soon a mixed coniferous forest cut off all view of the sky.

Darling Creek Trail is not a pristine wilderness experience and the trail is indistinct. It will appeal to those who like to leave the crowds behind and want to experience a wide variety of scenery.

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.

Fall in the Rockies

2013 is an unprecedented year for reds

Fall has finally arrived in Summit County. Now is the time to get out and wallow in the cooler temps, blazing blue skies and red-toned Aspens.

The Lilly Pad Lake Trail (Frisco Side) is a great Aspen walk. Another great trail to try near Silverthorne is the Ptarmigan Trail.

Dome Rock

Distance: 11 mile loop
Elevation: 8,788 ft - 9,742 ft (maximum elevation)
Elevation Gain: 839 ft (net), 2,160 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: Not allowed
Bathroom at the trailhead: Yes
Date Hiked: 7 October, 2012

Dome Rock is a magnetically attractive extrusion of Pike's Peak Granite.  Just being near it will make you say wow!

The Dome Rock Loop in the Dome Rock State Wildlife Area adjacent to Mueller State Park near Cripple Creek Colorado is a long, and at times arduous trek to an impressive "Devil's Tower"-sized protrusion of pink Pikes Peak Granite. The route varies from soft dirt amidst Aspen groves, to get-your-feet-wet stream crossings, and finally to gravel strewn deer paths on steep sloping hillsides.  Because of the challenges in terrain as well as the overall distance, I can only recommend this to the hardiest of hikers. If you are not scared off but such trivialities, however, then you will love the geology, solitude, and diversity of flora that this area has to offer.

There are two trailheads. This one starts the loop heading clockwise.

The initial part of the route heads up this valley.

A quick note before you race out the door...50% of this loop is closed from December 1st to July 15th each year to protect the local Big Horned Sheep. Don't let this discourage you, however. With all the Aspens in the southern portion of the route, you'll want to go in the fall anyway.

There are two parking lots at the trailhead. Since we did this as a loop, we chose to park in the lot where we would be coming OUT and therefore save ourselves an additional 0.2 miles at the end.

The first half of the route weaves in and out of Aspens.

A typical false summit on one of the many hills

While you can take this loop in any direction, I was with a friend who was familiar with the area and she chose to take the loop clockwise so we headed due south on the Willow Creek Trail. This trail climbs steadily along a wide dirt road surrounded by Aspen trees. It weaves up and down with occasional views of the surround hillsides until it reaches its highest point at around 9,742 ft. With so many false summits along the way, you won't realize you have crested until the last ascent is well behind you.

At 3.0 miles we came to the junction of the Sand Creek Trail. I would not recommend taking this route because at the far end, the trail intersect a flooded valley that you will have to either slog across or go around. Our route will have to deal with this area as well, but in a less dramatic way. 

I need to make a comment about maps at this point. I have two maps to the area. One is the standard National Geographic Topo Map and the other is a trail map provided by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. While similar, the placement and route of the Sand Creek Trail is totally different on these two maps. Given my GPS mileage to the junction, the National Geo map is more accurate.

A Mule Deer watches us cautiously as we go by.

Many of the views from the false summits are of Aspen strew hillsides.

Trail closure sign

The junction with the Spring Creek Trail is only 0.3 miles beyond the junction with the Sand Creek Trail. There is a VW-sized sign indicating the seasonal closure dates I mentioned earlier, so it will be impossible to miss. From this point on the trail will descend and descend 2.5 additional miles through Aspens galore. At times benign, and at other times steep, this part of the route is on a narrow dirt track that is easy to follow.

Further along, walls on either side will begin to close in as the route descends through a sharp canyon. The wall on the right hand side is actually Dome Rock, but it won't be apparent until you break out into the meadow on its far western side. Other huge rock formations surround the area as well and they were quite alluring until we were far enough way from Dome Rock to turn around and bask in its immensity.

Heading down towards Dome Rock is on a more narrow rutted trail.

The valley around Dome Rock is bordered by high rock walls.

Dome Rock from the side

If you have not guessed by now, Dome Rock is impressive. Like the Thumb of God protruding forcefully from the ground, you can almost feel the magnetism of that much fire-formed granite. We ate our lunch in the meadow near the junction of the Dome Rock Trail at 6.2 miles in. This trail is not on the Division of Wildlife Map.

From this point the route travels up and over the shoulder of another large, bulbous out cropping of rock until it turns eastward for the long slog back up to the parking lot.  It is this portion of the route that things get tricky.

The first stream crossing.  This one is required to get to the meadow with the views of Dome Rock. Even in late fall it was ankle deep.

The meadow around Dome Rock.  A great place for lunch.

If you look on the map, the route crosses the stream to the southern side and then continues up the canyon. This entire area has been turned into a swamp by the local beavers and the original trail, which crisscrosses the area is under water. There is no warning signs about this, and if you follow the well trodden route you will find yourself lost, and not happy snuggling up to the buck-toothed cause of your frustrations. My hiking companion and the one couple we saw on the other side yelling at each other in "you did this to me (*%&@$#)(%!!!!" staccato sentences can attest to it.

After the meadow, the route heads up this drainage before turning to the right at its far end.

The initial rabbit tail on the left side of the flooded valley.  At times difficult to follow and at others very obvious, staying on the left side of the valley will keep you dry.

The way to escape, is to look around carefully at the first water crossing for a small rabbit trail leading off into the shrubby.  Follow this and STAY on this side of the river, no matter how tempting the main trail is and you will find your way out of the canyon. The route on this side of the swamp is at times easy to follow and at times wanders through the shrubbery. If such route finding is something you don't like, turn around at Dome Rock and retrace your steps. 

Because the water covers most of the valley floor, the route on this side is further up the hillside and therefore occasionally traverses some steep, gravel strewn terrain. While you won't fall to your death is you slip, you will come away with some road rash and possibly a twisted ankle. A hiking pole would mitigate the hazards of these segments.

Looking down into the flooded valley.  The original trail is across the water at the edge of the pine trees.

Another view of the left-hand route with bogs to the right.

At 8.6 miles you will come to the ruins of the Jack Rabbit Lodge. There is a trail junction here as well. Remember you stay straight or you will find yourself deep with the confines of Mueller State Park and very far from your car. 

At 10.4 miles is a bridge. Stay left here and you will reach the upper parking lot at 11 miles after a steep climb out of the canyon.

While I can't recommend this area to everyone, I had a blast. While fatigued and ready for a beer at the end, the unique scenery and the unexpected challenges made it all worth while.  If you consider yourself a seasoned hiker, give Dome Rock a try. The Aspens alone will wow you.

The path on a steeper hillside

Finally out of the flooded valley the route is clear sailing on a well defined trail.  It just goes UP quite a bit before you reach the trailhead.