Lost creek wilderness

I rolled back into town early Monday (now a week ago) after a great trip into the Lost Creek Wilderness. UTM his buddy Todd and I headed out to the Goose Creek trail head Saturday morning eager for a hike and a great relaxing weekend among the wilds.

The trail head was overstuffed to say the least but we managed to find a spot to park the rig and after a few last minute gear checks, we were off. The trail head lies near the northern end of the Hayman burn area (largest fire in Colorado history) from there you drop down to Goose creek among the standing dead trees that leave and eerie reminder of human idiocy.

Interspersed with the standing dead are the promise of a new forest with Aspen and Spruce and Ponderosa saplings popping out everywhere. Working your way down switchbacks to the creek itself you quickly transition into the untouched forest with the beautiful creek on your right. All the while surrounded by giant granite boulders, moss covered rocks and the pleasant song of nature untouched.

We followed the trail down a few hundred meters until we met a fork in the trail, to the right we could cross a bridge or continue going on a secondary trail straight ahead. We chose the latter and were not disappointed, after a bit more hiking we found a great site secluded from the others with great views and plenty of flat ground for our tents.

We went to task at setting up our camp and quickly took off down to the rapidly flowing creek and enjoyed exploring the creek north of our camp as well as stopping on a grand flat granite boulder for a quick nap in the sun. Returning to camp after that short hike we settled into dinner and conversation. All in all the first day and night went well with clear skies and a grand celestial display.

Sunday we rose early cooked up some pancakes and dedicated our morning to making our way to the top of a granitic outcropping where we had seen an arch the day before. With the promise of another warm breezy day we decided instead of taking the trail to go cross country and were not disappointed as we were set to scramble up and around huge boulders deep in the old growth of vanilla scented Ponderosa pines. We found numerous springs and the views south of Pikes Peak were amazing. I guess it took us about two hours to reach our goal and were rewarded with outlandish granite boulders and the smooth almost flowing terrain of rock. From the top we were actually looking down on Harmonica Arch and Goose creek all the way through the valley to Pikes Peak far to the south. From the north you could see the expanse of the Lost Creek Wilderness. An area I plan on exploring in great depth very soon!!

The trip ended uneventfully and although we did not hike a great deal we all had a great time simply being out of doors and taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of this great wilderness area.