08/12/01:
I left the Uncompahgre National Forest this morning looking halfheartedly for some more trails. From Ridgeway all the way to Purgatory is a terrific drive with bald mountain peaks and walls offset by steep slopes heavily forested with blue spruce.
I found myself back in Durango and stopped at Wal-Marts for no particular reason except maybe to get some meat. Looking at the atlas I decided to head into the San Juan National Forest and check out Vallecito Reservoir. I made a wrong turn and found Lemon Reservoir instead. I had been looking for Florida Road in Durango which would have led to Lemon Reservoir but gave up.
After exploring Lemon Reservoir I got straightened out and found Vallecito Reservoir 10 miles away. The right side of this lake is all National Forest Land while the right and top sides are almost all commercial. I was disappointed that a lake this remote had so much development. It does however, have some great background. I only found one free camping area on the right side and one free access point on the left. It's not worth it drive all the way around the lake from one to the other.
I got to my campsite (7900 feet) just as the boomers started.
08/13/01:
Last night the boomers lasted for more than an hour with no rain. Then the boomers stopped and it rained for an hour. Go figger! Today is overcast with a 70% chance of rain. I took the opportunity to do chores back in Durango. About the time I got to the campsite again the rains came. Pretty heavy too. Well, maybe better luck tomorrow. Saw a flock of about 20 Canadian Geese on shore by the reservoir. Found East Creek Trail on FR 852.
08/15/01 Paddling Vallecito Reservoir:
Yesterday was nothing but heavy rains until later in the afternoon. Took a walk up FR 852 and spotted an 8 point mule deer buck, another with a smaller rack, one with two velvet prongs with little nubs on top. Made him look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
This morning the skies finally turned blue and still in the 60's at 9:30am. I put in from the launch at Graham Creek Campground and turned north in to a 5mph wind. 30-40 nearby Canadian Geese seemed mildly disturbed by my activity. On the way to the launch I passed 4 grouse like brown birds weighing 2-3 pounds.
Vallecito Reservoir is about 4 miles long and 1 mile wide and is surrounded 360 degrees with heavily forested hills and slopes. The north end is 6-7 rugged mountain peaks backed by more mountain peaks and ridges still with patches of snow here and there and fronted by forested hills and slopes. One marina and lodge are at the southwest end. More lodges and another marina at the northwest end and another at the northeast corner. Even so, it's a very pretty lake.
I brought along bathing gear but the water was too cold for my more sensitive parts. My water thermometer measured 65 degrees but it seemed much colder. Maybe it was that high because I had to hold the glass since the top of the thermometer has worked itself loosed. This is a very clean lake. I saw no debris at all even though 5-10 fishing boats were out this Wednesday.
I found a lot more Canadian Geese at the north end along with a bunch of ducks, some coots and even two blue herons. Later on I saw a family of 7 loon like ducks? They had the general shape of a loon. Their heads and necks were also black but their bodies gray and flatter. Couldn't find anything similar in the bird book.
The wind shifted and increased to 10mph on the way back. The lake became lumpier with wind waves approaching 1 foot. An hour of that had my bum shoulder starting to ache so I called it a day. This was one of the prettier lakes I've been on, mainly because of the background.
08/16/01:
Last night in the 40's. Some big boomers but little rain. Drove down to Lemon Reservoir this morning without any luck. The road was too rugged at the spot I thought I could put in and the banks to steep and rocky with an additional carry. The campground was even closed and under construction so I couldn't launch from their boat ramp either. I expect to be up in the mountains the next week or so so back to Durango to do some food shopping.
Passed a llama farm with about 25+ llamas and several, what I assumed to be, yaks. Similar but much shaggier. I also passed some of the few long horn steers I've seen out west. I didn't think to take a picture. By the time I got back to the campsite the thunderclouds moved in and things got their daily dowsing.
08/17/01:
Saw the same four grouse things when I left Vallecito Reservoir this morning. The closest I could come to them in the bird book was prairie chicken, ptarmigan or grouse but they're all supposed to be in the prairies, not the mountains.
Drove the 60 odd miles down to Navajo Lake in the Southern Ute Indian Reservation on the Colorado/New Mexico border. I knew it would be at a lower elevation and more arid than I want but I had the time. I stopped at the Navajo State Park (Piedra River Area). They wanted $4 for a boat launch and $6 for camping. Couldn't find the boat ramp although there's places to launch from the banks. Wouldn't want to be caught in there when it rains. Nothing but deep, muddy roads. No facilities of any kind that I could find. I purposely didn't follow the lake into New Mexico. I'll do that another time from down there. The far side did have mountains sitting back some distance but the near side was moderately developed.
Driving back up Co 151 to CO 160, I turned west for 5 miles or so to First Fork Road and access to the San Juan National Forest. I followed this dirt road 6 miles to the Sheep Creek Trailhead and FR 630 on the right. A short distance brought me to an open field with scattered Ponderosa pines (and cow crap). The pines should bring late afternoon shade and the 7600 foot elevation keep things on the cooler side.
A local was up there looking for turkey sign (crap) in preparation for next month's hunting season. He indicated in addition to turkeys, these mountains hold lots of elk, deer, bear, mountain lions and bobcats. He said I had just missed seeing a small, black bear sow and two cubs down the road. Instead of black, the sow was more of a tan color.
08/18/01 Hiking Sheep Creek Trail:
I woke up after 6am because the truck was rocking? A young (cow) bull had wandered near and apparently couldn't reach some grass under the truck and was trying to move the truck by pushing with its head. I soon discouraged him from that activity. Last night in the 40's but up to 60's by the time I dragged my butt out of bed.
Looking at the Sheep Creek Trail on the atlas I could see 2 contour lines, each 300 feet, leading down to Piedra River. Hoping for lots of switchbacks I started down the steep trail. No such luck. The switchbacks were almost non-existent. The first steep pitch dropped me over 300 feet. Then a quarter mile or so of fairly level terrain followed by more steep pitches with some more moderate stuff. 20-25 minutes later when I got to the bottom the GPS showed a 700+ foot drop in elevation. I had already decided if there was no trail by the river I'd just hang out a while and start back up.
I brought bagels along but forgot my water. No wonder the pack was so light.
I could see the trail following the river both ways so turned upstream, which was probably up hill. Up stream, up hill, get it? This section of the Piedra River is less than 100 feet wide, only a couple of feet deep and runs 4-5 mph or better. Nice class II standing waves and some small holes with not too much rock. A little further upstream the water became a little thin though. Different sections of the Piedra are considered good paddling, ranging from flat water to class IV.
Walking through lots of Ponderosa pines, some kind of scrubby oak, conifers and bushes with red berries ripening, I soon came to a campsite with two tents set way back from the river. Right next to the river was the camp fire and cooking area and further upstream I saw their food cache firmly tied in a tree way off the ground and away from the tree.
Just past the campsites the trail petered out. I spotted a fat marmot sunning itself on a big rock. At the same time I saw a mule deer and a cow just beyond. None of them were happy to see me. The marmot dived for a cleft in the rock while the deer and cow climbed a steep hill via separate paths.
I followed the deer's path up the hill. 2/3 of the way up I glanced across the river and saw my first black bear in the wild. Well, the second if you count the semi-tame sow and three cubs in the Smoky Mountains. This guy was sitting on its butt with legs splayed out apparently ripping up an old rotted log looking for grubs and such. I could see him clearly but he was too far away for a picture. When I aimed the camera with extended lens I couldn't even see him.
After a couple of minutes it headed down the steep embankment for a drink of water. I moved down my slope too, trying to get closer. I didn't worry about being heard because the noise of the river would drown out any I made. There was little wind so he wouldn't smell me, rank though I may be. But apparently he caught a glimpse of me because he wheeled around and scrambled back up the hill. At the top, he stopped turned around and squatted down on his haunches to see what it was running from.
I had hidden myself behind a tree and had the camera out with lens extended and snapped off two quick shots of him sitting there and then he was up in the trees out of range. He may have been in the shade when I took the pictures and he may still have been too far away. If he shows up at all he'll probably look like a chipmunk in the photo.
He was about 2 1/2 feet tall, pretty black with a tan area across the back of the shoulders and neck and weighed 150 pounds, maybe 200. Standing he might have been 5 feet tall but squatting on his haunches he was closer to 4 feet. I think it was fairly young because, while it appeared well fed, it didn't have that round look I associate with black bears.
I was able to follow him as he wandered along the river for a ways hoping he'd try for another drink of water but he finally disappeared further back in the woods. Now I know why the campers had their food caches stored so high.
The fat marmot was back out on his rock and the deer was drinking at a small pool on my return. I watched her for a while before continuing on. In addition to lots of deer tracks I saw some large elk tracks and one mountain lion track with 4 round toes and a big heel pad. I guess that track was close to 4 inches.
I followed the trail back to the Sheep Creek Bridge that's closed because of major damage from a flood. It still crosses the river but its just barely hanging there, one side up and one side slanting down. I didn't want to go there anyway. That's where all the steep stuff is moving up another 1200 feet and I still had to climb back up my side. I continued another mile or so along the river, sat down on a rock and just daydreamed for 30 minutes or so.
The 700 foot decent and taken me 20-25 minutes to come down. It took me 45-50 minutes to climb back up with frequent rests. I didn't want my heart rate to go all aflutter as it did on the 4WD trail in Ouray. This part of the trail was about 3/4 of a mile.
08/19/01 Hiking Piedra Trail:
I expected to do the Coldwater Creek Trail but then I found too many people camped along the trail. So I switched over to the Piedra Trail, even though the map showed an ascent of 900 feet or more. I started out at 8:45am in bright sunshine and the 60's.
A 100 foot climb along the horse trail brought me to a view of the Piedra River, still less than 100 feet wide, still a couple feet deep and still fast flowing with lots of rocks. For the next hour the trail followed the river upstream maintaining a 100-150 foot level above the river. Slopes rose on the other side of the river for a couple of thousand feet or more. All heavily forested with blue spruce and Ponderosa pine. Some stone walls and crags are visible here and there.
I found tiny little blueberry bushes along one section of the trail. They were ripe too but I didn't have anything to put them in. I was surprised to see a Spanish moss type plant clinging to tree trunks and dangling from limbs. It was everywhere, more a greenish than the grayish color of Spanish moss.
After an hour I came to a fork in the trail. The right fork led down to several campsites. I took the left fork, mainly because I could see the lone horseman I'd talked too earlier on that trail. The trail led upwards and away from the river. After 20 minutes of climbing the river noise had faded and finally disappeared. I decided I must be on the wrong trail. Half way back I met a 35-40 year old father and 13-14 year old son with fly rods. They said it was the right trail and that it started back down after a ways. They took off, and they were moving up that trail pretty well. I followed along behind at a more moderate pace.
30 minutes past my original stopping point I was still climbing. The body still had it but the mind gave out. I guessed I'd risen 400 feet and come 3 miles. The GPS said 600 feet and 2.5 miles when I turned back. I got back to the fork and turned towards the river. I found a nice shady spot, had a nice lunch and nap while listening to the roar of the rapids. Then I returned to the truck.
08/20/01:
I could have spent several more days back along First Fork Road and several more weeks in the area. I want to start working my way north though, so I can get to the Rocky Mountain National Park area before the snows fly. Another factor is the pile of broken window glass where I'm camped. Either someone locked themselves out or someone broke into their car. So, I'm off to somewhere, I dunno where. Probably work my way up through Vail and Aspen areas just to see what they're like. Just heard on the news where houses are going for $15 million in that area.
I panicked three female turkeys on the way out. I tried to warn them hunting season begins next month but they didn't seem concerned. Maybe they're expecting a special Thanksgiving invitation.
CO 160 turned really pretty on the other side of Pagosa Springs. Big, tall rocky crags and peaks and a steady climb upwards. I got stuck for 1/2 hours near Wolf Creek Pass where they're doing a lot of blasting to widen the road or reduce rock slides or something. Lots of fly fishermen along this stretch too.
I swung north onto CO 149 at South Fork. I'd been in the Rio Grande National Forest for sometime. This part is a big, miles wide valley floor giving way to rolling hills which in turn give way to rolling mountains that are only partially forested. Lots of guest ranches, lodges and weekend homes dotted the valley floor. Other than a few 'for pay' campgrounds there didn't seem to be many camping opportunities and the hiking doesn't look very interesting either. I'm camped at 9600 feet (gonna be a bad night for sleeping), even after descending 1000 feet on switchbacks. A nearby tiny stream with strong class II currents will help keep me awake too. The water's really moving through here. I think this is North Clear Creek.