09/01/05 Missouri Lakes Trail (8 miles round trip):
My water was a little crunchy this morning camped at 10,000 feet. It was still in the 30's at 9:15am when I hit the trailhead. This is a moderate trail in that it gains 1400 feet in 3 miles. Most of the trail follows Missouri Creek which is quite attractive much of the way because, while small, it cascades down through a narrow crack for a mile or two.
About 3/4 mile a waterfall appears tumbling over a rock wall that seems to be fed from nowhere. When you climb a little higher you then see a small pond which in turn is fed by the Missouri Creek. Holy Cross Wilderness Area is entered on the other side of the pond and along with the first of several Missouri Creek crossings, all but one of which has a bridge. The one without a bridge is very narrow with lots of rocks. In fact I sat on a rock in the middle to admire a small water fall trickle over mossy rocks with flowers entrenched on top.
The trail is rocky, many ledges and small outcrops and roots requiring lots of stepping. While I had to exert extra effort, that made the trail more interesting. I was climbing one outcrop when my hat brushed against some branches. Not knowing what the noise was I thought some monstrous critter was crashing down the slope to eat me. I was already huffing and puffing from the climb and that extra shot of adrenalin almost did me in.
Half way up I entered a small meadow with views of the encircling ridges all around. It took me 2 hours to climb to 11400 feet and the first of the Missouri Lakes. Those big cirques and ridges I saw from the meadow were now right up close on the other side of the lake.
Another larger lake is just over a hill. I wandered around the lakes for 30 minutes and then had lunch before starting back. I could have gone on to Missouri Pass which looks down on the lakes but I didn't feel like the extra 500 feet and extra mile.
09/03/05 Whitney Lake Trail (5 miles round trip):
40's this morning at 8:15am as I hit the trailhead at 9150 feet. I knew it was 2.5 miles to the lake but I didn't know it was also 1900 feet. I huffed and puffed my way up 1400 feet in a 1.5 miles or so but I thought surely the lake was just over the next rise... not so. I kept going and going and was wondering if somehow I got on the wrong trail.
Finally, there it was. Another pretty lake surrounded by steep, forested slopes backed by ridges and crests. When I checked the GPS and saw I had climbed 1900 feet I was shocked. I had been having difficulty on the climb and thought I might have to go see a doctor or something. Glad to know the extra strain I felt was because I was climbing higher than I thought. On the way back I paid particular attention to times to determine if the stated distance might be wrong but they seemed to tie out to my downhill speed.
09/04/05: Homestake Resrvoir:
Nothing much to do on this overcast Sunday on a Labor Day Weekend so I thought I'd check out Homestake Reservoir to see if maybe there was a path around it to walk. I had been to the end of the Homestake Reservoir Road (FR703) and started up the access road before but that road looked like it might deteriorate on the way up so I backed off.
Several cars were parked at the bottom where I also parked this morning. I climbed a steep road for about .5 miles before reaching the dam. My van probably could have made it up but I'm being much more conservative these days after having gotten stuck 2 or 3 times way, way out in the boonies.
Several more SUV's and trucks were parked at the top. I didn't see a soul and have no idea where they went, unless they were bushwackers who just wandered off up the cliffs. No path to walk here. The reservoir is situated in a canyon with walls rising 150 feet or so on either side.
I walked across the dam and got a good view towards the end of the reservoir. It didn't look to be more than .5 miles long and 100 yards wide. It would have made a very pretty but very short canoe or kayak day trip. Very nice views way off into the distance in the other direction too. Miles and miles of steep slopes and valleys and mountain ranges merging into each other. I continued to the other side and went down a gated access road on that side and on back to the fork where I'd parked the van.