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| Hiking | 6.00 Miles |
2,251 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.00 Miles | 6 Hrs 3 Mns | | 1.05 mph |
| 2,251 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | 25 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Having done Pueblo Canyon, Cold Spring Canyon and Devil's Chasm (twice) for whatever reason we had never gotten around this one so it was about time we checked this one off our list.
Our early start from Mesa meant no traffic to deal with so arrived at the Cold Spring/Pueblo/Cooper Forks trailhead in a shade under 2-1/2 hours. Due to our early breakfast we took just enough time for an energy bar and drink and with a last equipment check we were on our way. I really wanted to take a beeline south into the canyon and follow it east to Cherry Creek, but Tracey wasn't ready for that quite yet so we followed Cherry Creek road to the intersection with Cold Spring Canyon where you go up to Cold Spring/Pueblo or down for Cooper Forks.
We followed the old mining 'road' almost all the way to the creek before taking a more direct line to the creek. It had been so long since I had read the description/triplogs and only recalled something about staying on one side most of the way. So when it looked more open on the east side we crossed at the first opportunity (where we wouldn't get wet anyway) and it went quite well. But when we reached a point of getting wet, backtracking to cross, or climbing a bit higher, we climbed and followed the cow paths along a 'shelf' above the creek. Not finding a good point to drop down we continued until it was obvious nothing looked better any time soon and turned around. But this time, not wanting to backtrack any farther than necessary we were more likely to take on a riskier descent than when we hoped for something easier. In the end, it worked out fine and we were down to the creek and hustling to the fork. Most of the climb their was a pretty distinct trail but other times there were so many different paths and scattered cairns that it was easier to find our own route.
When we got to the part just below Peak 4143 (the 'hilltop' ruin peak) instead of continuing on to the cliff dwellings we took a direct line up to the saddle just north of the hilltop, circled around and climbed up a pretty easy slope to the ruin that appeared to be more likely an observation point than long-term habitation. Took some photos here then slid down the 'river of rock' to hit the trail and continue on to the cliff dwellings.
We ate lunch at the dwellings, dawdled for a while then hit the trail. Tracey didn't enjoy all the rivers of rock on the way down (there being more along the trail than our ascent route) but what do you do but keep moving. Ok, since it had warmed up more than expected we stopped at every shade tree for a few moments.
Once at the creek, for the return trip we crossed to the west side early and stayed there all the way until turning west at the mouth of Cold Spring Canyon instead of continuing to take the same route as we did earlier. We stayed in the wash boulder-hopping up to the fence-line which we followed to the gate. From there we followed the remnants of the road up toward Cherry Creek Road. We'd both emptied our CamelBaks and the extra climbing/rambling we tacked on was taking its toll and we were feeling pretty wiped out. So once we were directly down-slope from the Cherokee we decided to shorten the agony and made a bee-line up the slope. While the hike turned out to be quite a bit more than anticipated, it was well worth the trip!
I posted some photos on HAZ, the full set is on my site as usual. No videos this trip as I was paying more attention to other things like...
1. Getting used to and making slight adjustments to my new H.A.W.G. NV CamelBak pack. Yup, after 11 years of use/modifying/patching the old CamelBak it was time.
2. Getting used to using/adjusting/changing settings on the Garmin 62st. Not that I was ready or eager to, but my 76CSX gave up the ghost the day before this hike so now it was a matter of necessity. Still not ecstatic about it but by setting it to record a point every 15 seconds the trip computer was nearly as accurate as the 76CSX was so I'll deal with it.
 you say... 
I still don't like that it always seems to keep the last point in memory for the trip computer. In this case, I turned it on and cleared the memory, but all it took was one step and it reads 43.25 miles! (which of course is the direct-line distance from home to the TH.) Man! If only it were but a 43-mile drive, I'd probably hike out here every week.
Ok, so I cleared it AGAIN and we were good to go. |
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