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| Hiking | 4.52 Miles |
1,200 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.52 Miles | 6 Hrs | | 0.75 mph |
| 1,200 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Cooper Forks Cliff Dwellings
Arranged for a 7am rendezvous at the Gold Canyon "Jack-in-the-Box" off Hwy 60 where Hank (Grasshopper), Ken, Mike grabbed a coffee and headed off to Cherry Creek in search of Sierra Anchan cliff dwellings. Cooper Forks Cliff Dwellings was our agreed destination. With recent reports of high water at the Ellison Ranch crossing and an impassible washout at Devil's Chasm, I can report back that both were eminently passable. The water levels of Cherry Creek have returned to what I will call "typical". You can see evidence of extremely high water levels in the recent past by looking at flotsam and debris wrapped up the trunks of creek side trees about 3 feet!
We parked at the FR203 Trail Head and set off down the abandoned mining road trail along the north side of Cold Spring Canyon towards Cheery Creek about 11:00am. I can report that boulder hopping down the last section of Cold Spring Canyon is no longer necessary. A trail has been blazed on the south side of Cold Spring Canyon making the trek down to Cherry Creek a breeze!
Once at Cherry Creek, progress is slowed by the boulder hopping and debris from recent flooding. We slogged our way past the confluence with Pueblo Canyon and eventually found ourselves at the confluence with Copper Forks Canyon. Our destination was visible in the distance. In retrospect, the frequent creek crossings (and soakers) could have been avoided by staying on the west side of Cherry Creek.
At the junction of Cooper Forks and Cherry Creek, we found the remains of a campsite at the northeast corner, complete with fire ring and a 50 gallon steel drum barrel (how did that get there?). We found some cairns marking a faint trail up the ridgeline on the north side of Cooper Forks Canyon.
The loose scree is still as challenging as I remember from our first visit. Eventually we made it through the scree chute and the relatively straight shot across a talus slope to the cliff dwellings.
Once at the ruins, we unpacked our lunches and explored the 3 distinct ruin clusters. Sadly, the second floor from the middle cluster seems to have collapsed since our first visit. I scanned the cliffs and interiors of each room searching for evidence of rock art mentioned within the literature. I can't report having located any rock art at the site.
Having spent a good hour at the ruins, we made our way back to the trail head arriving about 5pm. Great time swapping stories with Mike, Hank, and Ken. I'm sure another trek to a set of ruins will be in the near future... |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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