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| South Hardscrabble Creek Trail, CO | |
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| | South Hardscrabble Creek Trail, CO | | | |
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South Hardscrabble Creek Trail, CO
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| Hiking | 3.94 Miles |
425 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.94 Miles | 1 Hour 55 Mns | | 2.09 mph |
| 425 ft AEG | 2 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Colorado Trip September 2022 - Day #1 (Hike #2)
South Hardscrabble Creek Trail (Formerly Forest Service Road 386)
Since our first hike (Round top Mountain & Peak 10175 was just a warm-up, on the drive back we turned onto Forest Service Road 386 where we had noticed a "Hardscrabble Trail" sign (of which I had no information on prior to the trip) so we might as well check it out.
And what did we find? Not much!
Forest Service Road #386 DEAD-ENDS just over a few hundred yards off the "Greenhorn Highway" (CO 165). While the FS maps still show it as a road, it has been closed since the Junkins Fire in 2016. The fire burned over 18,000 acres along with 14 structures and the resulting bare terrain on either side of the road led to massive washouts, and ultimately FSR #386 was closed permanently just under 3 miles in.
For those who wish to hike Rudolph Mountain Trail #1327, FSR #386 is open from the east as far as the trailhead at the triple-confluence of Bad Can Canyon, School Section Draw and South Hardscrabble Creek.
With nothing definitive whether it is now an official named-trail I chose to name it 'South Hardscrabble Creek Trail'.
For the Trivia Hounds:
There are three "Hardscrabble Creeks", North, Middle and South Hardscrabble Creek, only one of which has an official trail, Middle Hardscrabble Creek Trail #1358. There is no 'trail' along North Hardscrabble Creek as it follows ColoradoHighway #96, which is part of the "Frontier Pathways Scenic Byway".
Anyway, back to the hike. Since it was originally a Forest Service Road the 'trail' was mostly flat, wide and easy with a few washouts, although 'washout' doesn't seem to be the best term, as nothing was washed-OUT, but rather washed-IN making for a few large berms across the road.
Along the way Tracey spotted something off the trail which I had missed. At first glance it looked to be a bare human skull so she had to check that out immediately. Upon closer inspection she noted it was a huge mushroom and as she called to me to look I spotted another one. So any drama was averted.
With no prior information of FSR #386 being closed (other than I knew the Rudolph Mountain Trail was to be avoided due to an estimated 95% of the trail being non-existent) we weren't sure when to turn around, continually picking out a feature ahead of us with the idea of 'let's turn back there' only to spot another item of interest and go just a little farther until enough-was-enough and we turned back.
Although the whole hike ran essentially parallel to South Hardscrabble Creek, it was down-slope from the road and never closer than 50-100 feet, so once back the 'trailhead' we decided to take a short jaunt over to the creek. Not much to see, and not much flow, but at least we checked it out.
In the end, it was an easy day of hiking. With that in mind, back at the Air BnB we prepared two hike options in the Sangre de Cristo NF and two options in the San Isabel NF again, so whatever the weather brought in the morning we'd be prepared. |
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