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| | Babcock Hole Trail #1364, CO | | | |
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Babcock Hole Trail #1364, CO
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| Hiking | 5.99 Miles |
708 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.99 Miles | 3 Hrs 10 Mns | | 2.00 mph |
| 708 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Colorado Trip September 2022 - Day #5 (Hike #8)
Babcock Hole Trail #1364
After a day in the Sangre De Cristo's today we're back in the San Isabel National Forest to do another pair of shorter hikes.
Frankly, I don't even remember why/how this trail caught my interest enough to locate a GPS route prior to our trip and save it for possible use.
(That sentence could be a spoiler in itself.)
Whatever, similar to yesterday's Rainbow Trail, while the trailhead is for two trails (Babcock Hole & Mason Gulch) there's nothing to make it appear a trailhead at all. There is absolutely NO parking at the TH itself, and no designated parking area anywhere nearby.
In fact even with the exact coordinates of the TH, we missed it because it was only a thin Carsonite stake with the trail numbers and was hidden behind a pickup some hunters parked in the grass in front of the sign. The only way we found it was to park a few hundred feet away next to an entrance to a private ranch and start walking toward the coordinates. Just as we reached the pickup we could see the sign. Ok, let's get going.
The hike begins with a hundred-yard 40' climb to a T where the trail splits, continuing straight ahead on the Mason Gulch Trail, or turn left and continue on the Babcock Hole Trail. (Due to some negative beta I never considered Mason Gulch prior to the trip.)
Once on the Babcock Hole trail we followed parallel and above North Red Creek for 500' or so before dropping down and crossing it. The trail followed the creek bed for a short distance then abruptly left the creek and beginning a series of short ups-and-downs, some steep, others moderate as we skirted a long open field which was part of the private ranch. One item of note by the homestead was a swingset, which appeared to be similar the 'Mazzie Swingset'. (see the photoset)
Side Note: A short time ago this 40-acre ranch sold for $199,000... the selling point?
"Have you ever wanted to realistically have the chance to harvest a 350 to 400 inch bull elk on a consistent basis? If so this is the property you've been waiting for! Located in western Pueblo County snuggled against the Wet Mountains on a mountain ridge above Babcock Hole."
(At one time the area was part of the Rock Canyon Ranch... do a Google search and you will likely find a deep rabbit-hole of interesting information)
Shortly past the ranch at ~1.5 miles we reached the lowest point of the hike at 6384'. The next half-mile is the longest/steepest climb of the hike, topping out at 6584', so it's long & steep?... not really.
The rest of the hike, for the most part we will hike parallel and south of a long ridge to our left and also parallel and close to, but not always within sight of Middle Red Creek. Just over 2 miles out the trail fades to nothing, so with no cairns to guide us it was a matter of sticking reasonably close to the GPS route while seeking the most beaten path. Unfortunately, due to elk & deer trails, who knows which we should follow.
Eventually at 2.5 miles out we were forced to drop into the dry Middle Red Creek, only to have to find a way up the steep and loose dirt 'wall' of the creek bed, then once more down an up again. Every once in a while we found what MAY have been the trail but again with so many game paths we simply kept as close to the track as possible.
Once we reached the end of the GPS track (and the end of the dotted line of n the FS map) we realized this hike was pretty much a hike to absolutely nowhere. After all, it's called Babcock Hole Trail, so where's the hole?
Well, it turns out 'Babcock Hole' is the 'whole' roughly six-mile valley at the southern edge of the Wet Mountains. And other than views of the ridge, there isn't really any other reason to hike out here... especially after the fire in 2005 that wiped out 11,000 acres. sure there is a lot of lower green vegetation taking over some 7 years later, but the upper reaches of the slopes to the SW are just a pile of sticks... some standing, the rest laying like pick-up-sticks.
Not wishing to fight the downs & ups crossing the series of deep drainages on the return trip I had the great idea of taking a detour north toward the ridge on what appeared to be some well-traveled game trails in hopes of bypassing the drainages.
Well that didn't work out well at all, as too many of the trails just dead-ended into thick brush. It wasn't long before I knew we (I) had traded one fiasco for another and now was just trying to make the best of a bad decision. So far Tracey wasn't complaining... at least not loud enough for me to hear. (Or was I just employing selective hearing?)
Whatever, just as we finally reached the end of our 'wilderness' journey, Tracey spotted what appeared to be an elk jaw, along with the skeletal remains of a smaller animal. Nothing super special but then we would have missed it if we hadn't taken the detour. That's my response and I'm sticking to it.
The return trip provided nothing new, but I did make sure to take a photo of the swingset. |
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