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| Hiking | 5.30 Miles |
1,440 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.30 Miles | 3 Hrs 3 Mns | | 1.77 mph |
| 1,440 ft AEG | 3 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Colorado Trip September 2022 - Day #5 (Hike #9)
Newlin Creek Trail #1335
Unlike our Babcock Hole Trail hike earlier today, this hike not only promised an interesting destination but it actually followed through. In truth, if it weren't for that promise it's very likely we would have turned back before the end.... now just hold on a minute, let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
From the trailhead things began easy enough with a hard-packed dirt tread, wide enough to pass as we met other hikers. We would encounter more on this than any of the dozen hikes of our trip, but of course it was on a Saturday.
Also, this appears to be a common trail for the quick-workout-and-go-home crowd, as most were in a hurry, nobody (but us) had any kind of packs and only a few even had a single water bottle. We on the other hand, were in absolutely no hurry, just taking in the almost completely different terrain than our earlier hike.
Although the hike began easy, the farther out you got, the steeper and more hazardous it became. The various roots across the trail posed the most numerous hazards, followed closely by the number of loose rocks. I dealt with the constant 12-to-18 inch steps up really well, which was initially surprising to me.
Only on the return trip would I realize it really shouldn't have been a surprise. Due to the continuous steps up we were traveling at a much slower pace than usual. So instead of all the effort being from the legs on a steady even climb at a faster pace, I was spreading the effort to my arms with judicious use of my hiking poles.
While the hike basically follows Newlin Creek, crossing back and forth a number of times, it generally retraces the route of an old wagon road which was built in 1887 for one reason, and a very short-lived reason at that, lasting less than a year.
Ok, enough with the suspense!
What was the reason for the road? And what is the destination so compelling at the end of the hike to garner so much interest?
Just the remains of the dreams of Nathaniel Herrick, an old sawmill.
With all the coal and silver mining camps popping up at the time Herrick knew plenty of timber would be required so his dream was to build a timber harvesting business and provide for that need.
Unfortunately after spending all the time, effort and money to build a wagon road, haul a large steam boiler and flywheel up to the site and put it in operation he died before the end of the year. Even more unfortunate, his wife and children were unable to run the mill so it was simply abandoned. With no mill in operation, over the next 135 years the road would steadily deteriorate to the point almost no part of the trail appears like it ever had been part of the wagon road.
Anyway, back to the hike...
The farther along we went the less it appeared we were actually on a trail. At several points there was more than one faint path so we'd take a moment to scan the area for the most likely route. But with the trail fading out we wondered if we'd actually find any abandoned lumber mill. As a result, a few times we asked ourselves, Haven't we gone far enough? But as I mentioned earlier, in my mind there was just enough promise to continue to the end, such as it was.
In the end, having delved over the years through the remains of many lumber or mining operations in AZ and CO over the years, I must admit that to me it was not that interesting and I only spent a few minutes taking a few photos before heading back. I think I spent more time reading the story about the mill on the kiosk than traipsing around taking photos.
With almost a more defined trail past the sawmill, after taking the photos we started off to see if there was more to be found but after a short distance and no more obvious trail this was a one-and-done hike.
The hike back down was uneventful other than my hips eventually complaining loud enough I implored the loud cicada-like ringing-in-my-ears to take over the conscious mind and blissfully ignore the knees.
Oh yeah, we met one jogger near the trailhead just as he was beginning his run. But I quickly wondered, huh? A jogger? While he may have been 'jogging' I was skeptical of his deck shoes, which seemed more appropriate on a boat than on a trail. But what do I know, I never was a jogger... either WALK or RUN, none of this wishy-washy in-between half-walk half-run for me.
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