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| Hiking | 5.02 Miles |
782 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.02 Miles | 2 Hrs 35 Mns | | 2.11 mph |
| 782 ft AEG | 12 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Colorado Trip September 2022 - Day #2 (Hike #4)
Squirrel Creek Trail #1384
After a quick lunch (upwind of the body-bag of course) we left the sweet-odiferous trailhead behind and set off on the Squirrel Creek Trail. From the kiosk the trail passes right by the Davenport Campground, which appeared to be close to capacity today, with tents scattered everywhere.
Based on the nice wide, flat, and reasonably soft tread it was quickly apparent this hike would be far more enjoyable than the earlier one on the Second Mace Trail.
Early on we were presented with the first of numerous crossings of Squirrel Creek, none of which posed any real risk of getting wet, mainly due to little noticeable flow. Most were simple rock-hops and only one required a bit more balance to walk-the-plank(s) along a few narrow logs.
A few miles out we had a surprise encounter with the site of the former Squirrel Creek Lodge, which prior to the hike I was unaware of. In 1920 it was designed to complement the campgrounds and nature trails as "The First Private Resort Development" on National Forest Land, being built in 1923-24.
If it weren't for a kiosk to provide a historical narrative we might have taken a quick photo of the empty, long, flat concrete slab/foundation and continued on without further thought. But with an added historical context we deemed it worthy of a 12-minute exploration, locating parts of the two cabins built at a later date.
Across the trail there were some assorted items which may or may not have dated from the same era, but just as likely was simply detritus from camping in the vicinity. One item of note which I included in the photoset was a relatively fresh dozen-foot, circular, sloped hole dug in the ground and covered with a widely-spaced lattice of branches. Whether it was an unfinished shelter or potential 'trap', all we could do was speculate. Feel free to comment with your thoughts.
Continuing on the trail was pretty much more of the same sights, sounds and terrain of the earlier part of the hike. When we reached the intersection with the old decommissioned Cascade Trail #1384A (of which I had a supposed GPS track of prior to the trip) we took stock of our situation.
Note: The Cascade Trail is sometimes referred to as the Arthur Carhart Trail, named for the designer of the Squirrel Creek Lodge.
Here were the options we discussed:
#1: Continue for 1.25 miles to the other end of the Cascade Trail and return on it with a lasso loop
#2: Turn off and follow the old Cascade Trail a mile or so, reconnect and return along the Squirrel Creek Trail
#3: Continue for ~2 miles to the Dome Rock Trail intersection (which we had contemplated returning on from Second Mace earlier today) and turn back there, either retracing our steps or returning along the old Cascade Trail
Since the track I had of the Cascade Trail appeared to have been drawn on a map rather than actual boots-on-the-ground it was a true unknown. In the end we decided to skip all three options and went with...
Option #4: Turn around and head back, which would brings to roughly 10 miles of hiking for the day.
On the return trip I paid a bit more attention attempting to locate the route of the original lodge road as well as former bridged creek crossings. Supposedly the full length of the road included 36 creek crossings, of which there had been a total of 21 small bridges. I was only able to guesstimate at 3 or 4 former bridge locations.
With a pretty easy hike back uphill it was a positive outcome compared to the earlier Second Mace fiasco. |
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