Roosevelt National Forest: Lost Lake from Hessie Trailhead

I woke up at sunrise this morning and walked to the pond on private property across from the entrance to the campground. I noticed a heron rookery on the south shore of the pond!

Then I went back to camp for breakfast and to pack up before heading to the trailhead at the Hessie Trail, just west of Eldora Ski Area. There is limited parking, but we were able to snag a spot and started our hike with a walk on the road.

At a road junction, a right takes you to the Fourth of July Campground and Trailhead. 

We went right to the official Hessie Trailhead (only rugged, high-clearance vehicles could make it to the trailhead).

Soon we passed through the old townsite of Hessie.

Then, we crossed a branch of Middle Boulder Creek on a sturdy bridge

before starting the fairly steep climb up the trail/old road.

As we ascended, intermittent views of the cascade creek were offered.

There were also lots of wildflowers in bloom, including Wood's rose.

The trail forked several times, but each junction was signed for Lost Lake.

Soon enough, we arrived at the very pretty lake.

We relaxed, snacked and enjoyed the scenery for a while. Then we started to make our way back to the trailhead.

We noticed some columbine blooming in a shady area.

When we reached the road, we saw the shuttle in action. 

Because there is limited parking along the road, a free shuttle is offered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between Nederland High School and the trailhead. Once back to the car, we drove into Nederland for lunch at Busey Brewery and Barbecue.

After a stop in Boulder for ice cream, we made the drive home through thick Front Range traffic. 

Betasso Preserve: Canyon Loop

Noelle, Sierra, Rosie and I left home a little after 8 am this morning for the drive down to Boulder, Colorado. We've got a camping reservation for the Kelly Dahl Campground outside of Nederland and decided to stop in Boulder for lunch before heading up Boulder Canyon to the Betasso Preserve for a hike. 

We arrived at the preserve and easily found a parking spot. Sometimes it pays to start a hike later in the day, as the first wave of hikers has come and gone. After using the restrooms, we hit the trail.

Right off the bat there were plenty of views of meadows and mountains.

There were also lots of blooming wildflowers to admire, including prickly pear

and what appears to me some type of blanketflower.

The loop was fairly easy with lots of short ups and downs.

There were great views throughout the hike.

We completed the hike in under 2 hours, returned to the car and then headed further up into the mountains to Kelly Dahl Campground, our home for the night. 

 

Roosevelt National Forest: Homestead Meadows

 After my hike yesterday, I fell asleep pretty early in the evening. This morning I awoke at the crack of dawn, packed up camp and made it to the Moose Meadows Trailhead around 6 am. I would be hiking through Hermit Park and into Roosevelt National Forest to check out the northern section of the Homestead Meadows. 

I hit the trail and headed through the edge of a meadow over to a ridge. Just like yesterday there were lots of blooming wildflowers to admire.

There was also a nice view of nearby Kruger Rock which Sierra and I had hiked last summer.

Once I reached the ridge, views opened up to the high peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Soon, I reached the boundary of Roosevelt National Forest. 

Much of the trail in the forest followed two track roads. There were still plenty of blooming wildflowers.

There were also scattered views of the higher mountains to the west.

Soon, I reached a spur road/trail that led about 3/4 mile to my first homestead, the impressive Irvin Homestead. On the way I passed through a meadow where a pair of mountain bluebirds perched and flew.

Shortly after leaving the bluebirds behind I found the first homestead ruins of the hike.

Nearby was what I believe was the main homestead, now slowly decaying.

I explored the area a bit and observed an old bath house with a unique spring fed water system.

There were also some old hunter shacks.

I made my way down to the sawmill, but the ruins weren't really all that impressive.

From the Irvin Homestead I returned to the main trail and made my way further south to the Griffith Homestead. The remains of the Griffith Homestead were in pretty poor condition.

I didn't spend too much time here, opting to continue further south to the Walker Homestead. I would guess that the Walker Homestead is the most visited of the homesteads in the area, as it lies along the Lion Gulch Trail. Again, there's not much left of the Walker Homestead.

From the Walker Homestead I started to make my way back north again. However, I would take a slightly different route back to the trailhead by taking a spur trail to the Brown Homestead. There are the remains of a cabin, slowly decaying back to nature at the Brown Homestead.

I didn't linger too long here, opting instead to start making my way back to the car. One interesting aspect of the Homestead Meadows area is that they have very recently been doing some fuels thinning operations in the area. In fact, I could hear distant chainsaws running, so I think the operations may still be ongoing. There are piles of slash everywhere! 

I assume that they will burn these piles once snow is on the ground.  

The hike back to the car went fairly quickly. I stopped at high rock outcrop with nice mountain views for a snack break.

Before I knew it, I was back to the meadow at the start of the hike with another great view of Kruger Rock.

With the hike complete I went into Estes Park to get a beer at Rock Cut Brewery before the drive back home.