After Rosie's daily morning walk, the two of us got into the car for a drive down to Cheyenne and then west into the Pole Mountain area of Medicine Bow National Forest. It was an uneventful drive, though quite foggy as we headed up in elevation to the area near the trailhead. Today, we would be hiking the Headquarters National Recreation Trail. We drove past the I-80 Summit Rest Area and into the forest where I parked alongside a road whose sides were decorated with the brilliant yellow of fall aspen foliage.
After our short road walk we were officially on the trail.
The fog didn't allow for much in the way of distant views.
However, the diffused light really seemed to make the fall colors pop!
A map of the area showed a web-like network of trails. I was worried that the route of the Headquarters Trail would be confusing with all the trail junctions. However, I found each junction well-signed and never had to worry about losing my path.
We ascended for a bit
up to a spur trail that led out to an overlook. With the view stilled fogged in, we opted to save that for the return trip. Eventually, the trail started to make a fairly steep descent down to the east trailhead. Multiple areas along this descent offered views out over the lower areas of the plateau.
I finally descended all the way down to a small, dirt parking area with a solitary picnic table. Rosie and I took a short break there before we began retracing our steps with an ascent back up.
T change things up a bit, I opted to hike the short Browns Landing Trail for a bit.
Lots of great views as it traversed a meadow area.
A short time after returning to the Headquarters Trail, we found ourselves at the Overlook spur.
It offered a nice view, but nothing too spectacular.
After the overlook, it was a short hike back to the west end of the trail and our car.
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