Medicine Bow National Forest: Aspen, Middle Aspen and Pole Creek Loop

 Warm weather was forecast for today and we wanted to get up into the higher elevations to cooler temperatures for hiking. We opted to go to the Vedauwoo area of Medicine Bow National Forest between Cheyenne and Laramie. It was a pretty uneventful drive through Cheyenne and up the "Gangplank" on Interstate 80, past Abraham Lincoln. 

We parked at the Happy Jack Trailhead and hit the trail. The beginning portion of the hike paralleled Pole Creek and followed an old road past a few small beaver ponds,

and an abandoned campground.

We turned onto the singletrack Aspen Trail into a maze of different trails.

 We took several breaks along the way

and went off trail a few times to see if we could catch a view from an unofficial overlook or two. 

While I had hoped that there would be lots of interesting rock formations, like at nearby Vedauwoo, the rocky sections were few and far between.

We completed the unremarkable loop of about 6 miles.

We went into Laramie for lunch and some time at a playground. Then, we made the drive back home to Gering.