RMNP – Sourdough

Another quick overnighter at the end of Cathy’s chemo cycle.

One of my favorite day hikes in RMNP is Bear Lake to Moraine Park, taking the shuttle to complete the loop back to the car. It is about 10 miles, is net downhill and goes through the spectacular gorge holding Odessa Lake. Once you get away from the trailheads (Bear Lake and Fern Lake) there really is not much foot traffic.

I make a habit of dropping pins when I come across good campsites on a hike — you never know when you’ll be back that way wanting to camp. I had dropped one years ago on the Sourdough backcountry campground.

The site itself is nothing special, but is strategically located. It’s on the saddle separating the Bear Lake and Odessa Lake gorges, and near the trail junctions to go up to Flattop Mountain and the Divide, or down to Bierstadt Lake or Mill Creek. A good base camp, in other words.

I got off the jam-packed shuttle at Bear Lake, extended my hiking poles, and began navigating the crowds around the lake. The well-maintained trail ascended from the basin at a substantial but not heinous angle, leaving most of the day trippers behind.

It’s a forest trail with occasional views out over Mill Creek basin, pleasant but not spectacular. It was less notable for what was there than for what was missing — flowers, springs and snow banks. I’ve hiked this trail before in June and July, when all of these items are in plentiful supply.

Today the only flowers are a few fleabanes and yellow composites. The springs are barely a trickle, or are just wet spots. The snowbanks have retreated to their final lodgings in deep rocky gulches above. They are shrunken, compacted, covered with windblown dirt and debris.

The message was clear: summer has run its course. Summer has given what it has to give and is now just marking time until the frost and snow arrive.

I gained the saddle, located the campground, pitched my hammock and set out to collect water. According to the map, I had crossed Mill Creek about a hundred yards below the campground. I hadn’t noticed, as it was dry.

I traced it down a ways and found a pond off to the side. It was low but clear. If I were back hiking the Arizona Trail, it would count as an A number 1 water source. But I thought I could do better. I followed the creek bed up a couple hundred yards and came upon a rocky pool, also clear. I reasoned that it had been flowing more recently than the pond, filled up my 2L bladder and returned to camp.

After a leisurely lunch I debated whether to head up to Flattop Mountain, or down to Odessa Lake. I have never gone up Flattop and there would be fine views, but a few clouds were starting to build. 1 PM is not usually the best time to start a Divide hike in the Rockies. So down I went to Odessa.

Its gorge is perhaps not quite as spectacular as Glacier Gorge, but it is close. The lake itself was a bit windy, but offered some fine spots for loafing and for fishing. I chatted with a couple who were camped at the lake, but otherwise had it to myself.

On the way back I veered off trail to explore a couple of lakes up on the saddle, Lake Helene and Two Rivers Lake. The former is very shallow and on the verge of becoming a meadow. The latter is quite a bit larger and deeper. It looks like it should hold fish, but the ranger at the backcountry office said it does not, and indeed I saw no evidence of fish activity. I’m guessing that Two Rivers drains both west into Fern Creek and east into Mill Creek. Maybe in a wetter year, that is. Although the lake did not look all that low, there was no water exiting in either direction.

 

Rain and a bit of thunder did appear before sunset, and it rained on and off through the night, accompanied by some gusty winds.

The morning was clear. I slept in, enjoyed several cups of coffee over a leisurely breakfast, then packed up. I decided to follow Mill Creek down to Hollowell Park, where I could catch the shuttle. I’d never been down Mill Creek before, and now was my chance.

The trail mostly follows a ridge down to the Bierstadt Lake junction and is not especially interesting. After that, it drops down to Mill Creek itself. Despite its dry nature up at the saddle, it was flowing strong and supports a lush microclimate of ferns, big tooth maples and mosses.

Hollowell Park was surprisingly green but flowerless. It is an open space wedged between the moraines bounding Moraine Park on the north and Glacier Gorge on the south. Views of Longs Peak appeared as I sauntered down to the trailhead.

I got there just in time to see the shuttle bus depart. A check of the kiosk revealed that it runs on an hourly schedule, so I picked a pleasant spot to snack and play a few tunes on my uke.

A few cars pulled in and out, but mostly I had the place to myself. This is not a normal state of affairs in the car-accessible parts of RMNP. I enjoyed it while I could until the shuttle arrived to whisk me back to my car and industrial grade tourism in RMNP.