Jerry Finds Fire– an 1879 One
Colorado Trail Challenge – Segments 25-28
Segments #25-28: 73.9 miles – 11,709′ elevation gain, 15,608′ elevation loss
08/03/20 – Vehicle staging for this hike was easy compared to our previous outing. Travel time on the highway between the beginning and the end of this section of trail is just 1 hour. Glenn decided to tow his Jeep on a trailer behind his Suburban this time. Glenn, Lance Willoughby and Bruce Houtchens joined me on this outing, and we were all able to ride together in the Suburban to Durango. We stopped for lunch at Subway in Pagosa Springs on the way and dropped off the Jeep at the Junction Creek trailhead near Durango, the southern terminus of the Colorado Trail. We then drove to Molas Pass and left the Suburban and trailer there, beginning our hike in the middle of the afternoon.
The trail took us through the gently inclined beds of gray shale, sandstone and limestone of the Hermosa formation, which were deposited over 300 million years ago. The terracing of these beds provides a landscaped feel to the area.
God’s Landscaping – Natural Outcropping With Wildflowers
This area of the Lime Creek drainage was heavily forested until a fire roared through in 1879. The forest has not returned to this high elevation area since then.
1879 Fire Remnant?
There were also huge blocks of conglomerate that had broken off from spectacular cliffs high above the trail. Some of these were as big as a house!
We encountered a rain shower that sent us into the shelter of some trees for about half an hour. We then continued on to our campsite for the night, about 8 miles into Segment 25. There were 4 other hikers from Colorado Springs camped there who were gracious enough to welcome us to join them. It was a large enough site to accommodate us all. We had beef stroganoff for dinner, and were surprised by a deer that was hanging around the camp. It was a very full day, with the drive from Denver and 8 miles of hiking. We were ready to get horizontal by the time we finished dinner and twilight enveloped the camp.
Click here for Jerry’s Pledge Form–support Jerry as he completes the Colorado Trail in support of Love INC