Sunday, August 5, 2012

Pagosa & Platoro 2012

Back in the summer of 1996 Kent, Andrew and I made our first trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado on a camping trip, we really enjoyed the Hot Springs and the beauty of the area. Fast forward to August 2012, Kent and I just returned from our fourth trip there in the last 12 months. Each time we've fished new streams and discovered new trails to hike. This past week we really stepped out of our comfort zone on two good hikes. During the week we covered about 25 miles of trails in the higher elevations with some great views. Getting to Pagosa Peak and back was no small feat, traveling 3.8 miles of rough road took one hour and the hike was strenuous, it took 2 hours to hike 1.6 miles each way....up, up, up all the way to 12,640.....but we did it and it felt good! If you've never visited this area before we hope you enjoy a trip through our adventures.

We stopped to fish at Treasure Creek

Rocky Mountain Fringed Gentian

Treasure Creek

The stream was so clear we could see the fish, but we couldn't catch them!

We enjoyed our stay at Platoro

Cabin #6 was our "Home away from Home"

Rustic and remote, but comfortable.....no TV, no Cell Phone service

A kitchenette, beds and hot running water.....out in the boonies!

The start of the trail to Blue Lake

Marking the Waypoint on the GPS

Heading out on the trail

The trail splits here, we'll go to the left

Blue Lake is where we are headed

Taking a break

Beautiful valley along the trail

Hiking along

One-quarter mile to go!

12 miles roundtrip!

We made it!

What a pretty spot

We had the place all to ourselves

11,500 ft. elevation

A peaceful reward

Painted daisies

Island in the middle of Blue Lake

Pretty little flowers

Boy Scouts keeping their food safe from bears while on a day hike

Kent fished and the fish laughed!

Colorful lichen

Kent did manage to "hook" his backpack!

The south end of the lake

On our hike out we met some Outfitters on the trail



We hiked along the El Rito Azul most of the trail

A Brookie Kent caught at Adams Fork after the hike, his first catch of this trip


Aerial view of the Blue Lake Trail

We drank a bit of water on our return from Blue Lake

Outdoor church at Platoro

The Platoro Valley has several cabins

We stopped to hike into Crater Lake on our way back to Pagosa

Quite a scenic area

The Continental Divide Trail connects to this trail

Hiking above the tree line

Looking towards Crater Lake

This is where we turned around as the clouds were building . . .
it's too dangerous during monsoon season.  (We came back in 2013 and completed the hike.)

We hiked about 4 miles round-trip and topped out at 12,100 ft.

Fishing at Park Creek on our way back to Pagosa



We hope to conquer Elwood Pass someday, but not in our vehicle!

Interesting looking craggy mountains



We hiked to Silver Falls, there wasn't much of a trail

It was hard to photograph the Falls

Silver Falls is south of Wolf Creek Pass

Cute cabin......notice the Satellite Dish on the right

A sign of the monsoon season

Looks like a spaceship

East Fork of the San Juan River

Our condo at Wyndham Pagosa

Kent checking his work emails....for peace of mind......even on vacation

Full moon

Hot Air Balloons early the next morning

Middle Fork of the Piedra River

Brown Trout

A good sized trout for this river

Releasing the trout

Even I caught a trout

Cute Country School House

A peek inside

Beautiful countryside

A summer storm brewing

It's amazing how dark the sky can become in just minutes

The sun shines on Pagosa Peak

Those are some tall peaks

Early morning on our way to the Pagosa Peak Trailhead

Piedra Road.......The good road

Morning mist in the valley

We spooked some elk, earlier we saw two foxes and a bear!

Just getting started on the hike to Pagosa Peak

There's the top, it's still a ways off

It was steep, we gained one foot of elevation for every three and a half feet we hiked

Almost there......

WE MADE IT!!!!  This was the hardest 1.6 miles we've ever hiked!  12,640 ft

It feels like we're on top of the world
.

Awesome views

Wow!

A group of five hikers and 3 dogs were behind us on the trail, they never caught up with us until we reached the top

That's us way over yonder

Heading back down


Aerial view of our hike up Pagosa Peak

Fireweed

We always look forward to changing our shoes and socks after a hike

Fishing an irrigation canal

Hiking along Turkey Creek

Over the plank

We hiked 4 miles roundtrip to Turkey Creek

Lots of butterflies

Turkey Creek......cool and refreshing

One last try in the irrigation canal

A horny toad lizard, we haven't seen many since leaving Flagstaff

A couple of grouse were sneaking around the bushes

Lower end of Turkey Creek

Hot Air Balloon taking off