Yule Creek in the Ragged Mountains

I know enough about this trail to avoid it early in the season.  It's north-facing and pretty shady, so it can hold a lot of snow well into June.  We were able to catch a glimpse of the mountains at the south end of the valley from about ten miles away last week, and could see they held lots of snow.  But after several days of warmth, I figured it was safe to try the hike.

stream or trail?

The beginning of the hike was wet.  What ought to have been a seasonal stream crossing the trail became a seasonal stream on the trail.  The top third of the hike alternated between shallow snow and easy hiking.  One place was deep and steep, and I prudently walked around it.

snow on the trail

Before too long I reached the overlook above Thompson Flats and was rewarded with one of my favorite views in Colorado:

the view 

Blogspot is very touchy lately, making photo uploads difficult (if not impossible), so you're seeing the black & white version instead of the color one, as that's the only one that would load.  Because it was mostly cloudy, I actually like the B&W landscape better.

Thomas Lakes on the slopes of Mt. Sopris

west Thomas Lake

east Thomas Lake

For the distance (eight miles r/t), views, degree of difficulty (~500 ft/mile), and proximity to Carbondale, I'm always surprised this trail isn't more crowded.  Don't get me wrong, it's a very popular hike, and one that usually has a couple of dozen other hikers on it.  But that's not very many.  And that's coming from someone who prefers not to find any other hikers on his trails.

The trail is snow-free now, though we did find some snow in the shady places around the lakes.  We encountered quite a few people who were camping overnight, including two parties we knew.  But with a dozen established campsites, there were still some open ones.

Despite the near-average snowpack this year, the east lake was a good four or five feet below normal.  Just like last year.  Not sure what's going on there.  Also the stream crossings were very easy for any time of the year, but especially this early in the season.

My girlfriend tripped on the way down and hurt her knee, so I don't know if we'll be able to hike next weekend.  I hope so, even it's an easy one.

Hiking season is open!

It was the first weekend at home since the weather turned warm, and we were eager to get in a hike.  We talked about Yule Creek, but that's a shady north-facing trail that can often have a lot of snow on it well into June.  My girlfriend had never been up Huntsman's Ridge, so I suggested that as an alternative.

The trail is on the Forest Service road, but as it's a challenging drive, there's almost never any traffic there.  The gate was locked for some reason, and with no other cars in the parking area, we knew we would have it to ourselves.

I will either hike to the highest point on the ridge or cross a meadow a few hundred feet below the top and follow the ridge out to a point that affords tremendous views of the upper Crystal River valley.  The latter option is the one we chose.

To get down, we bushwhacked through the aspen forest, which is where I took the photos of the mature aspen tree trunks.