The Rocky Mountain National Park "Grand Loop"

It's hard to believe, but it's already March! Many people have already made, or are in the process of making their hiking and backpacking plans for the upcoming summer. If you're planning a backpacking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park this summer, here's a very challenging route to consider.

Backpacker Magazine has put together a video highlighting the so called "Grand Loop" in Rocky Mountain National Park. This historically inspired route includes a summit of Longs Peak from the Keplinger Couloir.

The route begins from Bear Lake and takes hikers up to Flattop Mountain. From the summit you'll descend down the west side of the Continental Divide via the Tonahutu Creek Trail as it makes its way to Big Meadows. From Big Meadows the loop makes a brief visit at Grand Lake before venturing back into the wilderness at the East Inlet Trailhead. After reaching Spirit Lake, the route goes off-trail and climbs over Boulder-Grand Pass, and back down to Thunder Lake. From the lake the trail ascends Thunder Ridge and the Keplinger Couloir to reach Longs Peak, the highest point in Rocky Mountain National Park. From the top of the peak the trail descends back down the mountain via the Keyhole Route and the North Longs Peak Trail, to return back to Bear Lake.

Here's the video with more information on the route:




Jeff
Rocky Mountain Hiking Trails

Arches National Park

Arches National Park contains the largest concentration of natural stone arches in the world – more than 2500 at last count. By comparison, the Red River Gorge Geological Area in central Kentucky has only a little more than 100 natural sandstone arches, but still has the highest concentration of arches east of the Rocky Mountains.

In addition to a plethora of stone arches, the park has hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins (vertical slabs of rock), balanced rocks and lofty monoliths:

Even if you have a strong preference for the mountains, Arches National Park should be on your bucket list. I would recommend visiting at least one full day, but two days would provide a much better opportunity to soak in everything the park has to offer.

Best Easy Day Hikes Canyonlands and Arches National Parks: this fully updated and revised edition includes trail descriptions and maps of the best short hikes that venture into some of the most scenic sections of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.

Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Forest Service Conducts Preliminary Design for Mount Columbia Trail

The Salida Ranger District is finalizing the initial layout and design of a non-motorized climber’s trail on 14,077-foot Mount Columbia west of the town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County. The project area is in the Horn Fork Basin approximately 10 miles west of Buena Vista within the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. This project is an effort to address resource impacts stemming from mountain climbing activities. The design and construction includes approximately 2 miles of new trail construction, 2 miles of social trail closure and restoration, and 1 mile of trail maintenance on the Salida Ranger District of the San Isabel National Forest.

Through the Forest Service’s planning processes, alternative routes were identified along the western slopes of Mount Columbia. The project goal is to create a single, more sustainable peak ascent and descent trail. The current trails on the mountain are user created and have resulted in resource damage. Currently the trail does not meet Forest Service standards and guidelines. Completing this trail and restoring social trails that are not sustainable will ultimately reduce vegetation loss and erosion in the area. This project includes design and layout of a more sustainable trail which will eliminate existing resource damage.

Detailed information can be obtained at the Salida Ranger District. If you are interested in this trail and in order to receive full consideration please submit written and or verbal comments by March 29, 2013 e-mail: bbeasley@fs.fed.us phone: (719) 530-3953 or mail: USFS, Salida Ranger District, 325 W. Rainbow Blvd., Salida, CO 81201.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Hazard tree work to cause delays on Arapaho Bay Road

If conditions allow, the U.S. Forest Service is planning to begin hazard tree work on Arapaho Bay Road (County Road 6) in the Arapaho National Recreation Area on Friday, March 8th.

To improve safety along the road, the Sulphur Ranger District has contracted a logging company to cut dead and dying trees within falling distance of the travel corridor. While hazard tree cutting is in progress, expect 30-minute delays in both directions for traffic passing through the work zone. Parking along the road will not be allowed between flaggers, and there is no overnight parking allowed at trailheads during this time. Recreationists are also being asked to avoid the active work area, especially along the lakeshore.

The contractor will be using a combination of hand-sawyers and specialized mechanical equipment to reduce potential resource damage. Merchantable timber will be decked along the road and then loaded onto trucks and hauled away for use by the wood products industry. Smaller materials will be lopped and scattered or piled to burn.

Work is expected to begin east of the dam and will eventually be completed all the way to Monarch Lake and up to the Roaring Fork Trailhead. Some work will be completed in the fall. When tree felling is occurring along the final stretch from Big Rock Campground to Monarch Lake, all access to the trailhead will be temporarily prohibited for public safety.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Avalanche Fatality near Cameron Pass

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is reporting that a backcountry skier was killed and another seriously injured in an avalanche on March 2nd. The avalanche occurred southwest of Cameron Pass, just outside Rocky Mountain National Park. The 26-year-old victim attended Colorado State University. His friend was evacuated to a nearby hospital by helicopter.

This was the 4th avalanche fatality in Colorado this season, and the 4th avalanche fatality to occur in the United States in March. On March 1st there were fatalities in Wyoming, Utah, and New Hampshire.

CAIC still warns that avalanche danger for the Front Range zone is CONSIDERABLE (Level 3), and human triggered avalanches are likely on many slopes. Today's forecast reads in part:

Observers report large whumpfs, shooting cracks, and remotely triggered avalanches. Recent avalanche activity has been on east, southeast, and west facing slopes that are near or above treeline. Today wind and storm slabs will still be easy to trigger. Slopes that are near and above treeline are the most dangerous. The winds have been both strong and from a variety of directions, so new wind drifts will be on a variety of aspects and cross-loaded terrain features.

The recent wind slabs drifted on top of persistent slabs and deep persistent slabs. The weak layers are facets in the lower snowpack or depth hoar at the bottom. These slabs have become stubborn and harder to trigger, but if you find the right spot, the result will be a large and dangerous avalanche. Avalanche mitigation work last Thursday triggered very large, destructive avalanches (R4D3) with debris piling 12 feet deep. Observers find hard and clean test results.

You can trigger one of these large avalanche by starting a smaller avalanche in the wind slabs, or by hitting a thin spot on the side or lower edge of the persistent slab. That makes it easy to move from relatively safe to very dangerous terrain with just a few steps. You should approach all avalanche terrain with a healthy dose of caution, careful evaluation, and a large margin for error.

Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com