In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Saturday 03 September 2016
Toward morning, or more accurately, around 7 am there is the tell-tale patter of rain. I wonder if I should get up and pitch the tent but its not raining that hard so I pull the bivy sack up over my head and sleep a bit more.
Finally we get up and start to put stuff away. Gear goes in the front of the truck and hopefully it will dry, while other stuff goes in the back. We have coffee and PBJs for breakfast, then do a final cleanup and pack up is accomplished amongst a storm or two. At one point, we sit in the truck. When that squall is finished, we head up to the trailhead, me walking, Gary driving the truck. I head for the restroom; another squall moves in and we wait in the truck until the rain lets up and we decide to start out. We put on rain jackets, hoist packs, and are on our way.
The trail is along the creek and quite treed. I had imagined it would be a bit more open but it makes sense that it is not since it’s a trail along a creek at the bottom of a steep canyon. We pass the Platte Creek Wilderness sign. We are at just over 7500’ elevation and the trail is not so steep which is good, though we do move up and down benches as we go along.
We stop about every hour but as we approach 2 hours, I am beginning to lose speed and strength. We take a break and being to stop every 30 minutes. At 3 hours we stop for a longer lunch. It’s a nice flat area and I am tempted to call it a day but there are lots of standing dead tress so this is not such a good idea.
Gary suggests I stay here with the packs while he does a scouting trip. Our planned goal is the junction of this Douglas Creek Trail with the Devil’s Creek, approximately 4 miles from the start. Good news! The Devil’s Creek junction is about 10 minutes up the trail. Then beyond that, Douglas Creek opens up into a meadow.
We pack up. It seems like in no time we are at Devils’ Creek. We cross and encounter a very stiff uphill section but that levels out before long and we see the meadow, our destination. We hike steeply downhill another ¼ mile. Gary finds a camping spot and we are home! Then we setup the tent and pump water.
It sprinkles on and off but not enough to deter journaling. Gary hikes back and checks out the Devils Creek trail. He hikes up 10 minutes or so and then an area of downed trees beyond which there does not appear to be a trail.
A good day’s trip! We cook supper and are in the tent by 6:30.
Sunday 04 September 2016
Overnight, it rains several times and its cloudy when we get up. We start breakfast but at one point take shelter in the tent to escape the rain. But it quickly clears and we continue breakfast making.
Our plan for the day is to continue up the Douglas Creek Trail as a day hike, so once breakfast is done, we pack up. It’s not raining so we retrace our steps from the creek bottom to the main trail. I only have the forest service map for this trip (no topo map) which shows the trail hugging the creek. But the trail climbs steeply up a ridge and down the other side and back down to Douglas Creek which makes a 90 degree turn just up from our campsite.
As we climb back down to the creek, we spy the A+ campsite. The creek is wide and flat here and there is a huge open meadow and an ideal site with log benches, close to the water.
We continue upward and the creek continues to widen and flatten. Sometimes the trail is close to the creek, other times it climbs up the side of the hill.
The landscape here is interesting: Pine trees group in the creek bed but the rounded hills are sage covered with some aspen in the low spots. This reminds me of eastern Oregon.
After about 2 hours, we spy a lunch spot and I treat myself to the remaining salami, some cheese and a fruit gu.
We head back and are caught in a pretty good downpour. We hunker down in the trees a time or 2 to avoid the open areas. The thunder is not too bad but we are cautious. We take a short break thinking we have an hour left and I am presently surprised that after 5 minutes the nice meadow with the A+ camp appears. We climb up to the ridge, take in the view and head back to camp.
The sun is out and warm and we set clothes out to dry. Another wonderful day!
Monday 05 September 2016
Last day! We break camp, head back and home.
Yet another great outing!
From www.summitpost.org:
This Trailhead is located in the Medicine Bow National Forest of Wyoming. It provides access to the Platte River Wilderness, following Douglas Creek from just above the creek’s confluence with the North Platte River, to it’s confluence with Pelton Creek, a distance of 9.3 miles.
At the TH, you’ll find a small dirt parking area with a signboard next to a gate. A very old outhouse is also located at the TH. There is no water at the TH or any where nearby so bring your own or be prepared to filter the otherwise ample wild water supply.
Note: Take everything you need! This TH is 28 miles from a paved road and another 36 miles from the nearest services at Laramie.
From Laramie:
Take Wyoming 230 west for 36 miles to the Foxpark turnoff (FR512). Turn right on to FR512 (the Platte River access Rd). Continue approximately 28 miles to the TH. Delays may be encountered, primarily Monday thru Friday, along this road due to logging operations. The Douglas Creek Trail intersects the Devil’s Gate and Platte Ridge trails approximately 4 miles from the TH.
Douglas Creek in the Platte River Wilderness
02 September 2016 - 05 September 2016
Backpack Trip to Douglas Creek in the Platte River Wilderness in Southern Wyoming.
Last Labor Day was Gary’s Sabbatical and our trip to the Pacific Northwest and my move to the new townhouse on 31 August 2015.
I last time we did a Labor Day backpack trip was to the Rawah’s on the West Branch Trail to Island Lake Area camping at near the intersection of the West Branch and Blue Lakes’ Trails.
Friday 02 September 2016
We are headed out of town by 3:15 PM on Friday afternoon. Our destination this time is the Platte River Wilderness in Southern Wyoming in the Medicine Bow National Forest. We head north on Hwy 287 to 14th Street in Loveland, then west to Wilson which becomes Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins. We pick up hwy 287 again on the north side of Fort Collins and it seems like we are in Laramie in no time. We fill on gas at a Shell at the intersection of Hwy 230 and the Snowy Range Road. Then continue down hwy 230, pass Woods Landing along the Laramie River and to the cutoff to Foxpark and Forest Service Road 512. It’s around 35 miles from Laramie to the turnoff and another 28 to the Douglas Creek Trailhead. Foxpark has lots of old looking log cabins and the look of an old logging camp.
We continue on the road, a very good forest service gravel road and is signed for the Platte River and other destinations, namely Keystone and Rob Roy Reservoir which looks like it might be a good destination for a paddle.
We continue on: A turn here, a straight-away there. At one spot, the road narrows and becomes rough but that does not last long. There are a couple of interest switchbacks along the way but the most interesting is the final descent to the Platte River. Down is not bad but I wonder if 4 wheel drive power is needed to get back up. We shall see. Amazingly, once we get down to the river, there are a number of huge RVs in the campground. I am impressed. I am not sure that there is another way in.
Next we head upstream along Douglas Creek and see a number of suitable camping spots as our plan is to bivy for the night. Ahead, Gary spies the trailhead which looks exactly like the picture in the Summit Post.
It’s fairly clear so we setup our bivy then have a beer and tend to supper: Sushi & saki as usual. The stars come out and we pick out Cassiopeia, the big dipper, Delphinus and a few others. I am ready to hit the hay and it seems like almost immediately I am asleep. I wake up a time or two, see stars, then back asleep and dream of stars.