In The Shadow of Longs Peak
McIntyre Creek Trail / Link Trail Loop
02 July 2005 thru 05 July 2005
When we first started looking at this loop, I had guessed about 30 miles; The sign at the trailhead makes me think it is more like 20.
We started at the trailhead near Browns Park Campground. There is a mileage marker for Brown’s Park Campground at the intersection of Hwy 14 and the Laramie River Road (and what was the mileage, one would ask?). There were several cars parked at the trailhead which was not a surprise considering this is a holiday weekend, but there were still places to park. The trailhead is clearly marked, as is the juncture between the McIntyre and Link Trail. We choose the McIntyre which heads into the Rawah’s along a fairly large creek. We spend a few minutes anticipating how one would maneuver a kayak thru it. The trail is well defined and sticks mostly to the creek. It was pretty warm starting and I wondered if I overdid the warm clothing part.
If this is your destination, bring plenty of deet: there are swarms of mosquitos.
We left the trailhead at about 1 PM and expect to make camp somewhere along the trail this first night. We had hoped to make camp around the _______lakes but a thunderstorm forced us off the trail early.
But, by that time we had reached the juncture of McIntyre Creek and Houseman Creek. The Trails Illustrated Map indicated a trail right at the intersection of the 2 creeks and a GPS reading indicated that there should have been a trail junction there, but there was not. We climb up, above the trail, and find a reasonably flat spot for our tent. The rain and mosquitoes drove use into the tent pretty quickly.
The next morning, our first order of business was to find the McIntyre Creek Trail/ McIntyre Trail Junction. I went back to the fork of the 2 creeks but again could not find any indication of a trail across. Gary went upstream and within 10 minutes found the trail junction which ended up being well marked. So, we were off again, crossing another, smaller creek and again, at another junction. We choose the way pointing to McIntyre Creek. Later, looking at the map, we see the other fork goes up to small lake. The area is fairly flat and would have been a nice camp area. We continued on, crossing creeks, avoiding downed trees and applying deet. So far, the trail is very well defined. Soon, we reach a section where the trail is once again along the McIntyre Creek and decide to have breakfast. The rains come early today, and luckily, it is just a passing shower. We continue on and soon reach the area of _____________ Lakes. The trail winds itself around several small lakes. We find a junction. I explore the left junction but do not go far enough to determine if it actually goes anywhere. The right junction appears to be the more used trail, so we continue on it, but soon it ends. We take stock and determine the trail should be across the creek from where we are. So we cross and begin navigating using a map and compass. We know approximately where we should go, find a half dozen indications of what might be trails and end up on a shelf below a snow field. The batteries in the GPS are dead and it is starting to storm again and we are at a flat area, so we make camp, cook supper and are sound asleep before dark.
In the morning, we switch batteries from the camera to the GPS and determine we are right where the map indicates the trail is. There is no trail, of course, but there was none way below either. We are faced with a steep climb up to the ridge but by following the edge of the snowfield, and adding a few diagonal moves and before long we are at the top of the steep section, with another ¼ mile or so of easy grassy terrain to the ridge. We go for what turns out to be a cairn – probably the _____________ section marker and soon we are at the point where the Medicine Bow Trail heads down into the ____________ valley. The views are outstanding – south to the Never Summer Range, north to the Snowys, west to North Park and the Sierra Madre. The sky is nearly cloudless so we stop for breakfast just below the ridge.
We move languidly downhill and the trail suddenly gives out, surprising us. But the hillside is wide open and we just head toward the bottom. The map indicates that the trail here is undefined, and, at the bottom it makes a series of ‘S’ turns until you reach the creek that drains The Twin Lakes. The trail is hard to follow but is reasonably well cairned, though at one point it does disappear again. It’s pretty swampy, so Gary heads off to the right. We take a bearing keep on an easterly path and soon hook up with the trail again. The crossing of Twins Lakes Creek and McIntyre Creek is pretty interesting. It probably would have been easiest just to wade it. But we hike up Twin Lake Creek, found a long legged crossing on rock, then down and back up McIntyre Creek to another long legged crossing. Then, back down, and again to the trail. We stop and pump water, taking 3 quarts each as it has to last thru breakfast. After the creek, we hike upward, out of the drainage. The junction with the Link Trail is only a half mile and we turn north on it. We travel another ¾ mile or so and make camp in a wide, open grassy area. The mosquitoes are not nearly so bad here.
Next morning, we are up again, heading north. We continue to follow the Link Trail and have breakfast on another high grassy open area. It’s sunny and a nice breeze chases the mosquitoes. We can see across the valley to yesterday’s climb out of the drainage. There is an amazing amount of snow on various peaks – a good sign, an average snow year…We pack up and start the final leg of the trip and the return to the trailhead. We travel thru an old burn area – labeled on the map as the Big McIntyre Burn – and figure it’s about 50 years old.
We note that the trail does not quite match either the USGS 7.5 minute map nor the Trails Illustrated map. It appears that a great deal of trail work has been done, resulting in a trail that is easy to traverse and we make good time on this downward portion. I note that the trail traverse a completely different environment than the McIntyre / McIntyre Creek Trail -- very dry pine forest – and the best is there’s no mosquitoes.