Lion Gulch
We ventured into Estes in hopes that we could go hike Bridal Veil Falls, which starts at McGraw ranch. Since McGraw ranch is in Rocky Mountain National Park, the parking lot was closed, not even allowing up to get to the trailhead. We pulled over on the side of the road and did some quick Googling to find an appropriate substitute and we landed on Lions Gulch, which was just a 15 minute drive from where we were at.
After arriving at the trailhead, we immediately went the wrong way and spent the first three-quarters of a mile trying to find the trail again. Once we found it, everything was great until a few miles in when Katie started getting blisters on her feet. It was a painful rest of the hike for her, and a hot rest of the hike for both of us. The temperature was in the mid 70's, plus being exposed for a good majority of the hike made this the most sweaty hike of 2020 (so far).
The hike itself was okay, not really that spectacular from what we've been hiking recently, but it was still a challenging 7.75 mile, 1,500 foot elevation gain hike that took us three and a half hours.
7.74 mi
3.4 hrs
8,424 ft
1,552 ft
Flowing Water
Katie stopped to eat some lunch, something I did in the car, so i went down to the river and took some long exposures.
Eating Lunch
Katie found a good fallen tree in the middle of the trail to eat lunch on.
Many River Corssings
There were at least half a dozen river crossings on this hike. Ranging from real bridges to a few unsteady logs or just a few rocks to cross. We made it without getting too wet.
Into the Meadow
Towards the end of the hike, the area opened up into an area where there were several homestead houses.
Sarah's House
This was once owned by Sarah Walker in the early 1900's. She was the only woman to own a homestead in this area. She would hike down to the highway, where our hike started, every day to try and hitch a ride to Lions to sell eggs and cream. Not much is left of her house.
Meadow Panorama
This was as far as we got int he hike. Since Katie's heels were hurting, we didn't do the loop around the homesteads. But based on what the first house looked like, I don't think we missed anything.
Destruction
This area was burned in 2002 during the Big Elk Fire. There were still a lot of trees decomposing that made this look like more of a fire hazard than anything. This section of the river was so beautiful but the rubble of all the trees takes away from the photo.
