Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park by Kent Dannen

Author:Kent Dannen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FalconGuides, day hikes, hiking, hikes, hiking trails, day hikes, wilderness, national forest, national parks, wildlife, nature
Publisher: GPP
Published: 2013-12-05T05:00:00+00:00

Trails from Milner Pass

Milner Pass is a low point on the Continental Divide. From Poudre Lake, on the east side of the pass, the Cache la Poudre River flows into the Mississippi River drainage. Beaver Creek, on the west side, flows into the Colorado River drainage. The pass is the focal point of several trails.

The Poudre River Trail begins on the west side of Trail Ridge Road, just north of Poudre Lake. The path passes up and down through subalpine woods but soon drops into willows along the river and is very sloppy. Occasionally it loses itself in a maze of elk trails. The chances of seeing deer and elk in the valley are excellent.

The valley widens a bit, and the trail dries out considerably 5.6 miles downstream, where Chapin Creek and the Chapin Creek Path join the Poudre River and its trail from the right. From this point on, the Poudre River Trail is much easier to walk, avoiding beaver swamps and willow thickets. Running north, it follows an easy grade for 3.4 miles to a junction with the Mummy Pass Trail (see the Mummy Range chapter).

The trail to The Crater, on Specimen Mountain, is the most popular trail beginning at Poudre Lake. Parking space at The Crater Trailhead is situated on the west side of Trail Ridge Road at roughly the midpoint of the lake. The damp meadow beside the parking area can be very colorful with subalpine flowers in July and August.

Most of Specimen Mountain has been given special preservation status as a research natural area. The entire mountain is closed to hiking each spring and early summer for NPS wildlife management purposes. Hiking above The Crater on Specimen is prohibited at all times to protect wildlife and to allow healing of foot traffic wear and tear on the tundra. For the sake of wildlife, descending into The Crater also is forbidden. Signs delineate the boundaries. On heavily used tundra where hiking is permitted around The Crater and on Shipler Mountain, please walk as lightly as possible.

The trail up to The Crater climbs steeply through mature subalpine forest to tree line. At the forest’s upper edge there are classic banner trees as well as Colorado blue columbine and Indian paintbrush. Well onto the tundra, 1.0 mile from the trailhead, you arrive at the edge of The Crater at a higher point on the Continental Divide. This area was named in the belief that it was the eroded crater of a long-extinct volcano of Specimen Mountain. Subsequent geological study, however, established that The Crater is merely an erosional feature shaped by ice and water. Additional investigation showed that Specimen Mountain is not a volcano, extinct or otherwise. Rather it is formed of ash and other volcanic material from an eruption that took place elsewhere, perhaps in the Never Summer Range.

The mountain itself was named for the variety of interesting rock specimens deposited by volcanic eruptions. Of course collecting specimens is strictly forbidden in a national park.

The top of Shipler Mountain is an easy 1.

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