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beyondthecampground.com
backcountry camping for the whole family
Colorado 2011
Part 2: Cow Creek
Part 2: Cow Creek
After a hot shower, some mexican food and buying some extra hydraulic hoses in Gunnison it was time to decide where to go next.
Most of the time we have a general idea of what we want to do, but rarely do we have reservations or any set itinerary. It was
Friday morning so we wanted to find a place to stay for the weekend and have a few rest days before tackling our next 14er. At
the recommendation of the salesman at a camping store and looking at the map we thought we would head west to Silver Jack
Reservoir, south of Black Canyon of the Gunnison. He said the fishing was supposed to be pretty good and there were a few
campgrounds as well as dispersed camping.
It took a few hours to get there from Gunnison, and we started to regret heading that way. The camping areas were all full, and there was not a lot of privacy. Some of the groups looked like they had been there a long time. There were kids, dogs and ATV's everywhere. We nixed the area and checked the map. It looked like if we headed over Owl Creek pass there might be some camping on the other side at Cow Creek. As we headed over the pass it was pretty dense with pines and aspens, with some steep drop offs from the road. We stopped for a roadside lunch with a great view of Mt. Sneffels and the Cow Creek valley. The map showed Cow Creek as a nice valley that dead-ended at a trailhead that took you by Wetterhorn Peak. As we wound our way through the Forest roads and to the creek, it became apparent a very large flash flood had blown down the creek in the past few months. We continued and found much of the road was up high on a ridge and not next to the creek. We followed it down to creek level and then it disappeared into the creek, which was running pretty fast. The road had been washed out in the flood. We had only passed a handful of possible campsites, and now it was getting later in the day. We decided not to try and cross at this point, and turned around to check out the last camping spot we had seen. It looked like a fish camp someone had set up, and another creek, Red Creek, was right behind us.
It took a few hours to get there from Gunnison, and we started to regret heading that way. The camping areas were all full, and there was not a lot of privacy. Some of the groups looked like they had been there a long time. There were kids, dogs and ATV's everywhere. We nixed the area and checked the map. It looked like if we headed over Owl Creek pass there might be some camping on the other side at Cow Creek. As we headed over the pass it was pretty dense with pines and aspens, with some steep drop offs from the road. We stopped for a roadside lunch with a great view of Mt. Sneffels and the Cow Creek valley. The map showed Cow Creek as a nice valley that dead-ended at a trailhead that took you by Wetterhorn Peak. As we wound our way through the Forest roads and to the creek, it became apparent a very large flash flood had blown down the creek in the past few months. We continued and found much of the road was up high on a ridge and not next to the creek. We followed it down to creek level and then it disappeared into the creek, which was running pretty fast. The road had been washed out in the flood. We had only passed a handful of possible campsites, and now it was getting later in the day. We decided not to try and cross at this point, and turned around to check out the last camping spot we had seen. It looked like a fish camp someone had set up, and another creek, Red Creek, was right behind us.
end of the road on Cow Creek
We decided to hike the next day up the creek to the
trailhead and see if there were some more camps along the
creek. After scrambling around the area where the road was
washed out, the hiking was pretty easy and made for a nice
afternoon. We found one great campsite just before the
trailhead.
Red Creek
After exploring the area we headed back to the camp so Lucky
could do some fishing. We saw one guy and his dog that
afternoon doing some fishing as well.
The next day we hiked down stream on the road to try and make it to the gaging station on the river. The road was up on the ridge and the trail took us down towards the river. The lower we got, the thicker the brush got. We were really doing some bushwacking, but not making much progress as a storm came in. We went back up to the road and headed for camp so Lucky could catch us some dinner. The fishing was great, and we had trout in foil for dinner. This was a great area with very little traffic. We weren't sure if it was because the road was washed out or if no one really knew about it. The next morning we could hear some heavy equipment making it's way down the road towards us. Sure enough, a large bulldozer made it's way past our campsite towards where the road was washed out. As we left the campsite the next morning, we noticed the road crossing the creeks was improved from the bulldozers work. We wondered if the next time we came here (and we will return!) if we would see more people with the easier roads. That was probably the least populated camping/fishing area we have seen in Colorado for August. We headed out of Cow Creek and towards Buena Vista, it was time to knock out some 14ers!
The next day we hiked down stream on the road to try and make it to the gaging station on the river. The road was up on the ridge and the trail took us down towards the river. The lower we got, the thicker the brush got. We were really doing some bushwacking, but not making much progress as a storm came in. We went back up to the road and headed for camp so Lucky could catch us some dinner. The fishing was great, and we had trout in foil for dinner. This was a great area with very little traffic. We weren't sure if it was because the road was washed out or if no one really knew about it. The next morning we could hear some heavy equipment making it's way down the road towards us. Sure enough, a large bulldozer made it's way past our campsite towards where the road was washed out. As we left the campsite the next morning, we noticed the road crossing the creeks was improved from the bulldozers work. We wondered if the next time we came here (and we will return!) if we would see more people with the easier roads. That was probably the least populated camping/fishing area we have seen in Colorado for August. We headed out of Cow Creek and towards Buena Vista, it was time to knock out some 14ers!