Green Mountain Falls

Going Up

There are different types of people that travel. Nomads wander, tourists want to be entertained and explorers are following the paths of people before them. 

We may not be able to sightsee, but we hiked some of the new trails in the canyon.

Green Mountain Falls is a small funky town just off Hwy 24 before Woodland Park. We would stop at the Mucky Duck for dinner or the Pantry for breakfast when they were open for sit down. For now we just enjoyed the out doors.

We took an early morning walk so scope out the steep hike we had planned for the next day. Walking along the creek and through the neighborhoods felt like a fairy tale place. Many of  the summer cabins t have been handed down through the families over the years from Texas and Kansas.

The American Discovery Trail

The Ute Pass Trail in Green Mountain Falls is part of the American Discovery Trail which is a national
trail — part city, part small town, part forest, part mountains, part desert — all in one trail. Its 6,800+ miles stretch from Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware, to Pt. Reyes National Seashore, California. 

The population in Colorado Springs population has exploded, making driving in the traffic and construction more than we wanted to deal with. We passed up a couple of hikes out of Gold Camp Road.

Castle Rock Trail

It is also home to many lesser-known hiking trails, including the H.B. Wallace Reserve. Nearly all of the trails in this area climb up the steep canyon walls that line Ute Pass with a lot of elevation gain to great views in just a few miles. I was moving slow just getting to the trailhead.

The dirt parking area is located at Ute Pass Ave and Mountain Road. Walk up Mountain Rd a few hundred yards until you see the sign for the Reserve on the right Just beyond the gate, there is a trail map and information. You can hike straight up the orange-signed steep Castle Rock trail to get to the top quickly, or you can branch off to either side on Elk Root or Peyote Pass trails. 

We passed up Elkroot for the Fat Man's Squeeze trail.  These trails ascend more gradually and add some mileage to the ascent. 

 I had hiked it five years ago with a hiking group out of Colorado Springs and wanted to show Mike what he had missed. We avoided the crowds, we actually didn't see one person on the trails of the H.B. Wallace Reserve.

 We wouldn't have returned to this part of Colorado for long if it hadn't been for the crazy situation. We had explored much the area while living there but were glad to be here for a while until Chaffee County opened from the lockdown.
 

The upper portion of the trail gets even steeper with  many tight switchbacks as we made our way up past the towering Castle Rock. The trail ends at the top of the rock with a great vantage point of Ute Pass.

Top of the hill. We made it!

Our destination

The Thomas Trail

.From downtown Green Mountain Falls, we walked west up Hondo Avenue to Catamount Creek Falls at the end of the road. The few people we did meet up with stepped aside or across the road as we passed.

From the gate at the top of the street, it is an easy walk to the falls on a gravel road. Much of the trail above is strewn with rocks, and there are areas of crumbly granite near fairly steep drop offs. At the side of the falls you will see signs for the Catamount Trail. After a short but steep climb
up rocks and tree roots alongside the falls, we came to a junction with yellow painted dots marking the Felton Thomas Trail and blue dots for the Catamount Trail. We followed the yellow metal dots posted about 8-10 feet up on trail-side trees.

The Felton Thomas trail winds up and down, over rocks and under branches, and ends at a waterfall that is at its peak in late spring.  

We walked up to the first falls on days we didn't want to climb through the rocks or drive to find other trails. We would get lost in our thoughts while listening to the wind in the trees and the sound of the falls. After the rain, the sunshine would make the trees smell so good as the breeze blew through them. 

Second falls

Crossing the creek below another set of falls.

We feel lucky to have had invitations from friends to get together even at a distance or on a hike. But for now we are keeping our distance. Recently, pre covid, we had spent an evening with friends. The next day, he started feeling not so well. Several days later, we got very sick. I guess we caught him during the incubation period. That was enough to make us be more cautious during this outbreak. Hopefully soon, we will be able to take them up  on their invitations.

Being nomads during this time can be precarious. If we should get the virus, we aren't sure how we would deal with our situation. Packing up and moving is a physical exercise, especially if you are sick and having trouble breathing. We would not be welcomed in our next campground if we were ill.  We are only in a site for a limited time before we have to move for the next people. If we both ended up in the hospital emergently, I don't know how we would deal with our trailer and truck. 

With all of that, we are still glad for our nomadic lifestyle. 

We got an email that the RV parks would open earlier than expected to people staying at least 30 days. We changed our plans and made the move. Now, we are set for the next three months, which is a long time for us. We were supposed to be volunteering in South Carolina and Virginia this summer so we could spend more time with Mike's family. I am glad we got to see them before the distancing began. Unfortunately, Mike's daughter, Amanda has had her cancer progress to stage 4. Our hearts are broken. She is cherishing everyday with her children and husband.

Snow on Pikes Peak as we were leaving Woodland Park. 

The Collegiate Peaks from Wilkerson Pass.

We will be exploring and being a tourist over the next few months.  But I don't see a 14er in my future.