Top of the World
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July 6, 2016
Good afternoon!! Just returned from a great hike in the Pike National Forest in Buffalo Creek, Colorado!! Before I delve into the highlights of today’s morning workout and adventure, I want to update you on the river conditions from Decker’s through the Confluence. At 12:45 this afternoon, the flow out of Cheesman was 260 (cfs) and 393 (cfs) in Trumbull. Right now it’s a toasty 84 degrees with plenty of sunshine and a nice breeze!! On the fishing side of things, the dry-flies, trico’s in particular are starting to show up in numbers, but the caddis will continue to be going off strong through July. Check with the guys at Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com daily, as they really have the “scoop” on what consistently works best!
I’ve just done some photo-editing of the pictures from today’s hike! We started out this morning on a forest road off of Jefferson County road 126, in Buffalo Creek, Colorado. In beginning of the hike this morning, we were originally intending to hike along the service road to the once very popular campground area know as “Top of the World.” However, once we reached our destination we decided that we would continue down the valley and intersect with the Colorado Trail. Roughly, about an hour or so later, we connected with trail and continue to climb south through the valley. While resting at the “Top of the World” former camping area, we were able to take in 360 degree views of the mountains to our west, which included Green, Little Scraggy, the slightly larger “Scraggy” and in the distance to the north-west is Mount Evans. The area that we hiked today is also in recovery from wildfire. On the afternoon of May 18, 1996 an unattended campfire near Wellington Lake in the Pike National Forest started the Buffalo Creek fire. As the fire grew, driven east by high winds, residents of Buffalo Creek and nearby Spring Creek were evacuated. The fire spread rapidly toward Jefferson County Highway 126, which runs north from Decker’s through Buffalo Creek and Pine to U.S. Highway 285. In spite of the determined efforts of fire fighters, the fire jumped the road, burning structures at the edge of Buffalo Creek and threatening homes in Spring Creek. By Tuesday, the fire had burned a path ten miles long and two miles wide, destroying 18 homes or other structures. The blaze continued east, until it stopped at the South Platte River. Tomorrow, we will be hiking the burn scar area of the Hayman fire that took place in the S.Platte valley in 2002. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from today’s hike. Have a great day and do something outdoors today!
Chef Chris
