Lake of the Clouds - 2006 | wildwanderings

Lake of the Clouds, CO - 2006

Sangre De Cristo Wilderness - Pike and San Isabel National Forests

Getting there: Gibson Creek Trail Head….from Westcliffe (Westcliffe is 50 miles west of Pueblo); follow Highway 69 north to CR #170, follow this dirt road about 5 miles and turn left at the Forest Service sign for Gibson Creek.. Take a right at the next sign and you’ll be on #172, follow this to the end of the road (about 3 miles) to get to the Gibson Creek parking area. The access trail to the Rainbow is on the north end of the parking area and goes west about 200 yards until it meets with the Rainbow Trail. The Lakes of the Clouds trailhead (junction with Rainbow Trail) is 1 mile north.. The Lakes of the Clouds trail follows Swift Creek for about four miles to the lowest lake.

Trail Notes: Lake of the Clouds Trail - The trail has been rated by others as moderate to difficult. Since this was our first hike ever (with overloaded packs and being completely out of shape) we felt this was a very difficult hike. The topo map doesn't show the first half of the trail. At Gibson Creek trail head the elevation is 9200' with an increase to 11500 at the lower lake. Roughly 4 miles of trail.

Trip Participants: Mike, James, Eric, <dog>

Trip Length: 3 days (May 26 - 28, 2006): Day 1=hiked in Day 2=Hiked to the lakes and fished Day 3=Hiked out

Trip Notes:

Day 1 - This late spring hike proved to be just what late spring is like on the western slope, cold and windy. The weather was nice hiking up due to tree density. The spring like conditions were felt most at the lakes themselves. Our gear was hobbled together off ebay with what little money we had for hiking/camping supplies. We knew nothing about pack weight considerations. Among other things...Eric packed in 10 lbs of dog food, James carried a half size shovel (you can see the shovel in a picture on the gallery) and Mike smoked. Our steak dinner the first night was about as paleo as we got. We camped below the switchbacks never making it to the lakes on our first day. Our campsite resided just below the switchbacks where the trail and Swift Creek almost meet. We crossed the creek and setup camp further away from the trail. Our gallery of this trip has some nice shots of our camp and the creek. It was beautiful. The sound of the creek put us to sleep that night along with the rum and vodka.

Day 2 -

Day 3 - Hiked out.

Mike's Gear: High Peak Alpine 70 + 10, <bag>, <boot>, <stove>, <fishing gear>, <accessories>

James's Gear: High Peak Alpine 70 + 10, <bag>, <boot>, <stove>, <fishing gear>, <accessories>

Eric's Gear: <pack>, <bag>, <boot>, <stove>, <fishing gear>, <accessories>

Trail enjoyment: Mike's Rating James's Rating Eric's Rating

Trail Difficulty: Mike's Rating James's Rating Eric's Rating

Lakes/Streams:

Wine: No wine taken this trip

Whiskey: No whiskey taken this trip