Paul - Hiking waterfalls in Colorado: a guide to the states best waterfall hikes

Hiking Waterfalls in Colorado

A Guide to the States Best Waterfall Hikes

Susan Joy Paul

HELP US KEEP THIS GUIDE UP TO DATE

Every effort has been made by the author and editors to make this guide as accurate and useful as possible. However, many things can change after a guide is publishedtrails are rerouted, regulations change, techniques evolve, facilities come under new management, and so on.

We would appreciate hearing from you concerning your experiences with this guide and how you feel it could be improved and kept up to date. While we may not be able to respond to all comments and suggestions, well take them to heart, and well also make certain to share them with the author. Please send your comments and suggestions to the following address:

GPP

Reader Response/Editorial Department

P.O. Box 480

Guilford, CT 06437

Or you may e-mail us at: editorial@GlobePequot.com

Thanks for your input, and happy trails!

To my sisters and my sons: Priscilla Rosalie Paul, Carolyn Ann McNeil, Alison Gaye Milligan, Melissa Bess Clifford, Joshua Brent Levesque, and Garrett Paul Schaller. I love you all so much.

Copyright 2013 Morris Book Publishing, LLC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, PO Box 480, Guilford CT 06437.

FalconGuides is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.

Falcon, FalconGuides, and Outfit Your Mind are registered trademarks of Morris Book Publishing, LLC.

Photos by Susan Joy Paul unless otherwise credited.

Maps by Daniel Lloyd and Alena Joy Pearce Morris Book Publishing LLC

Text design: Sheryl P. Kober

Project editor: Julie Marsh

Layout: Mary Ballachino

ISBN 978-1-4930-0327-3

The author and Globe Pequot Press assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all the hikers and bikers, dog walkers and horse riders, peak baggers and leaf peepers, backpackers and geocachers, bird watchers and photographers, park rangers, forest rangers and outfitters, hunters and anglers, locals, tourists, and shopkeepers: Katie Amershek; Charlene Anderson; JoAnn Beck; Carrie Bennetts; Bret Bissey; Steve Blankenship; Frances Brandt; Jack Campbell; Captain Orville and Ranger Kevin of the Morrow Point Boat Tour; Tom Cook; Glenn Cottone; Marilyn Divelbiss; Katie Fink; Ian Gillespie; Geraldo Gomez; Joe Haug; Randy Keller; Wes Killion; Anne Langford; Kevin Linebarger; Lorayne McGovern; Brian Mease; Mark Montag; Bryce Montano; Rick Moton; Mark Mott; Ed Musimann; Colleen Oquist; Rick Paine; Mark; Kristen; Kellyn and Garrett Pattee; Dave Pomeroy; Rachael Raab; Joshua Jackson Robinson; Jan Schlotzhauer; Brian Schwalm; Shaun Simon; Jill Spaeth; Milt Spiker; Ian Stout; and Megan Sweeney, for the great conversations on the road and on the trail.

Thanks to my editor, John Burbidge; project editor, Julie Marsh; map manager, Melissa Baker; copy editor, Josh Rosenberg; layout artist, Mary Ballachino; and publisher FalconGuides and Globe Pequot Press, for all your hard work.

Thanks to my friends and family, the ochos, the hooligans, and the gym rats: Jennifer Apland, Kevin Baker, Janina Botchis, Steve Brown, Cliff Bryant, Penny Carroll, Cindi Carter, Mark Castillo, Mary Castillo, Jane Clifford, Satyabrata Dam, Anthony Davis, Susan Davis, Eileen Docherty, Elaine Duchaineau, Matt Ellis, Kimberly Flack, Nestor Garcia, Doug Hatfield, Mark Huffman, Eric Hunter, Tarza Ibrahim, Cheryl C. J. Johnson, Ryan Johnson, Alaina Johnston, Kim King, Kellan Kruger, Yakeesha Latham, Michele Lawson, Michelle Leon, Alma Lopez, Mike McElhaney, Holly Medina, Shae Noble, Frank Palazzolo, Kathy Palmer, Michael Richardson, Robin Robinson, Carlos Romero, John Schnebly, Lacy Scott, Brittany Sotomayor, Tyree Terry, and Tory Wells, for the kind words of support.

Thanks to the rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park, for patiently answering all my questions, and especially Katy Sykes for taking the time to review many of the hikes in this book.

And finally, thank you to the writers: Larry Bleiberg, Jenny Deam, Stewart M. Green, Mark Obmascik, and Jilly Salva, for your empathy and your encouragement. We are a living breed.

Introduction

Welcome! A Message from Your Waterfall Guide

Greetings, and welcome to the wet and wild world of Colorado waterfalls! Ours is a watery state, crisscrossed from north to south and east to west with thousands of creeks, streams, and rivers. These mountain-born waterways tumble down the hillsides, rest in small pools and mighty lakes, and funnel through chasms, gorges, and defiles. Along the wayand to the delight of the Colorado hikerthey sometimes spill and splatter over crags and cliffs, splash off boulders, and slip over slabs, in a glorious show of waterfall wonder.

With this book, Ill introduce you to 150 of my favorite Colorado waterfalls. The trips vary from simple drive-ups you can do in your car, to short walks on easy paths, to moderate hikes on bumpy trails, and strenuous treks for many miles across difficult terrain. Youll visit dozens of national forests; state and national parks; and wilderness, wildlife, conservation, and recreation areas. Your waterfall hikes enter sixty-five United States Geological Survey quads in thirty-one Colorado counties. If you visit all the waterfalls in this book, youll hike more than 380 milesor the distance across the entire state of Colorado, from Utah to Kansas! You will climb 73,000 feet, or the equivalent of climbing Pikes Peak, from the Barr Trailhead to the summitten times!

A yellow-bellied marmot stretches out on a rock above Columbine Falls.

Youll travel through a variety of ecosystems, hike the grasslands and prairies, climb gentle foothills, meander through montane forests, reach lofty heights in subalpine zones, and top out on mountain vistas. Along the way, youll take in views of high summits and crystal lakes, wander across desert canyons and through dense, dark forests, and cross rushing rivers and babbling creeks. Youll enjoy the sights and smells of the Rocky Mountain maple, Colorado blue spruce, and ponderosa pine. Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, cottonwood, and aspen trees rise above you on the trails; while sagebrush, juniper, willow, prickly pear cactus, and Mormon tea lie below, at your feet. Youll hear the sounds of the Colorado wilderness: the whir of the hummingbird, rat-a-tat of the woodpecker, gobble of the wild turkey, chirp of the lark bunting, clicks and clucks of the ptarmigan, and descending warble of the canyon wren. There are fish, and bugs too, and wildflowers of every shape, size, and hue. Youll catch more than a glimpse of Colorado wildlife on your outings, as mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, porcupine, badgers, beavers, squirrels, chipmunks, pika, marmots, rabbits, lynx, bobcats, mountain lions, black bear, foxes, coyotes, lizards, snakes, and even moose all live in the places you will visit on your waterfall hikes.