Segment 4 gets us above the 10,000 ft mark for elevation and the thru-hike can officially begin. It’s always great to get up to altitude on any hike and Day 4 gets me there.
Colorado Trail – Segment 4 – Rolling Creek TH to Long Gulch
16.6 Miles, Elevation Gain: 3,271 feet, Elevation Loss: 1,373 feet
The Rolling Creek Trailhead is a bit misleading. Most of the hike instructions discuss the second parking area that is maybe 0.5 miles up from the initial parking area. Section 4 begins with a 3,000 foot gain in elevation which takes you into the Lost Creek Wilderness area and Aspen Groves. Section 4 can be considered the start of the ‘real’ CT because it’s the first time you reach 10,000 feet.
Most of our videos are filmed in a full 360° arc, this means you should be able to use your device to move the video around and up and down. If you are having issues or if you are watching with VR goggles, click over and watch our SwissCheeseTrails playlist directly on YouTube.
In the last video, I quickly mentioned that I saw a Moose. I also mentioned that the Aspens begin. This video is dedicated to the Aspen Groves that dominate the Lost Creek Wilderness Area. The campsite I selected is about 3 miles from the Trailhead. There are a few spots in this area and they are beautiful. Soft, flat ground and Aspen Grove views, what more could you want. This is a great video for VR Goggles. Make sure to download the 4K version and enjoy the Aspens.
Craig’s Creek is a good water source with a nice area for a break. I’ve evolved into a common morning routine. I wake up and eat an energy or breakfast bar before packing up camp. Then I plan a longer breakfast at a water source some 2-4 miles from camp.
My longer breakfast begins with a water boil. I have a single coffee cup and a jet boil stove. Between these two devices, I boil water for oatmeal, cup-a-soup, and 2 cups of coffee. I’ve always enjoyed oatmeal for breakfast and it’s simple to pack. Cup-a-soup has become a wonderful savory (salt) balance to the sweet oatmeal. Then hot coffee. In all, this accounts for almost a liter of fluids and about 500 calories.
I’m way over my skies with this math because I have not done Trigonometry since high school. So, let’s start by correcting that a mile is about 5200 ft, not 6000+ ft. The “Grade” or Percentage of Slope is an easy calculation of Rise/Run*100. In this case, 1000ft/5200ft*100=19.2%. I’m talking highway grades of 3% and thinking the hike is 6% when it’s actually almost a 20% grade. The Angle of the slope requires the use of Tangent and the answer is ~11° angle.
Although I’m totally off in my calculations, there is a second method of determining the percent of slope which I actually touch on. A 45° angle is a 100% slope. So, if I had started with 5200ft per mile instead of 6200ft, I would have divided by 5 instead of 6; and 100% slope divided by 5 is the basic correct answer of 20%. A lot of “IFs” for sure.
To round this math lesson out, the Oregon Sec of State has a pretty neat historical summary of grades here: https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhib…
The North Fork Meadows of the Lost Creek Wilderness Area are alpine meadows at their finest. I Google Earthed this area which proved to provide little reality to the real thing. There are campsites all along the trail which follow the treeline.
I had lunch at the Long Gulch Trailhead and planned on a long, slow afternoon hike up to my desired campsite at the top of the meadows. I met another thru-hiker named Jumper, he is a true hiker having completed the PCT. His pace was a bit faster than my normal pace and I arrived at camp 2 hours early.
The campsite is at 11,000 ft. with soft and flat ground. There are several campsites available but be careful not to put your stuff on an anthill. The campsite was ideal except for planes on their approach to Denver. Unfortunately, this reminder of civilization is unavoidable from the middle of section 4 until the middle of section 5.
Day 5 begins at 11,000 feet and the altitude has some effect on me. At the end of section 4, during the descent, is the first time you can see the 14,000 peaks of the Rockies with snow. I became very energized with this view and also seeing South Park.
