Date: 4/28/2012
Who: Sammy and myself
Length: about 12 miles
Time: 8 hours
Weather: 40-60 degrees, partly cloudy

The Bear Creek trails we followed today were part of the primary route to the summit of Pikes Peak before the Pikes Peak Highway and Barr Trail were built. In the late 1800s, they took burros up the trail. Apparently, developers at one time had plans to build a hotel and opera house in Jones Park for all the Pikes Peak tourists.

We started at the intersection of Lower Gold Camp Road and High Drive. High Drive is still closed to cars for the season. We followed Bear Creek along High Drive and the Bear Creek Canyon trail to Jones Park. From Jones Park we took a well-marked social trail past Louds Cabin up to a saddle between Mt. Garfield and Mt. Arthur. That trail from the cabin was steep! Mt. Garfield was our first summit; we spent about 30 minutes up there enjoying the views. Then we went over to Mt. Arthur. Then, we retraced our steps back down to the parking lot.

Sometimes I think of the trees and wildflowers in the mountains like slow-motion fireworks, in the way that the different plants only bloom for certain parts of the year. I noticed today that some are starting to “go off”!

This hike followed the RED line:

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