Laika and I snuck in one more overnight camping trip before the fall chill fully sets in. We went back to the Sangre de Cristo wilderness, west of Pueblo. Lara and I took Bacchus to a lake in this area where we captured a picture we simply call “Happy Dog”. We haven’t been back since. I wanted to keep that memory for Bacchus, so Laika and I hiked up the drainage immediately to the east of that spot, which would lead us to the Bushnell Lakes.
The thing about the “Sangres” is that every trail is steep. The wilderness area follows the tall, narrow Sangre de Cristo range, so there is really no way to avoid going up, unless you just want to walk around them. This trail was no exception. At about 5 miles and roughly 3400 feet of elevation gain, it was going to be a workout.
To make things more interesting, we got off to a late start after it took me longer than I planned to get out of the office. We didn’t make it to the trailhead until about 3:30, which only left about 3 hours until sunset. We needed to hustle.
Unfortunately, the weather chose not to cooperate either. It started raining after we were on the trail for about 15 minutes. It had clearly rained for a day or two before this as well, so the trail was wet – slick, muddy, and wet. Climbing a 15 degree incline is hard enough. Doing it in the muck is almost tortuous. I’ve never come so close to giving up on a hike, and I nearly quit at least 5 times on this one.
Each time, I convinced myself to push on just a little farther. I knew there was a series of lakes at the top, connected by waterfalls. The idea of catching them after a storm broke was a powerful motivator. We just had to keep going. Along the way, I couldn’t help but wonder if this could be the last time my body would allow me to make a hike like this.
The clouds parted for a couple of brief windows – enough to catch some glimpses of the colors. The trees in Colorado aren’t as brilliant this year thanks to the drought we’ve experienced, but the colors were still there, and it was still the mountains. There were just enough beautiful scenes along the way to keep me motivated.
Still, I couldn’t beat the sun. I was still about half a mile short of the lakes as the sun dropped below the ridge. We needed to find a spot to camp quickly. I found a moderately flat spot and quickly pitched my tent. Then I had to find some water, in a strange place, in the dark. I knew the stream ran down the drainage to the west. I just wasn’t sure how far. As a bushwhacked my my towards my best guess, I found myself slogging through a bog. What a mess!
I was lucky to find a pool just deep enough for me to fill my water reservoir with enough water for dinner. I rushed back to camp to cook and eat before the storms came back, and made it into my tent just in time. I’m fortunate to have good, modern camping gear, so we were warm and dry through the night.
We woke around 6 for sunrise and hustled up toward the lake. We just missed the best of the dawn light, but when we came across the lakes, I didn’t care. They were as beautiful as promised, and the still morning air made for some great reflections of the waterfall in the background. We spent half an hour or so snapping photos. It would have been so much better if we’d had a chance to scout the location. I found a few great spots after the light was gone. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend a trip to the lakes.
We headed back to camp for breakfast and to try to dry out our gear before packing it away. On the hike back down, I couldn’t shake one thought… Maybe this wouldn’t be my last hike in the Sangre de Cristos after all.
