Cascade Creek and Pawnee Pass

Description

Elevation: - 12,550'
Location - West of Ward in Colorado on the Continental Divide.

Trip Report(s)

In 1993 I took the first overnight backpacking trip I had made since Boy Scouts in the 1970s. I had been toying with the idea for a while, and asked my parents if they would buy me a backpack for my birthday that year. With that, a used sleeping bag and a tarp for a tent, I was set! But where? Chuck Ludwig (a co-worker at the time) and I were looking at some topo maps of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area when we noticed that Ward (on the east side of the Divide) and Monarch Lake (on the west) were only about 12-15 air miles apart, even though they are over 100 miles apart by road. So why not a trip over Pawnee Pass to connect the two?

With that itinerary in mind, we were dropped off at Brainard Lake (10,300') early one Saturday. From there we hiked up the Pawnee Pass trail, passing by Long Lake and Lake Isabelle before starting the steep climb up the pass. I remember getting sort of sick at this point from the exertion (a common problem of mine before I figured out I wasn't getting enough hydration!)

After a long struggle uphill under the unaccustomed weight of a full backpack, we finally reached the pass (12,550') about mid-morning. The pass is nestled between Pawnee Peak (12,943') to the north and Shoshone Peak (12,957') to the south. Then we started a steep downhill section, switchbacking constantly through a scree field. It was steep enough that it was actually as hard work going down, to keep braking oneself, as it had been going up. The trail at this point drops about 1,000' in less than a quarter mile. When we could notice, Pawnee Lake was below us, nestled among rugged peaks on all sides. After making it down to the more gradual slopes by the lake, it started to rain. This was before I had a bunch of sophisticated gear, so I simply donned a poncho and we huddled under some trees and waited it out, munching on food and talking. Then we continued down the drainage.

Not long after the lake we came to a stream crossing that sort of freaked me out. It was on a single wet, smooth log that was about 10' above the crashing rapids of Cascade Creek. I had no poles or walking stick to balance myself with, and ended up going over it very slowly, scared the whole way. If I had fallen with a full pack on my back, it wouldn't have been pretty! But I made it, and that was a real accomplishment to me. We then continued the hike downstream. Cascade Creek is aptly named. The drainage drops so fast from the Divide to Monarch Lake that about every quarter to half mile we would pass a waterfall. In fact, one of the things we were on the lookout for was Cascade Falls, supposedly the waterfall used in the Coors beer commercials. But the waterfalls were so common, and all of them so pretty, that the running joke for the whole weekend became, "I think this, this, must be Cascade Falls!"

We camped on a hillock overlooking a stream meandering through beaver meadows, with perfect views of the Divide and the pass we had come through. Chuck broke out a fishing rod and went fishing for trout while I just hung out and enjoyed myself. It was a beautiful place, and a great reward for a hard day - we had covered about 10 trail miles to this point.

Sunday morning we broke camp and headed on down, passing at least three more "Cascade Falls" (including what I believe to be the real one). We finally made it to Monarch Lake, and walked down to the ranger cabin there, where we had a good talk with a man holding the perfect job on earth. He was an older ranger who sat on a porch swing in front of the cabin, with chipmunks literally running back and forth over his feet, Monarch Lake before him and the Continental Divide rising behind it, and all he had to do was answer questions on where was the nearest outhouse, how far this or that trail led, etc. I suspect it was a reward for a lot of long years doing less glamorous work in the Forestry Service, and I bet there's a waiting list a mile long for getting that job, but I would like to be on that list!

We then walked a long way down along the south shore of Lake Granby, until we reached the spillway by Sunset Point (8,280'), where our ride would pick us up (completing about 20 miles, total, for the trip). It was still too early for them to arrive, so Chuck fished in the lake and I watched the sailboats. Odd seeing sailboats after being above timberline! It was hot, and I remember getting rather "cooked" in the sun. Our ride finally came and then it was all over but the long trip back home. For the first backpacking trip I had been on in almost two decades it turned out quite well, and I was hooked. Photos follow.

Photos

Lots of pictures on this one, because it was one of my first real trips.

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