Lost Creek Wilderness Area Trip Report and New Gear Review

So this past week I had some vacation time that I took to go hiking. I decided to do a 3 day loop in Lost Creek Wilderness Area. Goose Creek Trail - Mcgurdy Park Trail - Lake Park Trail - Hankins Pass - back to Goose Creek Trail-head.

This took me over several ridge lines and down into a few valleys and the beautiful Refrigerator Gulch. Total distance is about 26/27 miles. I expected to do it 3 days, and depending on arrival time at the finish, given the shorter days, leave on the morning of the 4th day. I actually did in 2.5 days. I hiked pretty far and quick, which is great despite my semi-light backpack not being up to UL standards, and given my long time hip issues and lingering asthma. I tend to hike slow, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Average daytime temp: 75
Average Nighttime: Cold. Sub zero if in the valley/gulch


Just starting out, fresh-faced and eager

Day 1, with traffic, and whatnot coming from Denver, I arrived and started at Goose Creek TH at about 9:35. I had lunch at the Old Shafthouse, as I usually do. Its a great place to stop since its signposted, and flat enough to sit and enjoy yourself out in an open field in the sun. I hiked probably 11 ish miles today, before stopping at around 4:15. The sun was just beginning to set and I came across the perfect campsite off to the side of the trail, down in the valley. Was near a stream and a cave off in the distance where the water came out of.  I don't know where exactly this was, but I'd absolutely recommend it as a site!

Somewhere before you turn off into Refrigerator Gulch

Lovely campsite for the evening. Definitely coming back here!

Day 2: Got up early this morning, as it was cold. Really cold. My water that wasn't in the tent with me, and the food (that was obviously NOT in the tent with me) were frozen solid. So were my toes after getting out of my sleeping bag and beginning to tear down my camp. Sad. I was able to eventually get my tea made to warm up. Packing up camp was hard as my fingers were so cold, and touching frost covered gear. Fine motor skills were a problem, so i had to stop often and warm up my hands. Today I just pushed on, unfortunately on an empty stomach until about 1.5 hours in. When I had finally thawed out some food that was in my pockets, and some water had melted from being in the sun. I don't know exactly how far I went today, but as I made it into Hankins Pass, I'd estimate another 10-11 miles. My asthma on the uphills slowed me down, as always, but not as bad as I was expecting. I flew along the straight or downhills, but my hips and toes were beginning to pay the price. May need to readjust my pack weight/packing strategy. I camped again around 4:15 so as to have plenty of time to set up and cook. I just pulled off into a small flat clear bit under some trees. Nothing scenic or exciting, but it got the job done.


Nothing like a good cuppa to warm you up in the morning. It was definitely needed.

Another scenic view on the trail. Unnamed hill (to be determined), # 450 that I saw. 

Day 3: This was gonna be a quick day, and I was thankful as a lot of it was uphill, even though not terribly steep, it just ached to do! A good cup of tea, and some more frozen trail mix, and I was on my way. I made it back to my car pretty early, around 10. I did about 1.5 mile an hour here, since i started at about 8:15. I thought I was going to finish the trail late tonight and have to spend another evening, due to early sunset, but hey - here I am done bright and early! What a trip!


Final morning, home stretch!

Love the view of forests and sloping hills!

Finished!  

This trip was also a chance for me to test/review some of my new kit. My cook kit, Trekking Poles, and Quilt. I will do a write up of each, and their performance in the field.

Cook Kit:

I did a previous detailed write-up on my cook kit here:
http://ottawahighlanderhiking.blogspot.com/2016/08/ul-cook-kit.html

Note, I love my Alpkit Kraku for size and the speed of it plus titanium cooking. This setup rocks, it boiled 2 cups of water quick. No exact time, but id say 3 minutes, maybe?

However, with MSR canisters at-least, it does have to be screwed on real tight. small annoyance: due to the folding design of the Kraku, you have to move/turn the control valve to get the one pot stand arm up and down. Not a deal breaker, obviously, just a small annoyance.  Likely due to extreme small size.

Trekking Poles:

Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork. Yes, I went for the gold-standard of poles. You know what? It was worth it, the price. Yeah. They work! I had used Trekking poles as a lad, in Scouts, but never since then. Being carbon fiber, they are light and strong. I was able to fly across flat ground, feeling like they were pulling me forward. These definitely helped on the dreaded uphill. They didn't help my longstanding hip injury, but for the asthma, they were good to lean on when resting, and then having a good huff and puff. I am never going hiking without them again!

Every time I would accidentally knock it against something, my heart would stop though, gotta get over that! 

Quilt:

Enlightened Equipment Enigma, 20 Degree, 850 Fill, Aegean Blue (20D) and Charcoal (10D). Yes. Oh Yes. EE is absolutely worth the wait, the hype, the lot. Believe it. These guys did great work, and were able to work with me, when i called in to change colours, and request they pay extra attention to the down they put in. I didn't want any smelly down for allergy potential. They were great on the phone, and absolutely took care of me. Customer for life here, and will be a voluntary/unofficial brand-ambassador for sure. 

Notes from the trip: My feet did get cold. I was wearing my thick winter socks, but I did have to double up and use my hiking socks underneath those. My upper body got so toasty, I took my fleece jumper off, and used it to wrap my feet. I don't know if its just me, as I do have cold sensitive feet, or if i was just not used to the quilt? My upper body was just fine though, no complaints there. 

Complaint/Comment: Holy Static, Batman! The first night, and very first use of it, It had pretty good static going in. In the dark, I could actually see the shocks in between the 2 layers. Hoping thats not too bad for the down, or didn't cause damage. I minimized movement to stop it from happening, and it seemed to lessen up after time went on.