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Location: Roosevelt NF, Comanche
Peak Wilderness, north-central Colorado
June 13, 2000
Maps: USGS 7.5' Quads: Rustic, Pingree Park; Trails Illustrated 1:40K: Cameron Pass #112 Access: From Ted's Place at the Poudre Canyon entrance, drive about 25 miles west on Hwy 14 and turn south onto Pingree Park Rd (CR 63E). Drive south 6.2 miles to the Jack's Gulch Campground and turn right, driving past the campground. Less than a mile from the turn, the TH parking area appears on the left. Fees: None Trail: 6 miles, one-way. Elevation gain of around 1300 ft. Trail follows Fish Creek closely for most of the distance, and stays in thick timber most of the time. Dog Regulations: Voice Control in National Forest, leash control mandated in wilderness. Webcam: Pingree Park 3 miles south (spring-fall only) Weather: NOAA Rustic weather station Local Forecast Chuck, Frank and I took a mid-week backpacking trip up here right about the time two very large wildfires were burning up the front range. Not to be concerned by such matters, we hiked on into the backcountry on a perfect summer day. The weather was perhaps the most favorable of any camping trip I've ever been on. Phenominally pleasant. We hiked for about 2 miles, then camped next to the creek. It sprinkled a bit on our tent as we slept that night, but the following morning was cloudless, and very cold. Frank's water froze-over during the night. We were up by 6:30, but it was almost 8 before the sun made it up high enough to generously shine down on our camp and warm us up. We cooked up a breakfast of pancakes and then hiked down the trail for about 1.5 miles. Beaver Creek is located just north of Fish Creek, another place I've backpacked with less stellar results. We packed up camp by 12:30 and got back to the car sometime around 2:00. I am definitely going to have to visit Beaver Creek again. 
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