Location: Poudre River Canyon,
Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado
Access:
From Ted’s Place drive west on Hwy 14 for 28.5 miles. Trailhead is in an
open park on the south side.
Trail:
3 miles one-way, moderate, 1300 ft elevation gain
Trailhead:
NAD83 zone 13 454289e 4505398n Elev: 7040'
Maps:
Trails Illustrated 1:40K: Cache La Poudre/Big Thompson #101; USGS 1:24K
Rustic
Dogs:
voice-control, off-leash OK
Webcam: 8 miles south at Pingree
Park (spring-fall only)
Weather:Current
and recent conditions Local
Forecast
Dadd Gulch is a short,
steep and rocky gulch rising south from the Poudre River a few miles west
of the Pingree Park Road junction. The trail begins at Highway 14 and rises
steadily along a seasonal stream that courses through open stands of Ponderosa
Pine and juniper. Shortly after its beginning, the trail leaves the gulch,
and continues up a gentler gulch to the east. The trail seems to occasionally
function as a stock trail, and cow pies often litter the trail. The beginning
of the trail, in fact, passes through a small corall. In the spring (April-May),
Pasque flower blooms in profusion in canopy openings, along with wild strawberry,
cinquefoil and the ubiquitous dandelion. Some junipers are tangled with
white clematis that blooms in mid-summer. On the rocky slopes that line
the gulch grow cactus, phlox and hardy grasses. Most of the ground, however,
is covered with lichen-covered granite blocks, pine needles and duff, the
result of the healthy stand of Ponderosa.
The trail ends at the Dadd Gulch
Road, which is accessed from the Crown Point Road. Three miles up the Dadd
Gulch Road begins Upper Dadd Gulch Trail, which intersects the Flowers
Trail in the Comanche Peak Wilderness. From Highway 14 to Dadd Gulch Road
is about 3 miles by my reckoning (though a guidebook I looked at said it
was 5 miles). Sections of the trail stretch through burned areas, where
blackened tree trunks only sometimes indicate a dead tree, as the flame
retardant Ponderosa bark protects them from minor blazes. Pockets of aspen
add a touch of light green, and the occasional water birch livens things
up as well. The high, rapid trill of hummingbirds is commonly heard in
the wetter months. The open forest invites off-trail exploration, and solitude
is an easy thing to find just a hundred yards off the trail. If you visit
on a warm, sunny day, be sure to take in the sweet vanilla scent of the
Ponderosa bark...makes you want to eat it.
There are trails that rise to lofty
vistas, and those that traverse gorgeous mountain valleys. These trails
attract untold numbers of people in the summer months. The appeal of Dadd
Gulch is that it is pretty, but not pretentious, and not so striking in
its scenery as to appeal to the wider masses. Thus it is that even on a
weekend, the trail is only lightly used, and it is not uncommon to have
the trail to oneself. On many occasions, this has been the case for me.
Nevertheless, the varied and diverse vegetation along with the open canopy
of the forest make it a pleasant hike from start to finish, with multiple
stream crossings to water the dogs along the way. |
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Page created 5-14-06
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