Yet another hike! Hey, it beats sitting on the couch! We chose Brown's creek "lollypop" loop which is right up the street. A lollypop loop is a straight trail which loops at the end to make a lollypop. Think tootsie roll pop! What we thought was a 4.8 or so hike, turned out to be more like 6.1.
Let's begin. There is a parking lot across from the beginning of the trailhead which is off of Joy Lake Rd. It began with a steady ascent through a canopy of shaded forest. With all the rain we received this year wildflowers were in bloom and made the going beautiful. As we made our way to the summit there was a "side trip" trail called Sundown Town. Evidently, a group of investors had plans to make a theme park of sorts during the early 60's. That's the first I had ever heard of this.
Heading back to the main trail we veered off to the right and down into the canyon area where the Brown's Creek flows down from the mountain. Ah, nice shady aspen groves! That was the nice part. After crossing the creek we began to climb again as did the temperature that day. There seemed to be plenty of obstacles such as rocky trailbeds to maneuver and a lot of loose rocks to make your feet slide. And slide I did, swearing with each step and vowing to buy some new hiking shoes that would grip better.
Brown's creek trail, to me, was becoming a nightmare of sorts and I began to question whether my feet and/or my knees would make it in one piece! At the bottom of the trail which was a little over half way we crossed the creek once more and began our ascent back to the main trail. With the sun beating down on us by this time, the climb seemed to be a struggle, for me. For hubby, not so much, so trying to stay at his pace was getting to me (and my attitude went sideways!). I just wanted to get off this trail as soon as possible!
Well, I'm here to tell you I survived this one. Cross it off my list. Done! Later that evening at our friend's house for dinner our hike was mentioned. My friend looked at me with scary eyes as she exclaimed to me that that was where the mountain lion hangs out! Hmmm!
Would I do this hike again? Maybe, just the first part, not the whole loop! Stay tuned for more fun!
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| Wild morning glories? |
Cool aspen grove - possible mountain lion/cougar country?
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