Trail 715

Finished work early and parked in the small lot near the gate for 715. My goal was to explore the fork near the creek (Beaver Creek?) and see where it lead to. I had hiked this route in reverse a couple of weeks back and was curious. I began around 1:30 and started in a light rain/snow. The route is a fairly easy hike and I was able to make pretty good time in spite of myself. I felt a little ill-prepared. I opted for my Camelbak (1 liter), some snacks, a fleece vest and my raincoat. My upperbody stayed warm and dry but my hands were cold for most of the trip. My pants got pretty wet (need to invest in rain pants!) and my thighs were cold and wet most of the trip as well.

I made it to my new territory around 2:30 and ventured out. The route I was on was taking back to the east. I walked for about 10 minutes and then I could see houses. Come to find out I was on private property and ended up at a cul-de-sac in a small neighborhood. On the way back I saw the Private Property sign which had either fallen or was vandalized by some not-so-honest hikers.

After backtracking to my past hike I contemplated crossing the creek and seeing if there were any other routes which might take me south. I could definitely see plenty of areas to the south but most were fenced off (can't imagine actually owning this kind of property!).

Got back to the car before 4 and was home in about 10 minutes. Shortly after getting home it snowed quite hard and left about 2 inches in our yard. Gotta love Colorado in the Springtime!

My plan for the future is to buy some waterproof gloves. I had my Mountain Hardwear windproof gloves but they don't shed water at all.