Hell Canyon 10/24
12mi, 3500' EVG (approximately)
Hell Canyon is a long drainage that stretches from above US 36 in Muggins Gulch down to the North Fork of the Little Thompson north of Lyons. Although most of the land is part of Roosevelt National Forest, it is difficult to access the drainage due to private property at the head and terminus of the canyon. In order to make this loop possible, we skirted several property lines and Joe was able to get permission from one landowner so that we could follow an old road through her property.
The four of us started at a pullout above a closed gate at the end of FS 123 and climbed up the ridge to the north to avoid the first swath of private land. Being late October, it was pretty cold in the morning and some lichen was icy after a few rainy days in the week before. After reaching the top of the ridge we followed it down to some outcrops and decided to drop down into a tributary gulch that drains from Nixon Park upstream. Like many narrow gulches, the steep gradient and brush made it tough to fight our way down to Hell Canyon. At the confluence, we tried to locate an old trail that is still shown on many maps but barely exists now. The streambed in Hell Canyon was pretty torn up from the 2013 flooding, but the canyon bottom was usually wide enough to give you a few options for travel. I really enjoyed the canyon because of how remote it felt, with only a few traces of human visitation over the several miles of the canyon we hiked through. The forest in the area was also very mature with massive and varied species of trees. The small stream was flowing, although in the upper half of the canyon it probably disappears during the dry months. It wasn't until farther down that the pools seemed permanent, and we started to see big schools of brown and brook trout(one up to 10 inches!) in the wider parts of the creek.
Eventually we decided to climb out of the canyon and gain the old 4WD road above, which we would follow pretty much the whole way back to the car. The road was in good shape and had some recent tracks in the mud. The road climbs into a long meadow that had nice views back down on the plains. Soon after leaving the meadow we reached a gate at a property line, at which point we bushwhacked along the fence and rounded the corner to reach the road again on public land. After following the road for a while again, we reached the last of the private land whose owner Joe had spoken with to gain permission. We switched over to a much less traveled road and followed it as it weaved through outcroppings on top of Elk Ridge. The road re-entered forest service land, and we continued through a few more meadows with good views of nearby mountains before dropping back through the forest to the car.
More photos for this trip can be found along with some of Joe's other adventures in the area, Nixon Park and Elk Ridge hikes.
Hell Canyon is a long drainage that stretches from above US 36 in Muggins Gulch down to the North Fork of the Little Thompson north of Lyons. Although most of the land is part of Roosevelt National Forest, it is difficult to access the drainage due to private property at the head and terminus of the canyon. In order to make this loop possible, we skirted several property lines and Joe was able to get permission from one landowner so that we could follow an old road through her property.
The four of us started at a pullout above a closed gate at the end of FS 123 and climbed up the ridge to the north to avoid the first swath of private land. Being late October, it was pretty cold in the morning and some lichen was icy after a few rainy days in the week before. After reaching the top of the ridge we followed it down to some outcrops and decided to drop down into a tributary gulch that drains from Nixon Park upstream. Like many narrow gulches, the steep gradient and brush made it tough to fight our way down to Hell Canyon. At the confluence, we tried to locate an old trail that is still shown on many maps but barely exists now. The streambed in Hell Canyon was pretty torn up from the 2013 flooding, but the canyon bottom was usually wide enough to give you a few options for travel. I really enjoyed the canyon because of how remote it felt, with only a few traces of human visitation over the several miles of the canyon we hiked through. The forest in the area was also very mature with massive and varied species of trees. The small stream was flowing, although in the upper half of the canyon it probably disappears during the dry months. It wasn't until farther down that the pools seemed permanent, and we started to see big schools of brown and brook trout(one up to 10 inches!) in the wider parts of the creek.
Eventually we decided to climb out of the canyon and gain the old 4WD road above, which we would follow pretty much the whole way back to the car. The road was in good shape and had some recent tracks in the mud. The road climbs into a long meadow that had nice views back down on the plains. Soon after leaving the meadow we reached a gate at a property line, at which point we bushwhacked along the fence and rounded the corner to reach the road again on public land. After following the road for a while again, we reached the last of the private land whose owner Joe had spoken with to gain permission. We switched over to a much less traveled road and followed it as it weaved through outcroppings on top of Elk Ridge. The road re-entered forest service land, and we continued through a few more meadows with good views of nearby mountains before dropping back through the forest to the car.
More photos for this trip can be found along with some of Joe's other adventures in the area, Nixon Park and Elk Ridge hikes.
