Lonetree Mountain 2/13
5.1mi RT, 1700' EVG
Note: Thanks to all my Colorado friends and family who've hiked with me over the last few years, especially those who were able to make it along to Lonetree. It's been great meeting you all and tagging along on hikes throughout the state. While I'm off in Kansas I'll make sure to check in now and then to see what you've been up to, and make sure to let everyone know when I'll be back for vacation. Thanks!
As my last big hike in Colorado for a while, I decided that Lonetree Mountain would be a fun, dry and memorable destination. The long open south facing ridges had been in the sun all winter long and didn't look like they'd have much snow, especially since there hadn't been much snow recently. By starting down at the Eggers pullout, a little loop could be made by taking two such neighboring ridges.
We started in the Poudre Canyon and followed an old roadbed which quickly narrowed down to trail status before ending in a meadow. At the meadow, we continued straight to the base of our ridge which would take us close to Lonetree. As I suspected there was no snow to slow us down, but there were plenty of bushes to weave around. A ways up the ridge, we located a geocache placed by Steve Martin in 2013 that had a cool geocoin in it. The farther we followed the ridge, the more gradual and wooded it became until it basically just plateaued into a series of meadows. At this point, we intersected the Kelly Flats road.
We stayed on the road for just a moment until angling off into a small drainage. There are a series of similar drainages that lead NE towards the summit outcrop, and we were able to follow an animal trail when it wasn't buried in snow. After a while, it was no longer advantageous to stay in the dark ravine, so we climbed out and circled over to the outcrop. The south and west faces were pretty open, and it was fun getting in a little scrambling to the summit, which had a cool surveyors level and benchmarks. Views were very nice in all directions, I liked being able to see some of the more hidden folds of the landscape to the north. There was still some fog earlier in the day hanging over Fort Collins, but all lower peaks were clear to see. I think I was even able to see the Pawnee Buttes way off on the prairie, though it could have been a mirage.
As we left the summit, the clear skies began to stir up some wind from the west. We dropped back into the drainages and climbed out to the road, at which point we started the return loop. We aimed towards the base of point 8228(which seems to be mistaken often as Lonetree) which we contoured around to hit a small saddle that adjoined two ridges below. We took the one on the right, though the left would be just as fun I'm sure. Wind was becoming more constant, so we stayed just leeward of the ridge crest. This ridge had less brush but was otherwise quite similar to the ridge across the valley that we'd followed up. Towards the base of the ridge we sat for lunch and enjoyed the warmth and sunlight. Back at the meadow, we followed the roadbed back to the highway and headed for home.
Note: Thanks to all my Colorado friends and family who've hiked with me over the last few years, especially those who were able to make it along to Lonetree. It's been great meeting you all and tagging along on hikes throughout the state. While I'm off in Kansas I'll make sure to check in now and then to see what you've been up to, and make sure to let everyone know when I'll be back for vacation. Thanks!
As my last big hike in Colorado for a while, I decided that Lonetree Mountain would be a fun, dry and memorable destination. The long open south facing ridges had been in the sun all winter long and didn't look like they'd have much snow, especially since there hadn't been much snow recently. By starting down at the Eggers pullout, a little loop could be made by taking two such neighboring ridges.
We started in the Poudre Canyon and followed an old roadbed which quickly narrowed down to trail status before ending in a meadow. At the meadow, we continued straight to the base of our ridge which would take us close to Lonetree. As I suspected there was no snow to slow us down, but there were plenty of bushes to weave around. A ways up the ridge, we located a geocache placed by Steve Martin in 2013 that had a cool geocoin in it. The farther we followed the ridge, the more gradual and wooded it became until it basically just plateaued into a series of meadows. At this point, we intersected the Kelly Flats road.
We stayed on the road for just a moment until angling off into a small drainage. There are a series of similar drainages that lead NE towards the summit outcrop, and we were able to follow an animal trail when it wasn't buried in snow. After a while, it was no longer advantageous to stay in the dark ravine, so we climbed out and circled over to the outcrop. The south and west faces were pretty open, and it was fun getting in a little scrambling to the summit, which had a cool surveyors level and benchmarks. Views were very nice in all directions, I liked being able to see some of the more hidden folds of the landscape to the north. There was still some fog earlier in the day hanging over Fort Collins, but all lower peaks were clear to see. I think I was even able to see the Pawnee Buttes way off on the prairie, though it could have been a mirage.
As we left the summit, the clear skies began to stir up some wind from the west. We dropped back into the drainages and climbed out to the road, at which point we started the return loop. We aimed towards the base of point 8228(which seems to be mistaken often as Lonetree) which we contoured around to hit a small saddle that adjoined two ridges below. We took the one on the right, though the left would be just as fun I'm sure. Wind was becoming more constant, so we stayed just leeward of the ridge crest. This ridge had less brush but was otherwise quite similar to the ridge across the valley that we'd followed up. Towards the base of the ridge we sat for lunch and enjoyed the warmth and sunlight. Back at the meadow, we followed the roadbed back to the highway and headed for home.
