Thinking Outside of the Park

Having Rocky Mountain National Park closed has pushed the rocky mountain day hiker further east into the Roosevelt National Forest. That’s actually just fine, because at this time of year hiking east of the National Park is preferable. Not only is this area further east, but it’s also lower elevation. That is to say, this is where springtime in the Rockies starts. Although I haven’t been in The Park recently, I am certain there is still lots of snow in there and most of the main trails are not yet cleared, although maybe some of the lower Montane trails are. 

If the boundaries of Rocky had been established more on an ecological lines, it’s likely that this area, known as the Foothills Life Zone, would have been included all the way east to the high plains. So we could say the trails in Roosevelt National Forest are part of the Rocky Mountain Ecological Park, if such a Park existed. And there are a number of good representative trails to hike in this region during the spring months.

Last week, we went up Mount Croissant (not named on any maps). There is not a trailhead for the hike up Mt Croissant. In fact, there’s not even a trail! You just start heading straight up the hillside, working through or going around the numerous small cliff bands that jut out of the steep 

Click on photos to see a larger image

hillside. It’s about a 1000’ ft elevation gain through south-facing forest terrain in the first mile. Pretty much just straight up.

But, eventually the terrain levels out and at the same time the trees end. Now the terrain is like a low-elevation grassy, rolling tundra. The views are right into Rocky Mountain National Park and it becomes clear, there’s still plenty of snow to melt out of the Park! Most of it will melt over the next month. It appears fire has passed through this rounded ridge top where we are hiking and the hiking is superlative, especially if you navigate over the rocky spine of the ridge. 

Although much of the hiking when not on the spine is grassy, you will continually run across these curious geologic rock zen gardens. These rock gardens have astonishingly spectacular rocks, mostly quartz mica schist, “a medium-grade metamorphic rock" that is “defined by having more than 50% platy and 

elongated minerals (such as micas or talc),[2] often finely interleaved with quartz and feldspar" (you knew that, right? That comes off the shelf from Wikipedia). All I know for sure is that it was really cool to look them over with moss and lichen holding them in place for, I could imagine, a millennium!

Eventually, the cross-country traveling connects to the Crosier Mt. trail and we headed east on the trail towards Drake. This trail is itself enjoyable hiking, mostly on north-facing terrain in trees. It was still early spring and the occasional aspen groves that occurred in the ravines were very close to leafing out. We ran into a plethora of Pasque-flower patches and they were in their spring prime with some already showing their Dr. Suess seed heads.

A Zen Rock Garden of Crosier Mtn

This section of the Crosier Mountain trail (this trail also goes west toward Glen Haven) drops into a drainage where spring water is feeding a stream, then rises up and over a ridge before dropping back down into another small spring fed drainage. Then it rises yet again over a rounded ridge with open terrain before again dropping back into north facing woods that eventually leads to the East Crosier Mountain trailhead.

Open terrain on the East Crosier Mountain trail

I highly recommend exploring the eastern portion of the Rocky Mountain Ecological area of Roosevelt National Forest during the remaining month of May. Then you can follow spring as it ascends into the National Park all the way to the Alpine Zone.

Golden Banner signals the start of hiking season

Sand Lily

Ball Cactus

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