|
USGS Maps: East Portal Usage: Light Trail Number: 7 Ending Elevation: 9,660 Feet Difficulty: Easy to More Difficult Beginning Elevation: 11,670 Feet Length, One-way: 6 Miles Reservation: No Season: Summer - Winter
ATTRACTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS: The High Lonesome Trail ll, #7, is located east of Winter Park and Fraser. It leads from the south end of the High Lonesome Trail at Devil's Thumb Park, over Devil's Thumb Pass, to Rollins Pass. The trail can be accessed from either end. A main attraction of this trail is the Devil's Thumb, a popular protrusion for climbing enthusiasts which juts up from the Divide near Devil's Thumb Pass. The thumb can be reached either by climbing the steep trail from Devil's Thumb Park, or by hiking the 3.5 miles from Rollins Pass along the Continental Divide. This latter route allows a very level grade and offers spectacular scenery, making it an excellent choice for day hikers. Warm clothing, including a hat, should be carried as strong winds usually prevail along the tundra walk. A full water bottle is an additional necessity. The best campsites for backpackers are near Devil's Thumb and Jasper Lakes, or above the beaver ponds in Devil's Thumb Park. NARRATIVE: This trail begins at its junction with the High Lonesome Trail in Devil's Thumb Park. Its path meanders through the park, frequently crossing the trout filled streams and beaver ponds of Cabin Creek before climbing steeply (2,000 feet in less than 2.5 miles) through a thick spruce-fir forest to Devil's Thumb Pass. As one approaches the saddle of the pass, the distinctive finger-shaped rock outcropping known as the Devil's Thumb comes into view. The "thumb" can be reached by hiking northward along the Divide about a quarter mile from the pass. Back at the pass, the trail turns sharply south, while another trail, the Devil's Thumb Trail, heads down the steep eastern slopes of the Divide to Devil's Thumb Lake and Jasper Lake. The remaining 3.5 miles of the High Lonesome Trail II is an easy traverse across the western exposure of the Continental Divide to Rollins Pass. Rock cairns mark the intermittent path across the delicate alpine tundra. Cleverly camouflaged ptarmigan can frequently be discovered upon close examination of the lichen covered tundra rocks. From the trail, forests interspersed with meadows can be seen below as well as the Fraser Valley to the west. The view to the east is limited as the trail traverses just below the Divide. One-third of a mile before Rollins Pass and at the point where the path becomes a jeep road, another trail takes off to King's Lake and Bob and Betty Lakes which are visible below.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
