Backpack – ADV BKP: Lost Creek Wilderness

This is an “advanced” backpack trip for people who enjoy long days, off-trail hiking, bushwhacking, and are 100% self-sufficient. For your safety and the safety of others, you must have the experience, skills, nutrition, and fitness to be successful as we will be hiking in a very remote and isolated area.

My goal is to have a safe and fun trip. This means we need to be prepared as individuals and aligned as a group. Please take a few minutes to read the information below before registering.

This type of backpacking isn’t for everyone, and that’s ok. But if you enjoy passing through extensive landscapes in relatively short periods of time, and enduring the physical and mental challenges that accompany these trips, then maybe it’s for you!

Prerequisites:

Skills: You must be self-sufficient in the backcountry and follow LNT principles. This includes, but is not limited to, having the ability to find an acceptable campsite, pitch your tent, cook, and pack in the morning. You also need to be proficient with navigation and have personal first aid skills to take care of common injuries like blisters, bug bites, cuts, and scrapes.

Nutrition: Meal planning is critical for success. Do you know your caloric needs while backpacking? Do you tend to pack just enough or do you pack for an extra day or two “just in case”? If you have questions then let’s discuss.

Gear: We will review gear before the trip, but from your experience you should already have a good idea what you will need based on the location and anticipated conditions. A light pack allows us all to move more quickly and to cover more ground, so your pack and gear (without food, water, and fuel) should weigh around 15 lbs or less, and you should carry few, if any, luxuries (e.g., no camp chair). Let me know if you do not have the ability to follow a GPS track in the field using a smart phone, Garmin, or other device. Also, you must expect and prepare for temperatures mid-20F to 75F, wind, and precipitation.

Fitness: You must be comfortable hiking 2.5 mph on a relatively level trail, climbing over 1,000 ft/hr (at a slightly slower pace), gaining up to 4,500’ in a day (for four days in a row), traveling off-trail, and moving for 8 to 12 hrs/day (some days will be up to 15 miles, depending on the terrain and conditions). You should know how your body reacts after hiking more than 50 miles in four days. All of this with your backpacking gear.

Daily Routine:

We generally will meet for breakfast at 7AM and begin hiking before 8AM. To make this happen, you will need to be mostly packed before breakfast. Over breakfast we will discuss the day’s plan. During the day we will hike as a group and take time to rest, eat, and manage gear. At night we will cook and eat as a group, and review the day. Prohibited: we will have no campfires for LNT, and no alcohol or recreational drugs for safety.

About this Trip:

The 119,790-acre Lost Creek Wilderness is located approximately 60 miles southwest of Denver. Unlike most of Colorado's jagged Wilderness profiles, Lost Creek is a land of fascinating rounded granite domes and knobs, split boulders, rare granite arches, and tree-lined mountain parks. Its rock formations are among the most unique in the entire Rocky Mountains.

The area is named for Lost Creek, a perennial stream that disappears and reappears before finally joining Goose Creek, which empties into the South Platte River. Wilderness elevations range from 8,000 feet to 12,400 feet. Lost Creek got its name from its habit of repeatedly disappearing underground, later to reappear farther down the valley. Black bear, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and bobcats share the region.

We will be hiking a 54-mile loop over 3 ½ days. Elevation ranges from 8,058’ to 11,882’. We will generally travel on-trail however there is a Class 2 scrambling section on Day 2 that includes travel across large talus. We also will negotiate several stream crossings during the trip. (My preference is that everyone wear quick drying trail shoes to avoid spending time to change footwear.)

The general itinerary is:

Day 1 – Drive from Denver and hike 12.5 miles to Camp 1. Elevation gain of approximately 3,340’
Day 2 – Hike 13 miles to Camp 2. Elevation gain of approximately 2,830’
Day 3 – Hike approximately 15 miles to Camp 3. Elevation gain of approximately 4,400’
Day 4 – Hike 12 miles and return to Denver. Elevation for the day is approximately 1,020

Registration:

If this sounds like it might be fun, please email me three of your recent hike/backpack trips including your objective/destination, distance hiked, elevation gain, and time to complete. Also let me know your anticipated base weight and confirm you have all the necessary gear. If you aren’t sure then let’s discuss. Please feel free to email me before registration opens as I will pre-populate the roster pending Leader approval.

TBD