Fooses Creek Loop

I had some unfinished business with a certain trail that heads up North Fooses Creek.

After my last attempt, where I turned around at the lower gate only to find out later that it’s doable, I was feeling a serious need to go back and try it again.

For one thing, I wanted to see how tough the North Fooses segment actually is. On a map it’s a natural connector to the Monarch Crest but I’ve learned you can never fully trust a map in the mountains. Until you actually get out there and experience the terrain, you don’t really know what you’re up against. When I’m by myself, I tend to take a conservative approach to unfamiliar terrain. The last thing you want to do is get in over your head alone in the mountains. Which is why I turned around the last time. I didn’t know what was beyond that gate but it didn’t look good. But once someone who’s familiar with it told me I was on the right track, I wanted to go back again and experience it for myself.

Plus, there was something else up there I wanted to see. The Forest Service just completed a re-route of Segment 15 of the Colorado Trail (CT) where it connects to the Monarch Crest. The old upper section was ridiculously steep and unsustainable from a drainage/erosion perspective. It was only rideable going down. Up was hiking only. Your choice if you wanted to push a bike or not. The new re-route is longer and gentler, taking a more winding route from South Fooses Creek at the bottom to the Monarch Crest ridgeline at the top. Re-routes of major trails like the CT are rare. I really wanted to see it for myself.

And of course, the Monarch Crest is always a treat. Such a beautiful trail. High alpine riding at its finest. This time around, it wasn’t going to be a full Monarch Crest ride-from-town extravaganza like I was attempting the last time. Instead, I plotted out a shorter, simpler course starting from the CT trailhead at highway 50, stringing the two Fooses trails together with the Crest as a connector, making a lollipop loop of about 20 miles. I was excited to try it out.

Starting up the South Fooses Creek road, I soon discovered the reason for the construction I had witnessed the last time I was up there. The Fooses Creek reservoir has been drained.

Fooses Creek Reservoir has been a popular fishing spot for decades. When I was a kid, my dad taught me to fish there. Even though I’m no longer a fisherman, it was kind of sad to see it drained down to a mud hole. End of an era. I understand the power company no longer needs the hydroelectric power provided by the dam so they are taking it out and returning the creek to a more natural state. The large pipes in the background are handling the stream flow while the dam is being removed.

Heading up the South Fooses Creek road above the reservoir.