Hopewell Lake

Hopewell Lake, nestled in a high mountain meadow

Our last night at Columbine Campground unexpectedly dropped down into the upper 30’s and we woke to a temperature of 49 degrees in our RV.  We were not prepared for that and I couldn’t get hot coffee and steel cut oats ready fast enough.  Even Maya’s food was made with warm water. 

As the sun touched the canyon and began to warm things up, we decided a birding walk along the Columbine River would be just the thing before we packed up and headed to Hopewell Lake.  The trailhead into the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness was only about 100 yards from our campsite and Maya was perking up as we walked that way.  She was excited about our walk but I think it was all the llamas at the trailhead that had her so happy.  Maya’s other senses may be diminishing but her nose still works well.  She invited the llamas to play but they were having none of it.

We talked a little to the llama wrangler and he was putting packs on seven llamas in preparation for a trek into the wilderness.  David and I thought maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to have a llama carry your heavy stuff for you on your backpacking trip.  But I don’t know how Maya would feel about riding on a llama (or the llama would feel about carrying a dog, for that matter).

We warmed up nicely on our walk although we didn’t see that many birds.  But it was a great morning anyway and Maya was almost her old self, bouncy and up for a wade in the river.

Maya wading in the Columbine River

It was only a couple of hours to the far western part of the Carson National Forest and Hopewell Lake Campground, a new campground for us.  As we drew nearer, we became a bit concerned as it was obvious that there was a forest fire burning nearby.  We stopped at the Ranger Station in Tres Piedras to find out about the fire as we didn’t really want to inhale any more smoke than perhaps a campfire.

View of Bonita Fire a few miles from Hopewell Lake Campground

The Bonita Fire had been burning about 3 weeks, impacting a few thousand acres, thus small as forest fires go.  Thankfully, smoke was not expected to affect our campground or the nearby section of the Continental Divide Trail.  We probably would have turned back if we hadn’t stopped at the Ranger Station because there was a smoky haze in places across the road and we could smell the smoke in the RV.  But as we drove the road turned out of the smoke and the sky returned to bright, clear blue.

Maya explores the meadow next to our campsite

Maya is getting to be an excellent birder

We found a nice camping spot on the edge of a beautiful meadow very near the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).  It looked like a great place to do some birding and also an opportunity for David and me to have a short hike on the CDT which would be our first hike on the trail this summer.  (We hiked several sections of the CDT last summer, mostly in Colorado.)

Hiking the CDT from Hopewell Lake Campground

Cows on the CDT -- the trail goes through Forest Service grazing land

Isolated in high mountain meadows with views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east and the Rockies to the north, small Hopewell Lake is near 10,000 feet in elevation.  Patches of snow were visible in shady places near the lake and along the trail and road. This was our most remote camping experience so far.  It was tranquil and quiet with very few fellow campers, mellow days and dark night skies filled with the Milky Way. 

A little early for wild flowers, but they are starting to bloom in the meadows

We did get in our hike on the CDT.  Maya played in the meadows and we looked for birds.  We saw another Western Tanager, a very beautiful and uncommon bird in this area.  A pair of iridescent Mountain Bluebirds were interested in our RV, probably thinking a nest underneath the solar panels would be an interesting option.  We were glad they decided against the idea as we had only a few days to spend and a traveling nest would not have made for an easy life.  Plus, it would have really messed up that whole territory thing…

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked   1 
Total Miles Hiked    6.15     
Total Elevation Gain     586
 
Birding Hikes  3