The past month has been quite hectic. On June 13th Puma and I made our
move from Maine to Colorado. The weeks
leading up to our move were busy planning the logistics, packing, and deciding
which of our belongings moved with us.
After 52 hours of driving cross-country with our belongings, four dogs,
four cats, and a pregnant goat; we arrived in Colorado. After a couple weeks of settling in, things
settled down a little bit and I finally had the time to head to the mountains.
Over the 4th of July weekend, I decided to do my
first serious hike since I have been in Colorado. I have done a couple of easy hikes and short
mountain bike rides close to home but nothing too serious. It has been nearly 15 years since I have
hiked in Colorado and was eager to play in the Rockies again. From our house, we have outstanding views of
the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. After
staring at these glorious peaks for several weeks, I decided my first
destination should be somewhere within the Sangre de Cristos.
View of the Sangre de Cristo Range from my house.
I headed to Westcliffe, Colorado early Saturday morning to
hike the Comanche-Venable Loop. I heard
good things about this hike and figured it was a good place for my first
trip. The drive to the trailhead was a
good start to the trip. Along the way,
the local wildlife was out and about.
Just on the drive I saw two coyotes, turkeys, numerous mule deer, a
large herd of elk, and a pronghorn antelope.
Shortly before 7AM I was on the trail. My hike started around 9000 feet in elevation
on the Venable Lake Trail. The trail
traveled through the woods in the beginning, staying relatively close to
Venable Creek. There were occasional
peeks at the surrounding mountains but not much to see in the first couple
miles in the forest. The highlight of
this section was a short spur trail that led to Venable Falls. Not too long after the falls, the trail made
its way to the lower reaches of timberline.
Venable Falls
Not too long after leaving the woods
Venable Lake Trail travels through the drainage of Venable
Lakes and is nestled between Spring Mountain and an unnamed peak. The trail travels close to the stream in an
open grassy meadow with fine views of the peaks that surround the
drainage. The trail passes through
gentle terrain as it rises toward the Venable Lakes, which sits above treeline.
Higher up on the Venable Lakes Trail
Venable Peak is the rocky peak in the middle
One of the Venable Lakes
After the trail passed the first lake, it became rockier as
it approached Venable Peak. The trail
passes below the nearly vertical face of Venable Peak across Phantom
Terrace. Phantom Terrace is a ledge that
is not visible until you reach it. The
ledge is probably only 3 or 4 feet wide at its narrowest with a nearly sheer
drop below. In slippery conditions
Phantom Terrace could be a dicey section but with beautiful blue skies and dry
trail, the passage of this section was pretty simple. Crossing Phantom Terrace was probably the
most interesting section of trail on the hike.
Spring Mountain
Phantom Terrace crosses this face of Venable Peak
The trail across Phantom Terrace
After crossing the Phantom Terrace, the trail reaches the
pass between Spring Mountain and Venable Peak.
There is no trail to either summit.
I first climbed 13334-foot Venable Peak, the high point of my outing. Along the way, a marmot played hide and seek
with me. As I approached, it climbed out
of sight, just to peek its head out at me as I approached. From the summit I was rewarded with fine
360-degree views. I didn’t linger long
too long at the summit before descending.
Small wildflowers covered the grassy alpine tundra beyond the pass. Much of the hike at the upper elevations
smelled like a florists.
Looking down the Venable Basin
Views to the south near the pass between Spring and Venable
View to the north from Venable
Another look to the south
Looking south from the shoulder of Venable
Nearing the summit of Venable
Spring Mountain is the closer peak with Comanche
above the snow patch
From the pass between Spring and Venable, the trail
traverses below Spring Mountain before reaching Comanche Pass. I skipped the trail and headed up Spring
Mountain’s ridge to its 13244-foot summit.
The summit register was not signed since last October. I ate a quick snack at the summit while
enjoying the grand views. I headed down
the southern ridge of Spring before rejoining the trail near Comanche Gap.
Spring Mountain had the rockiest ascent of the three peaks I climbed on the
trip.
A closer look at Spring with Comanche to its right
Approaching Spring Mtns summit
The Venable Lakes from Spring's summit
Looking down the ridge from Spring toward Comanche
The Comanche Lakes from Spring's ridge
Before heading into the Comanche Lakes drainage, I headed
for the summit of Comanche Peak’s trailess13277-foot summit. It is a fairly short and straightforward
jaunt to the peak however up its grassy slopes.
Comanche probably had the best view of the three summits with its fairly
close look at the rugged higher peaks nearby to the south. There was a couple on Comanche’s summit as
well as another larger group that I passed on my decent. This was the only one of the three peaks that
had anyone else on it. As I searched
through my pack on Comanche’s summit for a snack, I discovered something very
useful inside for a hike to a Colorado peak, a bag of Canadian coins. It was left in my pack from when we moved.
Comanche Peak from Comanche Pass
Looking south from Comanche's summit
Me on Comanche
Looking back at Spring Mountain and Venable Peak from
the summit of Comanche Peak
My return to the valley followed the Comanche Lakes
Trail. Unlike the Venable Lakes Trail
where I only briefly saw the lakes, the Comanche Lakes were in view most of the
descent. I stopped several times to take
in the views looking back toward Comanche Peak as I descended. Several groups were camped near the lakes. I was also scolded by several groups of
marmots as I descended. Shortly after
1PM I was back at the trailhead.
Comanche Lakes from the pass
Looking back at Comanche as I descended
Comanche Lake with the summit in the background
A pair of marmots
Up close and personal with a marmot
This hike is fairly popular.
It is one of the few hikes in the Sangre de Cristos that can be hiked in
a manageable one-day loop. The trailhead
was quite full when I arrived and even fuller by the time I returned. Despite the busy parking lot, I didn't see
too many people on the hike. I passed
only a handful of groups the entire trip.
The Comanche-Venable Loop is a beautiful hike that is well
worth the effort. The loop is about 13
miles long and I added a little over a mile with my side trips to the nearby
summits. With the side-trips to the
three summits, I climbed just over 5000 vertical feet. For a more leisurely pace, this hike could
easily be made into an overnight trip with numerous places to camp along both
trails and plenty of water. I passed a
few people with fishing rods, as the lakes are apparently productive for trout
as well.
The parting shot of Comanche Peak before I entered the trees
The scenery along the hike is magnificent. More than half the trip is above
treeline. Looking at the rugged peaks of
the Sangre de Cristos helps the mileage pass by quickly. The trails are fairly
easy as well. The trails climb gradually
with several switchbacks. After hiking
Maine and New Hampshire’s steep and rocky trails for the past eight years, the
well-graded trails were a nice change of pace.
The gradually climbing trail helps with the effects of altitude as
well. This hike was a great
reintroduction to the mountains of Colorado.
Hi, is it best to hike this loop clockwise or counter-clockwise? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI hiked it counter clockwise. I enjoyed this way because the climb seemed more gradual and you can look ahead to Phantom Terrace even though you can't see it until you are nearly there.
ReplyDelete