The Greyrock Mountain summit must be the most rewarding summit in the
vicinity of Fort Collins, Colorado. It not only offers views of the
snow-capped Rocky Mountains and the big sky above the Great Plains, but
also the wonderful treat of two small mountain lakes.
Greyrock (Part 2: The Summit) – In A Colorado Minute (Week 311)
To enjoy the rewards of the 7,600 feet Greyrock summit in the Laramie
Mountains range, you have to work for it: a hike covering 2,040 feet of
elevation. The Roosevelt National Forest trail starts right off Colorado Highway 14 (aka Poudre Canyon Road).
After about 0.75 miles you have to choose between two trails: the
mellower Greyrock Meadows Trail (2.6 miles) and the more recommended
Greyrock Summit Trail (1.7 miles). I covered that first part of the hike
in the video “Greyrock Summit Trail (Part 1) – In A Colorado Minute (Week 272).”
Both
trails meet again at the base of the actual and quite grey Greyrock.
That’s the spot where this video starts. The remaining 3/4 mile is more
rocky terrain that may require your hands to help you get up to the
summit. It also requires you to keep your eyes open for clues where the
actual trail may be, since a lot of it is just rock without any helpful
signs of footprints. There is the random trail number marker to give you
the confidence you’re heading in the right direction. And then you get
to see the first lake, surrounded by rocks and shady pine trees inviting
you to stay awhile. Take a break and then keep on going…
Once
you’ve passed the first lake, there are a few small signs with stylized
hikers but without arrows indicating the correct direction. My new
insider information: walk to the left of the signs, and you may just see
another sign higher up in the rocks to aim for. Also helpful are the cairns (piles of rocks) that previous hikers have left to indicate the right direction to the very top.
You
get to the second small lake, and then if you’re ambitious (and come
on, you made it this far), you can climb even higher to look down at the
lake, the surrounding towns (Laporte, Fort Collins, Bellevue), other
hills and Lake Watson and Horsetooth Reservoir. In the other direction you get your classic view of the high snow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains.
If
you want to do this hike, I recommend getting there early because
parking is limited. Bring plenty of food and water. While there is a
stream along the trail and then the lakes up top, the water is
supposedly not save to drink even for dogs because of the possible
presence of Giardia bacteria.
When my friend, artist and yoga instructor
Lisa Eaton and I went up there this week, it took us just under 3 hours
(with a long lunch break) to get up and about 1 1/2 hours to get back
down. Lisa will be leading a yoga retreat up to the summit later this
month. Be in touch if you’re interested, and I’ll connect you.
I highly recommend this hike!
The song in the video is “Folk Bed” by Jason Shaw of Audionautix. He has made this and many great tunes available via a CC BY 3.0 license. Thank you so much, Jason!
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| Lake and view at the top of Greyrock Mountain summit Rocky Mountains, Colorado |