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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Outdoors -> Wildflower Hikes
 Before the Summer Ends, Take Time to Look At Colorado Wildflowers
By Niki Hayden
We are in the grip of a drought, scientists tell us. No doubt that is true,
but this is the year to stroll through a wildflower hike. The flush of late day
rains saturated our mountains and wildflowers are blooming with vigor and
intensity. Whether you’re a tepid or intrepid hiker, there’s a trail for
you. We’ll start with a stunning mountain trail called Hessie, in the town of
Eldora, west of Nederland. If you’d like to try a sub-alpine trail, head to
the Columbine Lake trail north of Winter Park.
Hessie is a
well-used, easy-to-get-to trail. So if you have a weekday, with only a short
time to spare, and hope to see a variety of blooms, this is the trail to take.
 Or, for a sea of a single dominant wildflower, try the Columbine Lake trail.
The trailhead is fairly remote, and the trail itself is sparsely traveled. It's
a perfect weekend outing.
Both are exceptional and offer very different experiences.
Hessie Trail
 For tepid walkers, try the Hessie trail. Even if you plan only a 15-minute
hike up a portion of the trail, you’ll see carpets of wildflowers, hillsides
of blooms and pockets of woodland plants. Rosy paintbrush (Castilleja
rhexifolia), white and pink gilia (Gilia aggregata), blanket flower (Gaillardia
aristata), sub-alpine purple daisies (Erigeron peregrinus), white
daisies (Erigeron coulteri and Erigeron melanocephalus), Mariposa
lilies (Calochortus gunnisonii), blue-mist penstemons (Penstemon
virens), yellow sulphur-flowers (Eriogonum umbellatum) and yellow
stonecrop (Amerosedum lanceolatum), true to its title, sprouts from
rocks. Mountain plants, which love the sun, blossom in sweeps of color will give
way to woodland flowers like the Rocky Mountain blue columbine (Aquilegia
caerulea)—some the size of teacups. Purple and white monkshood (Aconitum
columbarim) bloom in deep shade, often within a cluster of white cow parsnip
(Heracleum sphondylium). All this is within a 15 to 30-minute walk.
 Hessie begins at the end of Eldora, but traverses private land until you
reach Roosevelt National Forest. During that jaunt, you’ll walk on wooden
planks that skirt small lakes, wind around a dense canopy of Douglas-firs and
pad on top a springy floor of pine needles.
By the time you reach the forest, the trail changes abruptly. What once was a
narrow road now is rocky and eroded. It’s not unusual to see seasoned hikers
with ski poles or walking sticks because the rocks roll and shift under your
feet. A few slips and slides may end with sprained ankles. But serious hikers
continue the route, heading toward a series of trails—Devil’s Thumb, King
Lake, Woodland Lake or in another direction to Lost Lake. Lost Lake is the
closest destination requiring only a modest hike – two miles one way and 750 feet
gain in elevation. You’ll pass abandoned cabins and see the slopes of the Eldora
Ski Resort.
 Nearly every twist and bend on the Hessie Trail brings a remarkable sight.
Narrow bridges cross a raging river. Water tumbles, rock over rock, into Boulder
Creek. A stunning waterfall, white foam splashing over shiny black rocks, is the
perfect spot to find columbines (Aquilegia caerulea) and heartleaf arnica
(Arnica cordifolia). Pines along the river have draped their roots over
giant boulders, as if an anchor.
By midway, you’re in deep woods, where flowers are fewer and mosses,
lichens and ferns take over. Stop every now and then to spy the dainty shooting
star (Dodecatheon puchellum), with its pink petals drooping over delicate
stems. The elephants’s head flower (Pedicularis groenlandica) grows
high on a tall, fragile stem, and the tiny flowers are unmistakable with
miniature trunks lifted high. Wild roses (Rosa woodsi) give way to yellow
alpine avens (Geum rossii) as you climb in altitude. Blue harebells (Campanula
rotundifolia) are plentiful, their tiny bells sharply scalloped. And
mushrooms litter the forest floor.
 If you continue to Lost Lake, you’ll be near tree line and at 9,800 feet in
altitude. The lake is typical of glacial lakes, freezing and forbidding to
people, but home to an industrious beaver colony. Their architecture of logs is
piled high half way across the lake. Surrounding the lake is a trail that brings
a host of surprises. A giant Amanita mushroom (Amanita muscaria), bright
red with grey and silver spots rises near the lake’s shore. This is the
mushroom that causes hallucinations, and mushroom experts tell us, extreme
intestinal pain. You won’t find many mushrooms as exotic and splashy, and none
as scary.
The trip down is easy, but also perilous, with rocks creating an unsteady
footing. Here is where you will hear the click-click of poles that hikers have
brought as they steady themselves down the path. You’ll pass back packers
heading up to the Devil’s Thumb Trail, or Indian Peaks Wilderness. For them,
Hessie is the first leg of a long climb. But for wildflower enthusiasts, Hessie’s
array of sun-drenched flowers and shade loving woodland flowers is a feast
within the space of a few hours.
 Columbine Lake Trail
The Columbine Lake Trail will offer quite the opposite. If Hessie is nature’s
cottage garden, with bright spots of flowers in a dazzling tapestry, Columbine
Lake is nature’s vast and overwhelming spectacle where one flowering plant
covers acres upon acres. Depending upon the season, you’ll see miles of white
marsh marigold (Caltha leptosepala) or columbine (Aquilegia caerulea).
The hike to Columbine Lake is a moderate 2.4 miles one way and 960 feet gain
in elevation. Still, half the difficulty is getting there by car. The 11.4
mile dirt road is pocked with potholes alternating with high bumps that many cars won’t
traverse. And it feels like it goes on forever. But once there, such vast spaces
provide a solitary hike in spectacular scenery.
 This sub-alpine scenario consists of meadows at tree line. When the snows
melt, they leave a saturated soil. White marsh marigolds grow in water as well
as soil, their tenacious roots determined to survive in frigid conditions. Wide, succulent leaves soak up moisture and appear to float
like
alpine water lilies.
You’ll find exquisite natural gardens of seeping water, mosses, ferns and
wildflowers. They have only a month or two to flourish and grow. The rivulets of
water, gentle and consistent, provide a tiny climate of perfection to satisfy
their needs.
While Hessie is intimate and winding, with flowers close-up and inviting, the
Columbine Lake Trail opens into wide vistas, where you can see miles and miles
of mountains. A vast sky, huge as the ocean, collects clouds. Weather patterns a
state away are clearly visible.
 If you’re intrepid, hike all the way to the lake, but bear in mind that
snow may blanket Columbine. A few hikers on the trail groaned when they bedded
down in several feet of snow, not guessing that snow would persist into the
height of summer. But at high altitude and a late day drenching of rain
elsewhere quickly turns to snow here.
Precautions
Take water, food and sunscreen. Take warm clothing, too. Even the Hessie
Trail may turn cold suddenly, especially in the deep shade. A small first-aid
kit came in handy when a hiker’s dog limped along the trail after falling on a
sharp object. Anti-bacterial cream and gauze pads allayed the owner’s
immediate concerns. People, too, often need some help. At Columbine Lake, you
could be alone for quite a while before another hiker would find you.
Directions
The Hessie Trail and Fourth of July Mine Trail begin together and later
branch into a variety of trails that continue through the Indian Peaks
Wilderness. Although several guidebooks list the trails as beginning in
Nederland, they really start at the far end of the small town of Eldora. To get
to Eldora, you do travel to Nederland, taking the road to the Eldora Ski Resort,
County Road 130, until it ends as a dirt road just past the town. There will be
no signs indicating the trails until you reach the trailheads.
Columbine Lake is located near Fraser and Tabernash. From US 40, turn onto County Road 83,
then onto Meadow Creek Road. Follow the signs to Junco Lake because you’ll not
see a single sign for Columbine Lake. But the Junco Lake parking lot is where
you’ll start for Columbine Lake. The dirt road to the trailhead parking lot is
long – 11.4 miles – and the last half is filled with deep ruts.
Recommended books for identifying mountain wildflowers:
"Guide to Colorado Wildflowers" G.K. Guennel, Westcliffe
Publishing, 1995
"Rocky Mountain Wildflowers" Jerry Pavia, Fulcrum Publishers, 2004
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