Thornton Lake Trail to Trappers Peak
5 / 7
After days of heat, the forecast finally gave us a break with a high of 75. Naturally, we celebrated by making a questionable life choice: Thornton Lake Trail to Trappers Peak. A 10 mile beast of a hike with over 3,500 feet of elevation gain. Perfect.
The drive to the trailhead set the tone with five miles up a steep, narrow, rough gravel road. We were shocked to see a 5th wheel camper at the parking lot. That took some guts.
The hike began innocently enough. The first leg was a gentle climb on a soft forest trail. But around mile 2, things turned. The trail became a nonstop uphill stairmaster, all rocks and roots. No views. Just trees and sweat. We got the occasional glimpse of a peak through the canopy, but mostly it was a long green tunnel.
Then around mile 4, the trail went from "steep" to “you’ve got to be kidding me”. We weren’t hiking anymore, we were climbing. It was hands-on rock steep in places, and still no big views to distract us from the suffering.
But then finally the payoff. As we neared the ridge, the views opened up: dramatic peaks all around, layers of ridgelines fading into the distance, and the first glimpse of those alpine lakes below.
Just when we felt like we might be getting somewhere, the clouds rolled in and it started pouring. Fortunately, the rain only lasted about 20 minutes. It was cold and drenching, but also refreshing.
At the top, we could see three lakes stacked down the mountainside. The largest sat deep in a basin, the middle perched on a rocky ledge, and the smallest tucked up near the cliffs. Everything looked dramatic and moody after the rain, with mist still clinging to the peaks. Totally worth the grueling effort.
Just as we were heading back, we ran into a female sooty grouse on a rocky ledge just off the trail. I stepped up on a boulder to get a better view, and it bolted at first, then stopped, looked back at me, and decided I wasn’t a threat. It went right back to pecking at leaves like I wasn’t even there. Reminded me of my backyard chickens.
The descent was no joke, slick and muddy after the rain. But we made it down in one piece, just a little more sore, tired, and wet than we started.
The hike began innocently enough. The first leg was a gentle climb on a soft forest trail. But around mile 2, things turned. The trail became a nonstop uphill stairmaster, all rocks and roots. No views. Just trees and sweat. We got the occasional glimpse of a peak through the canopy, but mostly it was a long green tunnel.
Then around mile 4, the trail went from "steep" to “you’ve got to be kidding me”. We weren’t hiking anymore, we were climbing. It was hands-on rock steep in places, and still no big views to distract us from the suffering.
But then finally the payoff. As we neared the ridge, the views opened up: dramatic peaks all around, layers of ridgelines fading into the distance, and the first glimpse of those alpine lakes below.
Just when we felt like we might be getting somewhere, the clouds rolled in and it started pouring. Fortunately, the rain only lasted about 20 minutes. It was cold and drenching, but also refreshing.
At the top, we could see three lakes stacked down the mountainside. The largest sat deep in a basin, the middle perched on a rocky ledge, and the smallest tucked up near the cliffs. Everything looked dramatic and moody after the rain, with mist still clinging to the peaks. Totally worth the grueling effort.
Just as we were heading back, we ran into a female sooty grouse on a rocky ledge just off the trail. I stepped up on a boulder to get a better view, and it bolted at first, then stopped, looked back at me, and decided I wasn’t a threat. It went right back to pecking at leaves like I wasn’t even there. Reminded me of my backyard chickens.
The descent was no joke, slick and muddy after the rain. But we made it down in one piece, just a little more sore, tired, and wet than we started.