Park Creek
This trail along with its spur were new for our group and we were hoping to find something a little challenging. Everyone was very pleasantly surprised to find a new trail in Boulder County that we'd be doing very often in future years. It was a blast!
We did the spur to the left at the "Y" first and it was a fun hill climb. It ended up being the least challenging of the two sections but it definitely had its fun spots. It was a great way to get the day started and everyone was grinning when we got to the top. We had a couple new members and they were both having a good time.
It was interesting to get nine vehicles turned around at the end but we made it happen. The rocky climb was just as much fun on the way down.
When we got back to the intersection we went to check out the other half of the trail. This half proved to be quite a bit more challenging, and everyone took their own routes to the top. It started with a deep trench of whoopdeedoos that tilted our vehicles back and forth. It was fun but not difficult.
Then we started the rocky wash. It was a long pile of rocks in a shallow trench so there weren't many options but it was still possible to get around some of the bigger rocks. Big logs made for even fewer options in some places. Everyone liked the mental workout as we planned our way to the top.
We crossed a very small bit of Park Creek and then we were out of the rocky section. The rest of the trail was easy though there were some narrow spots through the trees. Everyone made it through, though. There was even some mud near the end.
When we got to what the Motor Vehicle Use Map described as the end of the trail we found a small turnaround. It looked like the trail continued a bit farther but we decided to use the loop to get us all turned around.
Like always, we had a BBQ planned for the 4th of July weekend. We had hoped to have it on Coney Flats but it turned out we got lucky and had a great time having it on Park Creek. There were a couple wide spots and we picked the one with less water and fewer mosquitos. Austin set up a big canopy and the rest of us set up tables and grills. There was plenty of shade and the weather was perfect.
We ate way too much and hung out for a while, enjoying each other's company. We didn't see anyone else while we were there. It was a perfect kind of BBQ.
There were rocks to conquer on the way down, too, and everyone enjoyed that. Most of us were at the triangle crossroads when we heard on the radio that Austin had a broken u-joint on a front axle shaft. Luckily they were near the flat spot between the trench and the rocky wash so they had a place to work. They removed the longer part of the shaft and left the stub shaft in so he could get home.
At that point, Austin, Jeffrey and Jim left for home while the rest of us continued on to the T-33A Plane Crash. What a great trail! We'll definitely be doing that one again.
