Day Hike: Catamount Trail

This spring has been brutal here in Colorado.  The daily thunderstorms that have plagued us have caused us to wonder, "Does Colorado REALLY have 300 days of sunshine???"  So when the weather cleared, we took the opportunity to escape for the day to a phenomenal dayhike at Catamount Trail.

Catamount?  You know, another word for mountain lion, cougar...    Signage indicating necessary caution line the road on the way to the trailhead at Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.  After parking on the main street, we headed up Hondo Street (there is no parking at the trailhead itself), to the Waterworks Bridge.  There we were greeted by a vigorous waterfall, happily flowing down the mountain, full of all the spring rains.  From there we continued our five mile round trip hike.

In the Garden of Eden

The trail challenged us at first with a steep ascent and repeating switchbacks.  We were rewarded half-way with a short side trail that led to a spectacular overlook of the city.  Returning to the trail, we climbed a bit more to a saddle that led to the "Garden of Eden."  This rightly named meadow is adorned with surrounding rock walls, a meandering stream, and aspen trees.  We crossed the stream and ascended gently to the crest of a hill to a dirt road that led to Catamount Reservoir.  We did not what to expect as we had not seen photos of this area previously.

As we crested the hill to see the reservoir, we were thrilled with the views.  The large reservoir was lined with pine trees and Pikes Peak, all snow-covered, stood in the background.  People were fishing along the shore.  I do not know if anyone caught any fish that day but they did catch some wonderful scenery!

In all, this was one of our favorite day hikes so far.  We started out not knowing if we could complete the entire hike.  And we finished satisfied that we had seen some of the best Colorado has to offer.

We will see you on the trail...

-Mama Bear