Modified July 8, 2007  - See new hike from July 4, 2007

Modified August 28, 2002 for merged maps using topo-colorado

Hike taken on September 5, 1999 by Don, Marina, Michael and David

Total Distance by Topo!: 12.64 miles

A larger map with profile and coordinates suitable for printing on a single page can be had by clicking on the map.
 

Here is the table of waypoints and other useful information:

Label	Latitude	Longitude	Elev.	Name	Topo
HOME	39.64278	-106.10095	9330	Home	0
MESACO	39.63948	-106.10340	9454	Mesa Cortina	0.28
SWILLO	39.63724	-106.11257	9364	South Willow Creek	0.8
MWILLO	39.64864	-106.11830	9567	MID WILLOW 09:31 05-SEP-99	1.74
NRTHWL	39.65575	-106.11599	9507	NORTH WILLOW CREEK	2.37
WLIRDI	39.66365	-106.13409	10134	IRRIGATION DITCH	3.53
WLSWTR	39.66760	-106.14799	10770	SALMON WILLOW CUTOFF	4.39
SWSWIT	39.66788	-106.14933	10871	Switch Back 11:42 05-SEP-99	4.5
WLRUBY	39.66456	-106.15475	11100	RUBY LAKE TRAIL	4.98
WKSLTR	39.66123	-106.16082	11076	SALMON LAKE TRL 12:19 05-	5.41
WLSTR1	39.65804	-106.16264	11040	STREAM 12:31 05-SEP-99	5.66
WLSTR2	39.65399	-106.16456	11108	STREAM 2 12:42 05-SEP-99	5.99
WLLK1	39.65014	-106.16651	11219	WILLOW LAKE 1 13:05 05-SEP-99	6.32

 
 
 
 

The waypoints for this hike is willow.wpt. Right click on the link and save the file.

This hike for the most part is identical to the Salmon Hike from July 4, 1999.

We left our house at 8:30 am and hiked on the Ruby Ranch Spur to the Mesa-Cortina. For those of you reading this not living on or are guests of the Ranch, you will have to find other access to the Mesa-Cortina. The Mesa-Cortina from this point to its end at the South Willow Brook is an old jeep road from the ranch. There is very little elevation gain for this portion of the hike. The trail is well traveled, with access points from the South at the Mesa-Cortina trailhead, Ruby Ranch, and the Willowbrook development. Traveling to the South Fork, you may encounter muddy spots, especially at the following locations: 1) right after the Ruby Ranch Spur meets the Mesa-Cortina (this is also where the Willow Brook trail comes in) and 2) just before the South Fork of Willow Brook. We reached the South Fork at 8:55 am The bridge crossing the brook is a three log bridge, which our dogs negotiate without difficulty.

Immediately after the bridge, the Mesa-Cortina trail ends and becomes the Gore Range Trail. A sign will mark this, with a narrow trail coming in on your right. The Gore continues on straight between Buffalo and Red mountains, but that is another hike. Take the right branch, which will immediately start a steep climb up to the ridge which divides South Willow Brook from Middle Willow Brook. Descending down from the ridge, you arrive at a meadow, which we have found both dry and wet depending on unknown conditions. Leaving the meadow, you are back in the forest, and after a short hike come upon small streams. You have to use the rocks to cross these. Finally the Middle Fork arrives with what I call the Missing Third Bridge. We reached this point at 9:35 am. The approach to this is a dirt bridge through some wetlands, stopping at the brook, then continuing on the other side. The brook itself has been dammed up by Beaver, so the water is not running very fast. After negotiating the missing third bridge, you climb to another ridge which will divide the Middle Fork from the North Fork. Descending down to the North Fork, (which we arrived at 10:00 am), you come to a 2 log bridge. After crossing this water, the trail takes a hard left to start the climb. On your right is another access trail, from Eagles Nest (I think) and is marked by paint blazes on the trees.

Upon turning left the trail parallels the creek for some distance. The hike will go in and out of meadows and forest. Eventually the trail begins the climb. You may come across a small stream, which we believe is an irrigation ditch. During this hike it was dry. After the ditch, the climb continues bearing somewhat to the right (North). The next landmark will be the junction of the Gore Range with the Salmon Willow trail. This trail will come in on your left. We arrived at this point at 11:00 am.

Hiking on the Salmon-Willow, after a short level stretch, the trail will turn slightly Northward, and start what we consider the steepest part of the climb. A switch back will be reached, (11:40 am with a gorp break between this point an the Gore Trail) and then the trail will start to level out. At this point most of the elevation has been attained. There are some campsites here, but no water. You may see a trail on your right, unmarked which leads to Ruby Lake. As the trail continues towards the lakes, the slope of the hill becomes steep, but the trail remains level. The next landmark is the split in the trail. This was reached at 12:20 pm. At this point I lost my pen, so I only have the GPS time stamps for the balance. The Salmon Lake trail goes off on your right, while the Willow Lakes trail continue on straight.

Continuing on the Willow Lakes trail to major streams are crossed, one  at 12:31pm and one at 12:42 pm. The second is more of a pond than a stream, and on the way back, we just walked through it rather than negotiating the rocks. Finally at 1:05 pm we arrived at the first of the lakes and had lunch there. At around 1:40 pm we started the hike back and arrived at home at 5:10 pm.
 

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This page last updated July 8, 2007