MISSOURI LAKES/FANCY PASS HIKE
September 4, 2006
By Tim Briese
The hike to Missouri Lakes, in the Holy Cross Wilderness northwest of Leadville, has been called one of the top scenic hikes in Colorado. The trail is the second most popular in the wilderness area, second only to the trail to Mt. of the Holy Cross. The hike to the lakes can be combined with a climb over Missouri Pass and return over Fancy Pass to make for a splendid loop hike. This outing had been on my wish list for years, and the opportunity to do it finally arrived.
My wife Teresa and I left home on Sunday after lunch with our friends Hal and Linda and drove to Leadville. It was Labor Day weekend, and we planned to stay in Leadville that night and do the hike the next day. That evening we strolled around the old historic district in town, then ate a wonderful dinner at Quincy=s, and played shuffleboard at the Silver Dollar Saloon before retiring to our fine rooms at the Columbine Inn.
We rose early the next morning, and after scraping frost off the car windows, headed north toward the trailhead. The scenic 45 minute drive took us over Tennessee Pass, past Camp Hale, and up the Homestake Creek Road. My map showed separate trailheads about a half mile apart for the beginning and end of the loop hike, but a new connecting trail had recently been built so that both the Missouri Creek and Fancy Creek trails now started at the Missouri Creek Trailhead. We weren=t sure which way would be best to go around the loop but settled on going up Missouri Creek first. This turned out to be an excellent choice because the grade over the first few miles was gentler going this way and the scenery was better, too, in the early part of the day when we were at our freshest and could appreciate it the most. The popularity of this hike was immediately evident because there were at least 20 cars already in the parking area when we arrived.
At 7:50 we left the 10,000 foot trailhead and struck off up the trail. We hiked in the shade along the valley floor for the first half hour and found the cold to be bone-chilling on this frosty morning. Presently the sun burst over the ridge to the southeast, though, and immediately it was remarkably warmer.
The hike up along Missouri Creek was a beautiful one, with frequent cascades in the creek and little waterfalls, and a couple of impressive places where the creek had cut 50 foot deep gorges into the rock. The weather was perfect today, with rich golden sunshine and a crystal blue sky.
At one of our rest stops Hal noticed that his watch was missing from his arm, and realized that it must have slipped off his wrist when he took his jacket off earlier. In spite of this misfortune he maintained his characteristic enthusiasm and remained unflappably exuberant about our adventure.
We gradually climbed up the trail to timberline and reached the first of the Missouri Lakes about three miles from the trailhead. The trail curved around to the right and gradually climbed into a lovely basin that held more picturesque lakes. It was easy to see why this place is so popular, for the lakes are alpine jewels in a beautiful setting, set amidst rocky outcroppings and flowery meadows, with an impressive mountain wall ringing the basin on the south and west. We saw several backpackers in the area, camped in pristine meadows, or packing down the trail after their stay in the basin. The largest lake, lying at about 11,500 feet, was the prettiest of all. It glistened a bluish color, and had rocky coves and flower-strewn meadows along its shore.
We continued on the nice trail past the large lake up to the end of the basin, then switchbacked 500 feet up to Missouri Pass, which stands at 11,986 feet. We admired nice views of the lakes below during rest stops on this climb. At 11:40 we reached the top of the pass, having come about four miles from the trailhead. We encountered a chilly northwest wind blowing over the ridge at the pass and sought out a sunny and protected spot behind a rocky outcropping to sit down and eat our lunch. Two older women came up the trail a few minutes later and sat behind rocks on the other side of the trail and did the same.
After lunch we continued on the trail that drops to the northwest below the pass, gradually descending 200 feet into a scenic area of tundra, past numerous rocks and boulders strewn elegantly across the grass. Beautiful Treasurevault Lake lay in a basin just below. A panorama of mountains was spread before us, including Mt. Jackson off to the northwest. Presently we reached a trail junction and took a fork to the right and began to climb up toward Fancy Pass. We passed a party of several hikers who were resting along the trail while watching their two dogs swim in a nearby pond. We stopped frequently to enjoy the surrounding grandeur, finding it hard to take our eyes off it all! It felt exhilarating to be hiking above timberline with such a sweeping panorama spread out around us.
We slowly climbed 600 feet up to Fancy Pass. At 12,400 feet, it is a few hundred feet higher than Missouri Pass. It was about a mile from one pass to the other. The trail took us through a rocky notch at the pass where we sat and rested for a bit, enjoying a last look at the scenery off to the west. The trail down the east side of the pass descended steeply down a rocky gully filled with talus. We immediately noticed that the terrain here was considerably more stark and rugged than what we had seen so far on the hike. We passed some piles of wood along the trail that were the remnants of old mine structures. We met a tired-looking couple coming up the steep trail who asked how far it was yet to the pass.
When we descended to timberline we saw beautiful Fancy Lake lying in a wooded bowl below, an emerald-colored watery jewel. When we reached the shore of the lake we visited with a backpacker who was sitting on a rock resting there. We continued down the trail below the lake along the north side of Fancy Creek, pausing to admire an interesting place where the creek flowed through a deep and narrow rocky gorge.
The trail seemed rather steep to us in many places, compared to the gentle Missouri Creek Trail we had hiked up in the morning. We discussed how it would have been more grueling coming up this way if we had done the loop in the other direction, and felt good about the choice we had made.
Eventually we crossed to the south side of Fancy Creek and followed the trail into dense woods on the other side. We traversed across a ridge back into the Missouri Creek drainage and descended a few hundred feet on switchbacks down to the trailhead. We arrived there a few minutes before 4, having covered about eight and a half miles in eight hours on this fine loop hike. It was warm and pleasant now, in sharp contrast to our chilly morning start. A lot of people were milling about in the parking area after their hike, resting in the sun, drinking beer, or playing with their dogs. The atmosphere was almost festive, fostered by the relaxing afternoon sunshine and the pleasant exuberance that such hikes often enkindle. Linda echoed the feelings of all of us when she said that she was tired from the hike, but that it was a good tired feeling.
After leaving the trailhead and returning to the highway we stopped to visit the Tenth Mountain Division Memorial on Tennessee Pass. It seemed to be a moving moment for Hal, a Vietnam veteran, reading about the brave men who trained here in the valley below for winter alpine warfare in World War II. It was a touching moment for me as well, pondering the great sacrifice of these men, while listening to the timeless wind blow softly through the trees around us on this sunny September afternoon.
Following this stop we proceeded south down the highway to Buena Vista. After eating a delicious dinner at Jan=s, we drove back home that evening, arriving there about 9 p.m.
