I always like hiking in a new area and in the case of
Colorado that especially includes climbing a peak in an area of the state where
I haven’t hiked before . So when the weather looked like it would still be good
in the latter half of October and Kelly suggested climbing Clark Peak as our
next “Kellython” (as my housemate Dave termed my exhausting outdoor adventures
with Kelly) I was more than game.

Clark Peak is the highest peak in the Medicine Bow Range and
highest point in Jackson County. The general geography of northcentral Colorado
is that the Front Range sort of peters out into hills somewhere before the
Wyoming border. It then rises again farther north as the Laramie Range in southeastern
Wyoming. Towards its northwest a new range named the Medicine Bow Range begins
and runs into Wyoming west of Laramie and separates the North Platte and
Laramie Valleys. It’s a very remote part of Colorado accessed via Route 14
which runs up Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins or from Wyoming or points west
like Steamboat Springs. I’ve rarely passed through it and have never hiked in
the Colorado part of the Medicine Bow Range. The mountain is located in both
Roosevelt National Forest and the Rawah Wilderness .

Although the most prominent peak in its vicinity, at 12,951
feet Clark Peak isn’t even a “Thirteener” let alone a “Fourteener”. But don’t
let that fool you as it did me. The mountain is a good distance from any road
and the trailhead if you even want to call it much of a trail. Being remote and
much less frequently climbed than the more popular fourteeners, we often found
ourselves bushwhacking, skirting boggy areas, and pretty much winging it on our
own with the peaks in sight ahead. I often thought we were lost, although Kelly
seemed to be pretty sure of where we were going despite saying he didn’t
recognize the way because it had been such a long time since he had last
climbed it.

When we made it to the summit, though, it was all
worthwhile. First of all, we had it entirely to ourselves. In fact, I think we
had the entire mountain to ourselves since we didn’t see anyone else all day.
The views in all directions are stunning, a constant line of rounded peaks
above timberline both north and south along the range, the wide open North Park
Valley to the west, and the green evergreen covered hills and lower peaks of
Roosevelt National Forest toward the east . The weather was ideal, naturally
quite chilly at the time of year but not especially windy. The mix of clouds
and clear sky created fantastic shadow effects on the valley below and the
landscape around us.

We somehow seemed to take a bit of a wrong turn on the way
back on what Kelly thought was going to be a better route. Going down should be
easier, but that was not the case on some very steep and treacherous sections.
The bushwhacking and bog avoiding was even worse than on the way up. And I was
exhausted from what turned out to be a 14 mile day with over 3,000 feet of
elevation gain and some difficult terrain. This was definitely the hardest of
my Kellythons and a temporarily hated Kelly.

Well, we finally made it to what seemed like a real trail
for the last half mile or so back to the parking lot but by then it was nearly
dusk and I was having some concerns we might end up walking through the woods
in the dark. All told I think it was close to nine hours on the trail . Wow!

The ride back down Poudre Canyon on Route 14 seemed to take
an eternity. It doesn’t look that far on the map but is about 55 miles long on
the winding canyon road. Nearing the entrance to Poudre Canyon north of Fort
Collins we stopped at Kelly’s favorite canyon hangout for massive burgers
smothered with chili and pints of microbrewery beer. We’re both strong fans of
IPAs. It ended up being quite late by the time I got back home to Denver.

I’ve included some pictures here of a shorter outing Kelly
and I did about a week later, a hike in one of the side canyons of Poudre
Canyon closer to Fort Collins. As far as Kellythons go, though, this was a
little walk in the park.