The previous summer I finished my southbound CDT section hike at the Bowen Gulch Trailhead near Grand Lake. At the time I had considered making the 7 mile road walk on Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake, but I ended up taking an easy hitch with a park ranger to town. Later this summer I planned to continue hiking south starting in Grand Lake, so that left me a gap to fill in order to keep a connected footpath on the trail.
The CDT redline follows about a 27 mile loop through the park, but campsites generally fill quickly after the March 1 reservation opening date. The East Troublesome Fire had forced the National Park Service to close the the more popular CDT “shortcut” through the park on the Green Mountain Trail for the past few years. I think most thru-hikers just do the road walk or hike the 27 miles in a single day to avoid needing a wilderness camping permit (and the required bear can). That distance through challenging terrain in one day just isn’t realistic for me as a section hiker. The Green Mountain Trail had re-opened this summer, but trail access was limited to only those with a RMNP wilderness camping permit. The catch is that all the camp sites on the Green Mountain Trail were still closed to protect the area as it continues to recover from massive fire damage.
From earlier research I knew the Onahu Creek Trail connected to the Green Mountain Trail, and just a couple weeks before I was surprised to find an Onahu Creek campsite available online. I would have to hike about 3 extra miles north to camp, then could hike 6.5 miles south to finish in Grand Lake, all on actual trail. I booked the campsite, then called the RMNP Wilderness Office to make sure I understood the rules correctly.
I parked my truck at the Onahu Creek Trailhead and wasn’t and even a mile into my hike when I spotted a young moose near the trail. I was more concerned that there might be a protective momma moose nearby, but this one thankfully ran off. I meet a couple friendly day hikers on the first short day and for once beat the rain to camp. I had a nice reserved spot that featured a convenient dining area off a side trail near the creek.
The next morning the trail started out through a fair amount of beetle-killed woods. As the CDT entered the massive burn scar, I could hear the loud, squeaky sounds of what must have been a marmot (aka whistle pig) echoing across the valley. I had seen plenty of marmots running around the talus on higher peaks but never heard them, and I didn’t realize they also live in the woodlands. Hearing the rhythmic whistle was eerily similar to that iconic scene in the “The Warriors” movie, as the unseen marmot repeatedly invited me to “come out to play-ayyy”. I could understand why access to this area was so limited and I felt really fortunate to have this experience.
Other than a trail crew I was all alone the entire way to Grand Lake. It was cool to watch the lake get closer and closer as I neared town. I had stayed over a couple extra nights after my hike last year and really enjoy Grand Lake.
After a big breakfast and coffee, I walked through town and back up to Trail Ridge Road. I had found Grand Lake to be super hiker-friendly and assumed I’d get an easy hitch back, but waited nearly two hours without any luck. Early on a pick-up going the other way slowed and the driver gave me a rubber-necked look. He came back over an hour later to see if I was still there, and drove me completely out of his way back to Bowen Gulch. He was a super friendly roofer from Grand Lake, and he cautioned me that the former town mayor had been mauled to death by a moose. I appreciated him understanding that I didn’t want to be dropped at my truck, but at Bowen Gulch so I could hike the last 1.5 mile gap back to Onahu Creek.
Lone Wolf hiking 