Tracing Newlin Creek

Conquering the Newlin Creek Trail within San Isabel National Forest.

The solo expedition out to Newlin Creek Trail proved mostly uneventful. Skies began clear, with a few clouds loitering about, on a day with temperatures lingering in the 30°C range. Thunderstorms were expected late in the afternoon, so it was somewhat imperative to get up the trail and back down by around 4 pm.

Dry and  partially deserted farmland quickly faded into forested foothills surrounding the Wet Mountains.  The roads quickly disintegrated from blacktop to gravel, and finally, to dirt.  Beyond the entrance to Florence Mountain Park manifested more decay,  showcasing ruts approximately 50 centimetres in depth.  The low clearance vehicle of the particular transport in use was not exactly equipped to handle such a scenario.

It only took a moment or two to assess the situation and identify a method for carefully navigating the transport through the scene, leveraging the banks of the runs so as to arrive unmolested at a shady parking for the trailhead. Signing the guess book and considering the prohibition on Greenback Cutthroat Trout, the 4 km expedition quickly launched into a forest of towering pines and grainte.

A somewhat sandy trail quickly changed to a wide packed earth path, slowly rising alongside a shallow rushing creek.  Aspens quaked all around and the pines seemingly launcher higher and higher into the sky. Sometimes thrown asunder, apparently by some storm or another but overall, nicely shading most of the passage.  

The first direct encounter with the stream turned out to be of the constructed variety.  Lying nearby, remnants of previous construction efforts stood at the ready for quick improvements or repairs.  It was obvious the latter was more likely the case for this crossing.  Spring runoff can be fierce.

Massive granite boulders lined the path as often as the tall pines, hinting at a completely random and unidentified hazard.  Fresh rockfall was not evident.  These rocks did simply not grow this way.

Along the trail, water poured and cascaded across and sometimes out of the rock formations.  The rush of water could be heard for a good portion of the way.  None of the pools or falls were deep or particularly spectacular, only amusing in their own way.

The trail wound back and forth across the creek numerous times with no further attempts to construct passage across.  It was not really needed. Nature provided all the raw materials for short and shallow hops across and others had already leveraged those parts as needed.

Nearing the final destination, flora became more abundant.  Fauna remained quietly out of sight.  Birds could be heard in the trees.  No others dared showed their tails.  While only passing a handful of other adventurers along the way, that remained too much for many species.

The sawmill sat abandoned, right where Nathaniel Herrick left it.  Rusting quietly into the surrounding landscape it is an ode to hard work and ambition.  Manufactured by the Great Western Foundry of Leavenworth and hauled these 4 km up the mountain, one can only guess at the blood, sweat, and tears that went into that effort.

The trail continued on beyond the mill and undergrowth became much more dense.  A clearing expanded to contain a massive granite outcrop at the 4.8 km mark.  Shaded by towering pines all around, it produced the perfect location to stretch out for a moment of relaxation and consideration of the sights, sounds, and efforts of the day.

The journey back along the same path found leaves of the forest slowly stopped reflecting any light and things began to dim.  The promised rain was coming.  It was time to put the camera away and quicken the pace.  Fortunately, the return trip downhill only took about a third as long as the way up.

The pace proved not quite quick enough.  In the last half kilometre, the clouds unleashed their payload.  In most situations, on a hot day such as this, there would have been no objection.  This is a flash flood area though, and entry to trailhead had required maneuvering around some fairly deep trenches.  Careful navigation was required to complete that objective, along with several other minor flash floods crossing the paved roadway portion.  This most perilous portion of the adventure finally ended at the main highway; ironically, so did the rain.

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Further Reading

Rusting Trailside Dreams
Newline Creek Trail and the Nathaniel Herrick Sawmill

Medium

Newlin Creek Trail # 1335

San Isabel National Forest

US Forest Service

Florence Mountain Park Newlin Creek Trail

Colorado Central Magazine