Trail Information
- Area: Indian Peaks Wilderness – Hell Canyon – Upper Lake
- Trailhead: Roaring Fork
- Dates: 8/31/2019 – 9/2/2019
- Length: ~12.5 miles in/out
- Difficulty: Moderately Difficult
As forementioned, I was told by a ranger that they call it Hell Canyon for a reason, and I have to commend him for his accuracy. Not but 100 yards in, you greeted with a fairly steep trail for about a mile and a half. Once back on the creek it starts to level out a bit, and fortunately it’s mostly shady until you hit tree line. At the 2.5ish mile junction, you have an option to opt out of any more difficult hiking to straight to Watanga Lake. I decided to torture myself with another 2-mile steep climb through the pass to Hell Canyon. You’re met with some pretty good views, unobstructed by any trees. A great place for a rest and a snack.
The trail down into the canyon is a stress-free relief, unless you’re preemptively thinking about the hike back up. By far the steepest part of the trail I’ve seen. Once at bottom, it’s easy going. You may have the option to hike to a few lakes down canyon, as seen from the views above. I personally haven’t checked them out, but I can see there being less people as you need to hike off trail. Could be worth a future trip down there when one yearns for privacy.
The hike into Stone Lake is gorgeous. Large boulders surrounding the lake, a few camp sites that I can see. Next trip down here I’ll most likely have to bring a floaty to lounge in the frigid water. Plentiful spots to sun bath on top of rocks. I noticed about 3-4 camp sites already, and decided to hike up to Upper Lake for more opportunities of solitude.
I originally camped at site #4, first nice site I found and needed something before it got too dark. Once I reconned the day after and got a lay of the land, I found several other sites and became accustomed to the surroundings. After a hike up north to the saddle for some good views into Rocky Mountain National Park, I decided to move my tent to site #2. Felt I wanted to be higher up, over the lake without the feeling of being surrounded by other people or campsites. There was another solo lady in #1, so didn’t get an opportunity to check it out. Seemed nice enough. One of my favorite spots that I’ll try snagging next time will be #3. Secluded with your own little pond, surround by ton of rocks. Almost hard to see from trial that there’s anything even up there. I hate sharing it, hopefully don’t regret it.
Stone Lake: #6 looked like an awesome site, barring being right on the trail. Right on water, and a perfect sun-bathing rock right out front. #5 & #7 were both occupied, but looked decent enough. Willing to bet there was more sites just south of Stone Lake, just south above the rocks.
There’s no doubt I’ll be heading here again, and highly recommended to anyone looking for good views and beautiful lakes. I found peace, even heading up on a holiday weekend. I’ve realized that you get fewer hikers after 5-6 miles from trailhead, and this was no exception.
