| Devil's Thumb Trail #902 crosses gently sloping terrain interspersed with steep stretches of trail. Along the way, it passes through forest, riparian woodland, and sunny, rocky slopes.From the trailhead, cross the footbridge and take the Devil's Thumb Trail #902, which climbs steeply for about a half mile on an old road. The Devil's Thumb Bypass turns right (north) in 0.8 miles, just before the bridge. Either the Devil's Thumb Trail or the Devil's Thumb Bypass will get visitors to the same destination. (The distance is about the same either way) The bypass trail crosses open meadows to the north of the creek. The main trail follows an old road along the south side of the creek, staying right past junctions with the Lost Lake Trail #813, King Lake Trail #901 and Woodland Lake Trail #811.It is 1.1 miles from the trailhead to the Lost Lake Trail junction, which is right at the top of a hill. From there it is a flat 0.2 miles to the King Lake Trail junction. The Devil's Thumb Trail enters the Indian Peaks Wilderness just beyond the King Lake Trail junction. It continues fairly level another one mile to the Woodland Lake Trail junction. In places, the creek has taken over the trail, so hikers have to follow social paths along the bank. The Devil's Thumb Bypass rejoins 200 yards beyond the Woodland Lake Trail.After the trails rejoin, the old road begins to climb again. This stretch can be very wet, especially early in the summer, so some bypass social trails have been developed. In one and a half miles, the Diamond Lake Trail #975 forks right (north). It leads 3.7 miles up over the ridge past Diamond Lake to connect to the Arapaho Pass Trail 1.2 miles from the trailhead. From the Diamond Lake Trail junction it is another 0.6 miles to Jasper Lake.The trail continues another mile over a small ridge, north of a pond and up a slope to Devil's Thumb Lake. It lies directly below the vertically walled Devil's Thumb. Past Devil's Thumb Lake, Devil's Thumb Trail wanders across open meadows near a tree line, then makes several switchbacks up the steep side of a ridge to reach the Continental Divide. This steep portion of the trail holds snow and ice well into the summer and can be treacherous. (Crampons may be useful.)From the top of the ridge it is another 0.6 miles downhill to the right (north) to Devil's Thumb Pass or three miles to the left (south) to the King Lake Trail #901. It is not difficult to eventually pick up the High Lonesome Trail from the Devil's Thumb Trail by just following the ridge, but finding the Devil's Thumb Trail from the High Lonesome Trail is more difficult. Note that the Devil's Thumb Trail does not climb to Devil's Thumb Pass (which has a snowfield most of the year), but ascends the ridge to the south. There is a large cairn where it tops out, just south of the high point at the ridge intersection.This trail has been rated "more difficult" and has heavy usage. Elevation ranges from 9,000 to 12,000 feet. Depending on how far visitors wish to hike, a round trip can be anywhere from 9 to 14.2 miles long. |
|
