| Sourdough Trail #835 travels 14.7 miles along the east side of the mountains over forested terrain across several creek drainages. It gains 1,000 feet in the first three miles past Fourmile Creek; is fairly level for another two miles; drops 500 feet down to the South Saint Vrain Creek in two miles, passing the Brainard Lake Road enroute; takes a two mile loop to the west to avoid a swamp; drops 500 feet to the Beaver Bog Road over the next two miles; climbs over a small ridge to the Beaver Reservoir Road, wanders over more gentle terrain past Beaver Creek for a mile; then drops steeply 400 feet to the Middle Saint Vrain in the last mile.The trail heads north from the Sourdough Trailhead and climbs gently, sometimes on old roads. It climbs more steeply up a small ridge, closely paralleling the Niwot Ridge Road. Then it circles away, climbing more gently on an old road. After crossing Fourmile Creek on a wide bridge, it climbs a couple switchbacks on narrower trail to the trail's highest point. The Sourdough Trail roughly follows the elevation contour for more than a mile, and then dips down to the Red Rock Trailhead, passing the Little Raven Ski Trail at the bottom of the hill.Continuing north from the Brainard Lake Road, the trail continues to generally drop elevation. It crosses South Saint Vrain Creek on a wide bridge and intersects with the South Saint Vrain Trail #909 on the other side. The official Sourdough Trail follows the South Saint Vrain Trail for a mile to the left (west), then heads north and then east. It passes north of a meadow with some little ponds. The Wapiti Ski Trail turns off to the north (there are two trail junction signs, but the old one to the west does not actually correspond to a trail), but it does not have a maintained summer footway. The piece of the Sourdough Trail between the South Saint Vrain Trail and the Wapiti Trail is in poor condition and is not well maintained.A shorter cut-off trail follows the South Saint Vrain Trail a quarter mile to the right (east), then turns off to the left (north) and climbs very steeply before flattening out and hitting the main Sourdough Trail, cutting off two and a half miles of trail. From the junction with the cut-off, the Sourdough Trail descends, and then circles. It takes a long switchback, and the Baptiste Ski Trail continues ahead at the point. The Baptiste Ski Trail connects to the Wapiti Ski Trail but it also does not have a maintained summer footway. The Sourdough Trail drops to cross Forest Development Road 113 at the Beaver Bog Trailhead. An alternate ski route crosses Forest Development Road 113 higher up. The main Sourdough Trail climbs an open hillside in the burn area of the 1988 Beaver Lake Fire. The main trail and the ski bypass rejoin at the top of the hill, pass through another corner of the burn area, then drop down to County Road 96, east of Beaver Reservoir at the Beaver Creek Trailhead. The Sourdough Trail continues on the other side of the Beaver Reservoir Road, first more gently across Beaver Creek, then down some steep little hills, passing the junction with a cut-off that comes into the Coney Creek Road just north of Beaver Reservoir. It then drops steeply down some switchbacks to come into the Buchanan Pass Trail near Camp Dick. The official Sourdough Trail continues north 100 yards west on the Buchanan Pass Trail and comes to the south loop of Camp Dick Campground in another 100 yards. However, there is no parking here, so visitors may want to avoid a third of a mile of road walk by turning left (west) for a half mile on the Buchanan Pass Trail. The Buchanan Pass Trailhead is 150 yards to the right (east) on the 4WD Middle Saint Vrain Road.This trail has been rated "easy to moderate" and has moderate use. Elevation ranges from 8,500 to 10,200 feet. Depending on how far visitors wish to hike, a round trip can be anywhere from 2 to 29.4 miles long. |
|
