Lady Moon to Disappointment Falls

 

On Friday, August 10, I decided to tackle the Lady Moon Trail in Roosevelt National Forest.  The trailhead is located about eight mile from our house and is one of our closest public trails.  In addition, Internet searches revealed that the trail is scenic and relatively easy, with modest elevation changes.  Sounded good.  Kali declined to accompany me; she told me to "scout it out" and then she'd join me next time if I gave a good review.

The trail is named for Lady Catherine Moon.  She was an Irish working-class immigrant in the early 20th century with a very colorful reputation in our region.  She had four husbands, including Lord Cecil Moon, a British aristocrat who came to the area to seek his fortune in mining.  There is also a small lake in the area named in Lady Moon's honor.

The trail heads south out of the parking lot and almost immediately crosses a large, broad open meadow--Lady Moon Meadow.  Lady Moon Meadow, indeed all grassy areas in our neighborhood this year, are overwhelmed with grasshoppers--millions and millions of grasshoppers.  Dozens scatter with each footstep, and sometimes fly into my face, cling to my legs, and get in my clothing.  Harmless, but irritating. 

Lady Moon Meadow

One of billions

On the opposite side of the meadow, the trail begins to ascend gently and enters open ponderosa pine forest interspersed with aspen groves.  Large granite outcrops encroach on the trail from each side to lend some interest.  After about a mile, the north-south Lady Moon Trail intersects with the east-west Granite Ridge Trail, then diverges a short distance east.  From this point, the Lady Moon Trail begins to descend into the Elkhorn Creek valley.  Near the top of the divide, the Mummy Range in Rocky Mountain National Park, still bearing a few patches of snow, is visible on the horizon.

The Mummy Range bearing snow patches in Rocky Mountain National Park in the far distant haze

This venerable and ancient ponderosa pine was growing near the trail; it is hundreds of years old

As the trail approaches Elkhorn Creek, a spur trail splits off toward the west leading to Disappointment Falls.  Ruins of a homesteader's log structure mark the junction.

Along the trail to Disappointment Falls, I saw this Mountain Bluebird carcass in the grass, out in the middle of nowhere.  Mountain Bluebirds may be the most common birds along this trail.  This unfortunate bird may have been the victim of a predator.

The Internet information about this hike warned that Disappointment Falls would be less than impressive during the summer, but that it could really roar during spring snowmelt.  The cascade was pleasant, but the expanse of bare rocks adjacent to the falls bore witness to the fact that the falls grows in volume in the spring.

Disappointment Falls on Elkhorn Creek

After I enjoyed the falls, I retraced my steps back to the parking lot.  The entire hike was five miles round-trip.  I think this hike might become Kali's and my "go to" hike because it has a lot of varied scenery, it's pretty gentle, and the trail surface is mostly smooth dirt without a lot of rocks and tripping hazards.

Lady Moon Trail in an aspen grove

This was my best day yet in Colorado.  The skies were sapphire, the humidity was low, the scenery was spectacular, temperatures were in the low 80s, there was a nice breeze, and there was absolute silence (except for occasional birdsong and wind soughing through the ponderosas).  Heavenly!