Colorado: Cache La Poudre River

I want to finish last spring's trip to Colorado before its one year anniversary, so back to documenting that trip.

After a day of supply, laundry, and dumping at Boyd Lake State Park, we drove up Highway 14 towards Red Feather Lakes in search of first come, first serve campgrounds.  The date was June 14, 2021.

As we headed up the canyon, the signs of past fires became evident. 

We would see much greater damage later in the week, as we continued up the canyon.

In our research, we knew that many of the campgrounds had changed to reservation only, and reservations were not available when we decided on this trip.

A few small national forest campgrounds still held back some sites as non-reservable.  We gambled that we could find a site mid-week.

The first couple of these campgrounds were completely full, which was discouraging.  However, when we drove up to Dutch George Campground, we were rewarded with an open site looking over the water. 

We were happy to find a spot.  The amenities were very basic:  pit toilets, garbage dumpster, and lots of sun for the solar panels to recharge our battery.    No electric meant no air conditioning, and it was warm inside the Scamp even at 6400' elevation.

 

We spent as much time as we could in the shade when given to us or in the natural air conditioning of the river.

Dutch George campground was our home base for several days while exploring the area.  I don't recall what we paid per night, but it was less than the $25/night being charged for the upcoming season.  That's a lot for dry camping, but it seems to be the way of the future, especially in the popular parts of Colorado.

 

Steenbock Preserve

 

This isn't the prettiest time of year to hike the Steenbock Preserve (also known as the Slacks segment) on the Ice Age Trail.

The trail is muddy.  The landscape is gray. Today was very windy. Yesterday was so windy that the Merrimac free ferry was closed.

 

This tree blew over yesterday and blocked the trail today.

There are several types of benches on this segment of trail.  Some of them do better in the wind than others.

Easily fixed

The most beautiful spot on the trail this morning was the dispersed camping location, which is designated for thru-hikers only.  Dispersed camping isn't common on the Ice Age Trail.  The Lodi area is fortunate to have two spots within a day's hike.  Both are tent sites and very different from the Appalachian Trail's mostly three-sided wood shelters.  

Scamp: Four Season Camping?

Here in the Upper Midwest, camping season can seem incredibly brief.  Freezing temperatures during May and  September are not typical but also not rare.  

 

There are some fiberglass trailers, like Oliver and Bigfoot, that keep all of the water and waste tanks within the potentially heated portions of the trailer.  Scamp is not one of those trailers, as the waste tanks are beneath the sub-floor.  In my Scamp, the water tank is located on an outside wall under the rear bed.  The plumbing system would not do well during sustained freezing temperatures.

When we camped at Bryce National Park, the temperature dipped into the mid 20's.  Because daytime temperatures rose up into the 50's, we did not end up with frozen pipes.

Even during Wisconsin's winter with temperatures sometimes well below zero, however, it is perfectly possible to camp in the Scamp when it is treated as a luxury hard-sided tent.  That means to keep the plumbing system empty and/or full of rv anti-freeze.  

On our recent camping trip to Iowa, we kept five-gallon plastic water containers inside the heated portion of the trailer, and used those for drinking and cooking.  We visited the pit toilet in the campground and collected kitchen wastewater in a tub before tossing it outside appropriately.  Nothing down the drain.  

We had electric hook-ups, so we were able to stay comfortable with a small electric ceramic heater.   Comfortable mattress?  Yep.  Comfortable dinette for eating?  Yep.  Several reading lights?  Yep.  The Scamp is a really nice tent even without usable indoor plumbing.

Would I use the Scamp in the middle of winter?  Given Wisconsin's liberal use of salt on the roadways, I would be reluctant to take it anywhere and potentially allow road salt to damage the metal frame.  Even during my brief stays on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Scamp incurred some light surface rust on the frame from the sea mist/air.

Lodi Marsh

 

While we were camping in Iowa, the Mobile Skills Crew for the Ice Age Trail Alliance was making improvements to the Lodi Marsh segment.

Previously, the trail moved to the left of the yellow blaze and through some very wet, soft ground.  During the spring and fall, and after any appreciable rainfall, you could count on wet feet while hiking this section.  Trying to go around the wet spots on the trail just led to deeper but hidden wet spots in the marsh.  

The mobile skills crew completed the difficult job of moving the building supplies to the re-route and constructing an elevated footpath leading to higher ground.  I can only imagine how muddy the job was.

I felt guilty just sauntering across the boards a few days later.  But my feet were dry, and I was grateful.

Fairport State Recreation Area

On our past visits to Muscatine, Iowa, we have stayed at Shady Creek, a Corps of Engineers campground.  That option was not available because Shady Creek doesn't open until May.

Instead we chose Fairport State Recreation Area, which is managed by Iowa DNR and open year-round.  The 43 site campground is on the Mississippi River and costs $12/night this time of year for dry camping with electric hookups.  A pit toilet is available. It's a good idea to bring your own toilet paper.  

Once the water gets turned on, the price goes up to $18/night, but showers, toilets, garbage dumpsters and water spigots are available.  

The waterfront is the star of the campground.

We had a front row view of the river from our site.  The interior rows are fairly tight.  The back row is very close to the highway and very, very close to the train tracks, which is only a problem when the train comes through.  On our first night, there were no trains, but the other two nights included several train visits.

There were fewer than six other campers in the campground during our stay.  One family had recently been evicted and was angry at the world.  Lots of shouting, ranger visits for non-payment, etc.  They were in a pop-up camper and were using one of those electric fireplaces for heat.  I know because they first set it up on the picnic table.  Lots of colorful language about that purchase and where it should go, etc.

Another guy got his huge fifth wheel trailer (3 slide-outs) and four-wheel drive RAM 3500 truck massively stuck on wet ground.  He spun all four wheels for so long and hard that I thought he had blown his engine, and that the truck was on fire.  It was on the other side of the campground, but I came running with the news that there was a fire raging under his truck.  Another camper (more usefully) gave him their fire extinguisher, and he eventually was able to put it out the fire, although it reignited briefly.

It turned out that he had set fire to the grass and brush under his truck.  The tires spinning dug quite an impressive trench that he was unable to escape, even with his four-wheel drive in low.  With a straight face, he asked me if I could pull him out.  I told him that I didn't have near enough truck to do that.  The Nissan has a 6000 pound towing capacity, and he wanted me to  pull out his truck and fifth wheel.

A tow truck was called and winched both units out together.  After setting up in his site, the guy never left the comfort of his fifth wheel for the next two days.  That side of the campground will bear the scars of his adventure for awhile.

Wildcat Den

 There are about five miles of of up and down trails at Wildcat Den State Park, which is just north of Muscatine, Iowa.

We started at the Grist Mill.

Julia watching the water fall

The trail then went up and into The Punch Bowl. The temperature was in the 30’s. We didn’t see anyone else hiking.

After our hike we had a beer at Contrary Brewing in Muscatine. The outdoor and indoor seating were packed on a Saturday early afternoon. 

I had a chocolate milk stout that was very good. Contrary is located across the street from the Mississippi River.