Beaver Brook Loop - A Heart-pounding Misadventure

Beaver Brook

On a steamy autumn day, the casual descent into a deep gorge was suddenly transformed into a lesson about underestimation. It began along a pine studded rim, towering above the mysterious depths of a jagged ravine.

Carved by a fast-flowing creek called Beaver Brook, the narrow gulch was a fantastical place where sea serpents swam. The farthest reaches of this Front Range wilderness felt just as remote, rugged and awe-inspiring as any piece of land in Colorado.

Down at the extreme bottom, a series of twenty footbridges criss-crossed the blue stream while transporting the hemmed in hiker through a picturesque portal. Down there the problems began because the thrilling scenery and ease of passage were short-lived.

The steep escape from such a fiery dungeon was a heart-pounding misadventure that was as brutal as climbing any fourteener. The way out was littered with thin ledges, vast drop offs and rock-cut stairwells.

A more thoughtful approach was required in order to preserve precious oxygen while attaining such dizzying height. The endless struggle became a strategic combination of rest and roll while reeling in the mountaintop, step by step.

A final charge through the last leg of the arduous trek finally achieved admittance into a receptive forest. With the danger zone left in the dust, a shaft of filtered light, shining through a grove of aspen, guided the weary traveler to the glorious finish line.

A steamy, autumn day

A deep gorge

A jagged ravine

A fast-flowing creek

A fantastical place

Where sea serpents swam

Remote and rugged

Footbridge crosses the stream

A picturesque portal

Thrilling scenery

A steep escape

A glorious finish line

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