Gore Lake – Vail Valley

This week I’m back in the Vail Valley enjoying the fall colors. It’s surprising how much the trees have changed since I was last up here just 10 days ago. The drive up wasn’t much fun. Seems like a lot of other people had the same idea and it took well over 3 hours to get here. After a pleasant weekend in the valley, Monday gave me the opportunity to hit the trail and go to Gore Lake!

Gore Lake

The trail to Gore Lake starts out along Gore Creek. The trailhead is the same location as Deluge Lake. Take exit 180 from I-70 and head east on Bighorn Road. You’ll pass back under I-70 and at 2 miles you’ll be at the trailhead parking just before the road crosses Gore Creek.

It was cooler this morning and the Jeep reported it was only 30° at the trailhead. I decided to start out with a heavier base layer, shirt, light gloves, and convertible pants with the legs on. Have I said how much I love my prAna convertible pants? Anyway, I figured I’d be warm enough on the trail.

The usual incline out of Vail Valley

Like Deluge Lake and Pitkin Lake, the climb out of the valley gets your heart going right away. This trail didn’t seem as bad, and it isn’t a killer incline. Still, you know you’re going up.

Within 100 yards of the trailhead, you’ll see the sign clearly showing one way for Deluge Lake, the other for Gore Creek. If you can read this sign then you’ve got one on me. Who took this picture?

Fall colors!

You’ll continue your climb out of the valley. On this day, it didn’t take long for the fall colors to show themselves!

Gore Creek Trail – beautiful

The views of fall colors and mountain vistas along Gore Creek trail really put me in a wonderful mood. The crisp air added a special zip to the hike. It really was a wonderful day! The trail includes a mix of open meadows and time spent along Gore Creek. Gore Creek has a lot of small cascades. At one point, I had to relax and soak in the sounds.

After a 2 miles, I swapped out my heavier base layer for a lighter one and zipped off the legs of my pants. That served me well until the lake…which was a little cooler! I have no idea what the temp was along the trail. The sun was warm and the air was cool, pretty ideal fall hiking conditions.

On to Gore Lake

At mile 5, the trail to Gore Lake separates from Gore Creek trail. This is where the graves for two of the three Recen brothers are located. The Recen brothers became successful miners and were well known in Summit County, including having key roles in establishing Frisco. Daniel, Henry and Andrew came from Sweden and arrived in Summit County in 1874. They established the Queen of the West mine near Vail Pass and became rich. At some point they built a cabin on Gore Creek. I’ve read Andrew died along the creek in 1913 and was buried near the cabin. The grave marker says 1912 so I’ll believe the marker. Daniel was found passed away in the snow outside the cabin in 1919 and was buried there as well. Now you have a little Colorado lore to share.

As soon as you leave Gore Creek, the trail gets steeper as you elevation over the next .5 miles. It gives you time to reflect on why you are doing this hike. Like many times, I focused on fully extending my legs and keeping consistent pacing trying not to stop. During this particular incline, my mind wandered off thinking about how Tanya approaches these things. She hikes until she needs a rest, get a little rest, and then moves on. It isn’t overly complicated or nearly as hard. And she doesn’t have the problem of reaching the top and tripping over simple tree roots because she’s so tired like I do. Hiking with her is much better! I mean really, who thinks it’s important not to stop on these inclines? Alas, I didn’t stop to rest until I got to the top of the ridge. Some people never learn.

A Pine Marten entertains

During my hike in Rawah Wilderness, I saw a pine marten in the wild for the first time. Of course, I completely missed getting a picture. I felt really lucky to see one again today. He was on the trail right in front of me. After we played hide and seek a bit, I got a picture of him in the tree. Then he came back out to the trail and was hopping around in the grass providing an entertaining dance. I wish I would have gotten out my phone fast enough to capture it on video!

Gore Lake

After a little less than two miles you arrive at Gore Lake. Similar to the other lakes in the area, there are amazing peaks surrounding this beautiful lake. I never get tired of it. For me these places are a little slice of heaven. I mean, look at the pictures, it’s gorgeous!

Fishing Gore Lake

The water was perfectly clear providing good visibility for fish. I headed around to the west side of the lake to find a spot to shelter in the sun. As I was walking around, I spotted a trout in the water. Maybe I’d get lucky and catch some fish today too? The excitement made me want to get a line in the water, although the back of my mind did mention that is was a bit colder up here.

I quickly ate a bite and set up my fly rod. No fish were rising so I tied on an elk-hair caddis for a strike indicator and a bead-head dropper (Copper John). Within a few casts I had a nice, small trout on the line. Fishing was pretty successful for a while and then I saw some larger ones further out. I was lucky enough to land one of those bigger fish too.

While fishing, I noticed my fly line was getting hung up in the guides. Closer inspection showed they were icing up. I was having so much fun fishing that I didn’t realize it was THAT cold at the lake! The numbness in my fingers should have been a clue.

After fishing for about 90 minutes, the activity tapered off quite a bit. The cold I hadn’t noticed earlier was starting to seep in. About 10 minutes out of the wind and in the sun with some food had me feeling better and warmer. It was time for the hike down.

Leaving Gore Lake – lots of views

The hike from Gore Lake back to Gore Creek revealed several vistas that had been behind me on the way up. One advantage of an out and back hike is you get two chances to see everything.

Most of the hike down was uneventful with only one little story. There was a group of hunters I saw at the trailhead. They’d made camp at the intersection of Gore Lake trail and Gore Creek. I have no idea what hunting season is open but the orange hunter hats are usually a dead giveaway on their motives for being out. I said hello and continued on. About .5 miles down the trail I scared up a doe. I’m not sure which one of us was more frightened although she seemed ok after the encounter. I was glad to see she headed in the opposite direction of the hunters as I sent her wishes for a safe few days.

Gore Lake hike

The day was another great one in Colorado. This hike is well worth the distance to see the lake and vistas. My watch clocked the round trip at 13.5 miles. It is more likely less than 13 although I read online some people reporting it as 12. The GPS track below is from my Garmin Explore+. It recorded an excursion at .75 miles that I didn’t take and suggests it is closer to 12. GPS tracks make it clear as mud!

For those looking for something easier, hike in about 1.5-2.0 miles to the cascades/falls. It’s a peaceful respite from our hectic world with some great views along the way.