Colorado Wilderness Project & Mount Zirkel Backpacking

As a state covered with mountain ranges, national forests, and recreation areas, Colorado has 44 wilderness areas that highlight the state’s exceptional diversity of environments. From the BLM-managed red rock canyons of Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness to the windswept heights of Longs Peak in the NPS-managed Rocky Mountain Wilderness to the rare arctic tundra found in the USFS-managed Mt. Evans Wilderness, Colorado’s wilderness areas offer outstanding recreational opportunities. From the crowded Indian Peaks Wilderness less than an hour from Denver to remote and rarely visited West Elk Wilderness, chances for solitude can vary greatly, but all offer a chance to see the natural world in a way that “retain(s) its primeval character and influence.”

the trail to Bluebird Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park’s wilderness

wilderness areas are the dark green areas on this map

According to the text of the 1964 Wilderness Act, wilderness areas stand “in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

starry skies over camp in Mount Zirkel Wilderness

As new Colorado resident as of July 2022, I have decided that an effort to visit each wilderness area in the state would be an excellent way to get acquainted with my new state. I kicked off the conception of this idea with a three day trip through the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, one of the original five wilderness areas in the country established in 1964.

cowboy camping on a bare mountain pass looking down a tree-covered valley — Cowboy camping at 11,000 ft. atop Ute Pass in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness

Below is a table with each wilderness area, the managing agency, year established, and the year I first visited (if any).

Wilderness Name	Agency	Year	Visited
Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness	NPS	1976	August 2007
Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness	BLM	2000
Buffalo Peaks Wilderness	USFS	1993
Byers Peak Wilderness	USFS	1993
Cache La Poudre Wilderness	USFS	1980
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness	USFS	1980	July 2010
Comanche Peak Wilderness	USFS	1980
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness	BLM	2009
Eagles Nest Wilderness	USFS	1976
Flat Tops Wilderness	USFS	1975
Fossil Ridge Wilderness	USFS	1993
Great Sand Dunes Wilderness	NPS	1976	July 2008
Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness	USFS	1993
Gunnison Gorge Wilderness	BLM	1999
Hermosa Creek Wilderness	USFS	2014
Holy Cross Wilderness	USFS	1980
Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness	USFS	1978
Indian Peaks Wilderness	USFS, NPS	1978
James Peak Wilderness	USFS	2002
La Garita Wilderness	USFS	1964
Lizard Head Wilderness	USFS	1980
Lost Creek Wilderness	USFS	1980
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness	USFS	1964
Mesa Verde Wilderness	NPS	1976
Mount Evans Wilderness	USFS	1980	July 2010
Mount Massive Wilderness	USFS, FWS	1980
Mount Sneffels Wilderness	USFS	1980	September 2020
Mount Zirkel Wilderness	USFS	1964	September 2022
Neota Wilderness	USFS	1980
Never Summer Wilderness	USFS	1980
Platte River Wilderness	USFS	1984
Powderhorn Wilderness	BLM	1993
Powderhorn Wilderness	USFS	1993
Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness	USFS	1993
Raggeds Wilderness	USFS	1980
Rawah Wilderness	USFS	1964
Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness	NPS	2009	August 2010
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness	USFS, NPS	1993
Sarvis Creek Wilderness	USFS	1993
South San Juan Wilderness	USFS	1980
Spanish Peaks Wilderness	USFS	2000
Uncompahgre Wilderness	USFS, BLM	1980
Vasquez Peak Wilderness	USFS	1993
Weminuche Wilderness	USFS	1975
West Elk Wilderness	USFS	1964

a dead tree floating in Lake Katherine as sunset clouds reflect in the water — Mount Zirkel Wilderness

Over Labor Day weekend, I drove up the Cache La Poudre Canyon, over Cameron Pass, across North Park and arrived at the eastern edge of Mount Zirkel Wilderness at the Katherine Trailhead. My expectations of solitude were quickly dashed with my realization that it was opening weekend of archery season and dozens of camo-clad hunters were there to tromp thru the woods while carrying 50lbs of weight and not seeing a single animal.
A quick 2.5 mile hike up in the last hour of daylight got me to the shores of Lake Katherine. After hunting around for a campsite for a bit and finding plenty of other campers, I ended up camping at a dusty site right where the trail hit the lake. Since I arrived at sunset and intended to depart at dawn, I figured I’d be out before any dayhikers hit the lake. Dinner was an okay rendition of tikka masala made on the stove at home and then passed through the dehydrator. My main lesson was to dice chicken into smaller cubes as my rough shreds of chicken did not rehydrate well and had a texture most resembling tire rubber. The taste was there though!

The next day, I woke at sunrise with hopes of climbing the wilderness area’s namesake peak located about ten miles away across two mountain passes. As it turns out, I moved a bit slower than expected and took a nap in the shade next to Gold Creek at mile 5 so peakbagging aspirations would have to wait. I decided to hike another five miles and camp atop Ute Pass. This was a great decision and I had a few great hours overlooking the Bear Creek canyon and watching the shadows grow long over the trees and distant Rawah Range.

moonrise and the Belt of Venus over the distant Rawah Range

The next day was another sunrise wake-up courtesy of cowboy camping and nature’s own sunrise alarm clock. A quick four mile jaunt downhill got me on a the moto trail known as the Grizzly Helena trail. Every blind corner and hill the trail crossed I expected to be run down by a motocross rider, but the trail proved to be a quiet walk up and over a hill covered in aspens just a week or two before fall glory. After popping out on the gravel road at the North Lone Pine trailhead, I had less than a mile of road walking back to my car. Thus concluded my 17 mile circle in the Zirkels.