Old Leg 3 Directions

Old Directions!

Leg 3 – “Fiesta en mis pantalones (Buffalo Creek, part 1)”

Deckers Road to Shinglemill Trailhead

Difficulty: Green Circle

Length: 3.5 miles

Elevation gain/loss: 500/450 vertical feet

Driving Directions to the start of Leg 3

14 miles, 45 minutes from the start of Leg 2.

Head northwest on Platte River Road (Country-97). (In other words, you want to start driving with the Platte River on your left.) Go 10.9 miles. Turn left on Deckers Road (County-126) and go 3.2 miles. Park at the intersection of Spring Creek Trail and County-126. (Don’t confuse Spring Creek Road and Spring Creek Trail, both of which are dirt roads.)

Running Directions

0.0 – START! Cross Spring Creek Trail (a road) and continue on sweet Colorado Trail singletrack.

0.2 – Cross Spring Creek Road and continue on the Colorado Trail.

0.3 – Cross Deckers Road (County-126) and continue on the Colorado Trail, which is now an old dirt road.

0.5 – Bear left to stay on the Colorado Trail as another trail goes right.

1.4 – Bear right on the Colorado Trail as you pass the Little Scraggy Trailhead parking area on the left.

~2 miles – Cross a dirt road (FS-550).

3.3 – TRICKY TURN! Turn right on the Shinglemill Trail.

3.5 – FINISH! Arrive at the Shinglemill parking lot.

Old Leg 6 Directions

Old Directions!

Leg 6 – “Night on Bald Mountain”

Rolling Creek Trailhead to Lost Park Campground

Difficulty: Black Diamond

Length: 10.4 miles

Elevation gain/loss: 2,500/900 vertical feet

Driving directions to the start of Leg 6

6 miles, 25 minutes from the start of Leg 5

From the Buffalo Trailhead, turn left on FS543F and head back out to FS-550. Turn left on FS-550 (Redskin Creek Road) and go 0.3 miles. Turn right to stay on FS-550 (Redskin Creek Road) as FS-543 (Buffalo Creek Road) goes left. After 2.2 miles, bear left to stay on FS-550 as FS-553 goes right. After 1.9 miles, turn left on Wellington Lake Road (Country-68) and go 1.1 miles. At a sign for the Colorado Trail, turn right on FS-543H. Follow this somewhat rough road uphill for 0.3 miles to reach the Rolling Creek Trailhead.

Running Directions

0.0 – START! From the Rolling Creek Trailhead, bear right onto the Colorado Trail. (Don’t take the Rolling Creek Trail!)

0.7 – Bear left as the singletrack becomes doubletrack.

1.5 – Enter Lost Creek Wilderness (as indicated by a sign on the right).

2.9 – Continue straight on the Colorado Trail as “Payne Creek Trail #637” goes right.

5.1 – Turn left at a sign for the Colorado Trail as a large pile of sticks and logs blocks the doubletrack.

7.5 – Exit the Lost Creek Wilderness (as indicated by a wooden sign on the left).

8.2 – After about 5 minutes of running through open meadows, turn left and cross a small footbridge, leaving the Colorado Trail. 100’ after crossing the bridge, turn left on grassy, faint singletrack on the Brookside/McGurdy Trail towards Lost Park CG. Don’t miss this turn.

10.3 – FINISH! Arrive at the Lost Park Campground. Turn right or left and look for your friends on the campground loop. 

Old Leg 5 Directions

Old Directions!

Leg 5 – “Ewok Forest (Buffalo Creek, part 3)”

Buffalo Trailhead to Rolling Creek Trailhead

Difficulty: Blue square

Length: 5.1 miles

Elevation gain/loss: 1,500/500 vertical feet

Driving Directions to the start of Leg 5

3.6 miles, 15 minutes from the start of Leg 4

From the Shinglemill Trailhead, head west of FS-550 (Redskin Creek Road) and go 3.5 miles. Turn left on FS-543F towards Meadows Group Campground. In about 500’, turn right into the Buffalo Trailhead. There is an outhouse here and a big sign with details about the Colorado Trail.

Running Directions

0.0 – START! From the Buffalo Trailhead, start running on the singletrack towards the Colorado Trail (signed “Colorado Trail 0.1 mile”).

0.2 – Turn right at a three-way intersection with the Colorado Trail. (There is a weird fence with a small staircase here.)

0.4 – Cross a dirt road (FS-543).

0.7 – Turn left to stay on the Colorado Trail as Redskin Creek Trail goes right.

2.2 – Cross a dirt road (FS-550c).

4.8 – Cross Wellington Lake Road (County-68, FS-543) and continue on the dirt road on the other side, following signs for the Colorado Trail.

5.1 – FINISH! Arrive at the Rolling Creek Trailhead at the end of the road. 

Old Leg 4 Directions

Old Directions!

Leg 4 – “Cool Runnings (Buffalo Creek, part 2)”

Shinglemill Trailhead to Buffalo Trailhead

Difficulty: Blue Square

Length: 6.3 miles

Elevation gain/loss: 1,000/1,300 vertical feet

Driving Directions to the start of Leg 4

2.7 miles, 10 minutes from the start of Leg 3.

Head South on Deckers Road (County-126) and go 1.2 miles. Turn right on Forest Road 550 (aka FS-550, aka Redskin Creek Road) and go 1.6 miles. Turn right into the Shinglemill Trailhead, a small parking lot. (I’m not sure if there is a big sign for the trailhead, but the Shinglemill Trail is signed on both sides of the road.)

Running Directions

0.0 – START! From the Shinglemill Trailhead, cross the dirt road and follow the Shinglemill Trail singletrack uphill towards the Colorado Trail.

0.2 – At a three-way intersection, turn right on the Colorado Trail.

1.1 – Keep right on the Colorado Trail as an unmarked singletrack goes left.

2.8 – Bear left on the Colorado Trail as the Tramway Trail goes right.

4.3 – Stay right on the Colorado Trail as the Green Mountain Trail goes left.

5.7 – Bear right on the Colorado Trail as the Green Mountain Trail re-joins on the left. (Note, the Colorado Trail is not well signed at this intersection. Look for the white twin-peaked blaze on a tree about 50’ down the Co Trail.)

5.9 – Cross a dirt road and continue on the Colorado Trail.

6.1 – After climbing over a fence on a weird staircase thing, turn right at a T-intersection, leaving the Colorado Trail.

6.3 – FINISH! Arrive at the Buffalo Trailhead.

Old Leg 2 Directions

Old Directions!

Leg 2 – “Top of the World”

South Platte River to Deckers Road

Difficulty: Black Diamond

Length: 9.7 miles

Elevation gain/loss: 2,600/1,200 vertical feet

Driving Directions to the start of Leg 2

10 miles, ~30 mins from the start of Leg 1.

From Indian Creek Campground, head back out to County-67 (0.2 miles). Turn right (west) on Country-67 and go 3.0 miles. Turn right on Pine Creek Road and travel 3.1 miles on a narrow dirt road. Try not to fall off the steep hill. Turn right on Platte River Road (County-97) and go 3.8 miles. Park in a large gravel pullout on the left. There is a large footbridge across the river here, as well as an outhouse.

Running Directions

0.0 – START! Cross the wide bridge. On the other side, turn right. Keep turning right and pass under the bridge. Go a few hundred feet and quickly come to a Y-junction. Turn right on the Colorado Trail.

4.6 – Pass two old wooden signs that mark the trail with arrows. “ß” then “à”.

5.8 – Cross a dirt road and continue on the Colorado Trail singletrack. A sign to the right informs you that you are crossing Raleigh Peak Rd near the intersection with Lion Creek Tr.

9.7 – FINISH! Arrive at the intersection of Deckers Road (County Road 126) and Spring Creek Trail. This is the end of Leg 2 and the start of Leg 3. 

Old Leg 1 Directions

Old Directions!

Leg 1 – “Battle of Helm’s Deep (extended director’s edition)”

Indian Creek Campground to the South Platte River

Difficulty: Black Diamond

Length: 12.2 miles

Elevation gain/loss: 2,000/3,300 vertical feet

Driving Directions to the start of Leg 1

The start of the race is about 20 minutes from Sedelia, CO. Sedelia is about 60 miles and 1.5 hours drive from Boulder.

To reach Sedelia from Boulder, drive south on US‑36 for 20 miles. Take the I-25 Exit and head south on I-25 for 9.4 miles. Take Exit 207B and merge onto US-85 South. Stay on US-85 South for about 20 miles until you reach Sedelia. Once in Sedelia, turn right on CO-67 and go 10.3 miles. Turn right at the sign for the Indian Creek campground and bear left, heading downhill. The Indian Creek Trail begins at the bottom of the hill.

Running Directions

0.0 – START! At the end of the campground road, bear right onto the Indian Creek Trail (Trail #800) singletrack.

0.8 – Cross bear creek (may be dry). There is a small sign facing the other direction.

2.2 – Tricky intersection #1! After climbing a steep hill, come to a three-way junction. Turn left, uphill on a trail signed “Indian Creek Trail #800”.

3.7 – Tricky intersection #2! After a steep downhill, come to a T-intersection. Turn left, following signs towards the Colorado Trail.

4.0 – Arrive at the Colorado Trail near a bench labeled “Lenny’s Rest”. Turn left. From now on the course follows the Colorado Trail (Trail #1776).

5.9 – Ascend “The Waterfall”, a 100’ section of rocky streambed that they call a trail.

6.2 – Come to a metal sign on the left that reads “Closed to Motor Vehicles”. Continue on the Colorado Trail.

6.8 – Pass two more metal signs the read “Closed to Motor Vehicles”.

9.7ish – Begin descending steep switchbacks.

12.0 – FINISH! Arrive at the end of Leg 1 at the South Platte River.

Course map with a few waypoints

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