Segment 26

Bolam Pass Road to Hotel Draw Road



Gold-kissed grasses and dark pines frame blue mountains beyond.


The lake, including the small out-flowing stream at mile 0.1. Both were weirdly red.


A view down the long valley leading up to Blackhawk pass.





The fantastic scenery continues in this segment. Nipped by the frost, the grasses were just beginning to yellow, turning entire hillsides into green-gold foregrounds framing misty-blue mountains beyond. The large lake at the start of this segment is not particularly picturesque, but the trail gets better. Perhaps the best of all is the long valley leading up to Blackhawk pass, where there were late-blooming columbines, lots of edible mountain bluebell, and distant elk.

In several of the small meadows around mile 10.0, look for masses of orange, apricot-scented mushrooms. Make sure you identify them properly *before even trying* to eat any, but chanterelles were very common throughout the latter portion of the trail, along with tiny wild strawberries.



Mountain bluebells -- delicious. They taste like green beans, with a texture like spinach. Thanks, Rebecca!


Straight creek -- last water for a while. You can't miss it!





Suggested updates to databook:

0.0
The lake's water was a strange rusty-red. I did not taste it.

0.6
There was water aplenty at this and many other streamlets and tiny, beautiful lakes.

4.1
The CT goes straight/left; the right-hand trail is now closed for rehabilitation, so there's even less danger of getting lost.

6.2-6.6
The 'spring' at 6.6 was a pair of burbling creeks when I passed. There are many lovely flat places to camp along the climb out of this valley, but the established spots are rather close to the trail. Setting up a new camp may prove more pleasant. Just over the pass, however, is a fantastic established camp at mile 7.5

7.5
Best firepit ever. Plenty of flat rocks on which to dry some mushroom jerky, if you'd like. There's wood and nearby water.

8.4
It's impossible to miss this creek -- there's even a wooden sign marking it (see pic above.) There were a few very small streamlets in the couple miles past this point, but I hiked during an extraordinarily wet year. Camping near this part of the creek would be difficult.

10.0
At last you join an old road (look for the trailmagic left by Llama Mama's,) and start to descend. The character of the trail rapidly changes, becoming more traveled. When you reach a parking lot, skirt it along the right-hand side.


The elevation profile is correct for this segment.
----> Onward, to Segment 27!