Skaguay Power Plant

scattered glimpses of the penstock

Distance:  12.25 miles
Ascent:  2,660 feet
Directions: From Colorado Springs, H24 to Woodland Park, the Divide, H67 turning onto H64/CR81 to Victor, CR861 to Skaguay Reservoir parking.

Route: Parking in the far lot, follow CR 861 past the gate.  You will pass a private drive on your left and then come to another gate indicating private property.  Here take the trail to the right of the road and follow it alongside the water.  Stay right at the next fork and soon you will be at the first crossing.  The trail will then stay on the western side for miles and come to a series of crossings finishing at the bottom of the power plant.

Description: If you know me, then there is a a good chance that i have mentioned the Skaguay power plant in conversation before, as its been on my mind regularly for some time now.  to be specific, since July 26, 2008, the day an article by Dave Phillips was published about the plant in The Gazette.  instead of attempt to provide a synopsis of this inspiration, and risk butchering it, please just read it for yourself here, and see what i mean.

We had planned our trip for the end of August, thinking that this would be the ideal time for an overnight into the area.  Our  hottest days should be behind us, local "monsoon season" should be waning, and water levels should be the most manageable they could get.  I should also add that our work schedules were compatible with this notion.  As the months, to weeks, to days drew nearer, anticipation grew; moreover, in my mind the plant itself had become a Shangri La of sorts.  The accounts of people walking right by it unnoticed only exemplified this.

connect the flags

In our research of Internet trip reports and studying maps, we found that information was limited but also contradictory at times.  Obviously one persons perspective is merely opinion and conditions in our lovely state can turn on a dime.  So when I thought we had  collected as much information that could be gathered I asked a small group of people with intimate knowledge of our region whether anyone had made the trek.  Fortunately we got a hit.  Not only had one person made the trip but a few others were also in the planning stage and intending to drop geocaches along the way.  Thanks to "Doppleboch", "smullis" ,and "Vorticity" for providing information and inspiration!  Getting past some of the crazy Internet trip reports and into some trustworthy updates was a great help.

Five of us hit the trail at 8am with full packs and a question of what we may have gotten ourselves into.  Our first mistake came early when we did not take the correct turn at the first fork and found tough terrain immediately after.  As it began to get steadily worse we could see that the other side of the creek was open and flat.  We made our first crossing and wandered over looking for a path.  Passing a handful of campers and fisherman we continued along happy to be back on track.  Once you exit the meadow the roller coaster pretty much begins.  I really would not call this an exceptionally difficult trail, but then again there isn't much of one.  What trail that does exist is fighting off overgrowth with the occasional visitor, but its sporadic at best.  The route is much more of the up down and or around variety, aka connect the flags.  Which I must add, that without the flagging, I could see where some serious extra time would be added to the trip due to route finding. 

So through the meadow, into the trees, over the boulder fields, and then a handful of water crossings.  This can be as easy or difficult as you like.  Each spot had a couple options and really was a matter of individual balance and footwear.  Through crossings two through seven I just wore an old pair of hiking shoes without socks the entire stretch rather than change back and forth in between.  The water was great, but definitely picked up pace in spots as the canyon narrows.  Some deep areas, and a few slippery rocks, but definitely not slime coated.  Once I was wet, I found myself just standing in the water for as long as possible.  I think this is when I realized where we were, or more specifically where we were not.  Very nice to be in such a remote area and yet so close to civilization.  Anyway, pretty sure I was grinning for the remainder of the day.

The seventh and final crossing put us at the base of the plant, and there it was, up the hill and hiding in the trees.  We located the path up and began walking past the remnants of those that lived there.  A chicken coop, a swing set, around the house, and then the plant itself.  Having looked at every picture I could find prior to the journey only skewed my perception of the area, as is usually the difference between reading about a place and first hand experience.  Despite the plant having been active for over sixty years, my first thought,  was how many materials had been carted in and the amount of craftsmanship put into the construction.  Standing an additional fifty years without assistance is simply a credit to those who built it.  We dropped our packs and individually investigated the site.  A few of the houses had questionable flooring, so peeking in the windows was about all the attention they got, but my interest was in the main building.  While plenty had been looted, vandalized, or just worn with time, there is still a considerable amount of machinery to see.  The thought of someone attempting to carry some of the equipment out is as crazy as the notion of bringing it in to begin with.   Unfortunately  trace of past campers is mixing with indications of the original residents.  A lot more visitors than I had expected have come here, and left trash, pots & pans, bedrolls, etc.  My guess is this site will not be the same by the time my son is old enough to make the hike.

We had settled into camp and I was taking more pictures when another set of backpackers came in.  For whatever reason they decided not to stay, but camp along the way back.  The site is definitely large enough to accommodate more than one group, so hope we didn't run them off.  The evening proved to be comfortably warm and the foretasted afternoon rain never fell on us.  We cooked and ate, had drinks and laughed, then to bed.

While filtering water just prior to our return hike we crossed paths with a lone hiker and her dog.  Later I discovered that she was a geocacher and had come for the FTF on a hide that we had taken the day before.  If I had seen a GPSr I would have at least told her of our intention to drop a new one on our way back.

Slightly slower going, and only mildly uphill back, but nothing compared to the ascents found on typical trails of El Paso or Teller counties.  We did pick up some abandoned gear dropped by the three guys that we had seen the afternoon before, and dropped a tribute cache at the spot for it.  While it seemed that on the hike back we had more difficulty locating the flags then on the way in, I didn't mind having to retrace a few steps as we were all just happy to be out. I think it was mostly due to all of us gazing around instead of keeping an eye on the path.

Only one more weekend of summer left, so happy to have finally made the long awaited trip.  I am sure that this was only the first of many treks down Beaver Creek, as I am already looking forward to exploring the "slots" located farther down and attempting a "through" hike to the Wilderness Study Area trails below.