threemile - trail #635

Beginning Elevation: 8960
High Point: 11880
End Elevation: 11560
Difficulty: Moderate
Length, One Way: 7.1 miles
Seasons: Summer, Early Fall
USGS Quads: Mt. Evans, Mount Logan
Other Maps: Pike National Forest, Trails Illustrated #104
Usage Level: Medium
Access Trailheads: Threemile
Connecting Trails: Rosalie

Description

This popular hiking trail provides access into the heart of the southern half of the Mt. Evans Wilderness, offering spectacular high mountain scenery and vistas.

With the improvement of the Guanella Pass road, the trailhead was moved ½ mile south of the old trailhead. The first part of the trail now follows the west bank of Geneva Creek north from the new trailhead, then crosses Geneva Creek and the Guanella Pass road to the site of the old trailhead. It continues north at a distance uphill from the road to Threemile Creek, then swings northeasterly following the creek. The trail is in a narrow valley with many stream crossings. As the trail swings more toward the east, the valley gradually begins to open up into a meadow. From a point east of Spearhead Mountain, the trail begins to rise steeply away from the creek in a series of switchbacks. At the top of the switchbacks the trail begins heading north. Shortly, you emerge from the trees into open tundra. Kataka Mountain will be on your left (west) and Mount Blue Sky and Mount Bierstadt will be ahead of you and slightly to the left. Continuing north, the trail descends to meet the Rosalie Trail.

TRAIL'S HISTORY

Somewhere along Threemile Creek has often been suggested as the location of the Reynolds gang’s buried loot.

The story has many variations, but generally goes like this. In July 1864, a gang of nine bandits led by the Reynolds Brothers went on a robbing spree in South Park and headed east over Kenosha Pass and down the valley towards Bailey. Somewhere below Grant, they veered north around Mt. Logan into the upper Deer Creek valley. There, hearing of a posse coming up from Denver, they rode west up Deer Creek and down Threemile creek where they stopped to camp or rest and, perhaps bury the loot. There the posse caught up with them at dawn and opened fire, killing one of the outlaws. The story goes, they buried the loot in an old prospect hole and stuck an old butcher knife in a tree pointing to the mouth of the hole, and broke the handle off.