Devil's Head Hike

Last week Matt was reading "The 2012 Ultimate Summer Guide" (in the June edition of Denver's "5280" magazine) and came accross a beautiful hike on the Devil's Head National Recreation Trail.  When he told me it was to hike to the top of a "fire tower," I was envisioning something like a giant telephone pole - not having a clue as to what a fire tower was - and wondered how an almost seven-months-pregnant lady was going to climb this "tower."  Fortunately, the stunning picture of the trail lured me in, so Saturday morning we made the one-hour drive to the trail head, just outside of Sedalia, CO.

The trail was as beautiful as the pictures, and the weather perfect!  The 2.8 mile round-trip hike rises about 1,000 feet in elevation through impressive evergreens, aspens, and giant granite boulders, to land at the base of an old fire tower.  Then it's another 143 steps to the top of the tower (a look-out fort that sits on the top of a mountain peak - not a telephone pole!).

At the top, Bill Ellis, an 80-yr-old US Forest Ranger greeted us.  This is his 28th summer working in the 100-yr-old fire tower.  At the base of the tower sits a small log cabin he and his wife live in from May to October.  There is no road-access to the cabin, so they hike down once a week, load their back packs with food and supplies for the following week, and hike back (it is estimated they carry 1400-1500 lbs of food a year)!  I didn't feel nearly as pregnant after learning their story!  The fire tower is the only one of its kind left in Colorado, as most are now electronically managed through cameras.  The fire tower receives thousands of visitors every summer.  Inside the tower is a list of the top ten most frequently asked questions for Bill (check out the photo for his responses).

We would definitely do this hike again, so if you're ever passing through Denver let us know and we'll take you with us!