Big Cat Country: The Catkin Gulch Loop

 



I blew a snot rocket into the surrounding sagebrush as I continued to huff my way up the sandy streambed that doubled as the trail. Silently, I regarded the tattered pile of deer bits and fur in the bushes next to me as I passed. “Another cat kill,” I breathed out to no one in particular. I was alone, after all, Sarah and I were traveling at different paces around the giant lollipop in the south Arkansas River Valley bush. I was over half way through the Catkin Gulch Loop, a more than ample tour of the newly-minted Browns Canyon National Monument.

Browns Canyon sits right outside of the small town of Nathrop, directly south of Buena Vista and no more than 15 miles north of Salida. Hosting an interesting array of high desert scrub, river fauna, and needle-like rock formations slightly recognizable to the rest of the Ark River Valley, the National Monument protects a large swath of wilderness from the seemingly unending onslaught of human damage occurring to similar areas. With any wilderness zone, there is always a fair share of wildlife as well. That includes the mysterious local Rocky Mountain bighorns, coyotes, deer, and of course, mountain lions. Big cats being the apex predator in southern Colorado, they tend to enjoy the wilderness areas as well. The less people the better, the more food, the even better.

The Catkin Gulch Loop starts beneath the shade of Ruby Mountain at the Ruby Mountain trailhead at the northern end of the National Monument. Beginning up a sharp incline, with the vertical gain of the entire endeavor peaking around 2000 feet, the trail winds and rambles its way through rough terrain over Ruby Ridge before descending equally as sharply down into the river valley. Rising again to meet the challenge of the southern foothills of the Mosquito Range before they become the South Platte, the trail climbs once again to form the loop section at the tip of the lollipop. After each rise in the route, do not be fooled- the ups never seem to end and the downhills end quickly. This is an “expert level” jaunt into the roughest country that the eastern side of the Ark River Valley has to offer.

As with any traditional desert run, the trail winds itself through the topography of the country around it, intertwining with the dry river beds and following the flow that water takes over the land. For much of the trip out to the farthest tip of the route, your orienteering skills will be tested. I unintentionally added two miles onto my trip when one of the cairns on the route hid under a pinion and I continued a few strides too far. Bring a GPS or your phone and make sure either has enough battery……rescue would be a long walk away in this area. Keep an eye on footprints to follow in the streambeds and small rock cairns in the sagebrush. Just try not to get lost on any game trails leading out into the bush.

I would recommend doing this run in the fall, winter, or spring, with an emphasis on dry weather. Too much rainfall or standing water as equally as snow would make this an unenjoyable day. To link together a short session at the Nathrop blocks along the road on the way in would make an altogether fantastic day.


Local Beta: Use gaia GPS to map the route or maps by the BLM. TrailRunProject does not have this entire route on it as of March 2023.

**ALL PHOTOS AND WRITING PROPERTY OF TRENT HILLIER AND THE US BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT**

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