Skyline's North Extension

August 29, 2017

We are still right in the middle of high elevation hiking season, so just because school has started, don’t think that summer is over!   You do need to get up to hike the Skyline trail if you haven’t already and this week’s hike is a northern extension of the National Recreation trail #225.  This little piece of trail is very close to all the good camping spots at Big John’s and is a great beginner hike with options to continue on to Blue Lake, summit Shelly Baldy, or Loop back down to the lower, southern end of Big John’s and tie in with the Bosman trail (058) in order to get back across to the east side of W. Fk. Merchant Creek.  One neat thing to observe while hiking lately is the crazy amount and variety of mushrooms growing right now.  We have received ample moisture in the high country since the beginning of July and that must be why the fungi are going bananas.  Most of these are inedible or poisonous, so don’t even consider gathering them unless you have hours of time to accurately identify them or an expert mycologist friend.  Even then, some people may be allergic to certain proteins in mushrooms that are generally considered edible. On this hike alone, I saw big red ones with white spots, purple ones, brown ones, caramel color ones, ones that look like black sea coral, wood ears, yellow ones that stain blue when bruised, bright white meadow mushrooms,  fungi on logs that looks like pink bubble gum, and one that looks like a pile of yellow cottage cheese,  yuck!  Many of the forest critters, including deer and elk have been known to munch on mushrooms and a keen eye will spot busted up caps, caps with bite marks, or stems emerging from the ground with caps missing.  

This easy hike begins at the third restroom up F.R. 123.  Drive up Beaver Canyon to mm 16.3 and hang a left on F. R. 123 and reset your odometer.  The third restroom and the Skyline Trailhead is 4.7 miles up the Big John’s road(F.R. 123).   You’ll see a big green plastic map board across the road from the restroom and this is the way to go.  Heading northwest from the parking area, the Skyline trail’s northern extension drops down into Griffith’s creek and crosses it, which is just a trickle. Next, you’ll cross Poison Creek which has substantially more water, possibly even a trout or two.  The big clearing on the west side of Poison creek is really inviting and peaceful.  From here this trail climbs gently up to a bench with great views as it meanders through islands of spruce trees and mature clusters of aspens.  It’s 2.1 miles from the trailhead out to the junction with the Blue Lake Trail (#172), and will take about one hour.  You lose 350 feet of elevation down to Poison Ck. and gain 500 feet up to the 172 junction,  no biggie, but your lungs will notice the altitude, in shape or not!  Well, don’t let one more weekend slip by without a hike Into the Tushars!  I may have spied a few yellow leaves in the tops of tall aspens, and nights are getting chilly up there, so prepare for fall and hunting and mushroomazement!