Blackhall Meadows or: Consult Your Planner

Directions:   Take I-15 South to Clancy.  Take the Clancy exit and go straight past the old Legal Tender Restaurant.   Follow the road up through Lump Gulch into the National Forest.  The road will fork.  Take the right fork – Travis Creek Road.  Look to your left for the North Fork of Travis Creek Road and turn onto this road.  Follow the road to the bitter end.  Sometimes this road is horrible, but occasionally the road is graded.  This hike can be a fun bike ride too.

This short hike can be converted to a seven mile hike, round trip, if you hike through the meadows.  After the meadows, look right for an old road on the right.  Take the road to the top of Colorado Mountain where a few remains of an old lookout tower are still in place.  The view is spectacular.

The tale of the trail:  One June Gail and I decided to take three of my children and her friend’s two children to Blackhall Meadows.  We decided on this hike because it is easy and short.  The first part of the hike is a bit steep.  Then, the hike levels off, passes a swampy area and ends up in a huge meadow.  The trail is an old road into the meadows. 

When we decided to take this hike, the road to the trailhead had pot holes large enough to swallow a school bus. Because I’m such an excellent planner, I forgot to look at the gas gauge before we started out.  Half way to the trail, the light on the instrument panel of my car revealed that I needed to get gas soon, very soon.   Since the hike in is a mile or less, I decided to park my minivan on the top of the hill before the trailhead.   Parking a half mile away from the trailhead saved gas.  It also saved damage to the car from pot holes.

All five children and two adults had a wonderful time on this hike.  We played in the water, ate lunch, and explored an old house foundation.  Then with a start, I remembered one of the children had a dental appointment in an hour.  All seven of us hot footed it out of there at a speed the High School track team could only dream about.  We loaded up the van and then sweated, hoping the car would not run out of gas on the way back to town.  Amazingly enough, we made it to town with enough time to put gas in the car and still arrive at the appointment on time.   Even more amazingly, my hiking partner put up with my disorganization and still ventures out on hikes with me.  She probably looks at my gas gauge before we leave, though.