Wilkerson Pass / Badger Flats
Beaver Creek to Badger Flats, CO | Wilkerson Pass in the Fall | Camping and Hiking in Badger Flats | October 2024
Today began with leaving our campsite in Beaver Creek and going for a short hike before returning to the town of Fairplay. We stopped at a local grocery store to stock up on some things, then got on the road. Our goal for this trip was to fill in some of our unvisited counties in central Colorado — Park, Teller, and Fremont. We hadn’t really heard of much in these areas, and were hoping that meant they wouldn’t be too busy. We started by driving CO-9 South, then took US-24 East. Much of this drive was through South Park, but the air was pretty hazy so we didn’t have great visibility of the peaks along the way.
We made one stop at Wilkerson Pass, which was a little less busy than Kenosha Pass had been. As soon as we got out of the van, we were hit with the smell of smoke, and became concerned that it would also affect our planned campsite which wasn’t too far from here. At least we weren’t dealing with actual fires though, as the smoke was coming from Wyoming and Idaho. I walked Charlotte around the lookout where she got lots of love from other visitors while Curtis attempted a letterbox. There were peaks on either side of the highway which met the prominence rating he needs for his hiking challenge, but the routes to get there weren’t convenient or ideal with the smoke. Instead, we returned to the van and began our search for a spot to camp.
We drove a few miles further East on 24, then turned onto Badger Flats Road. We drove several miles North on the washboard road, passing by some occupied campsites in search of a quieter spot. We finally found one not too far from the road in a large clearing. We got out of the van and breathed in the air — and were relieved to find it didn’t smell smoky at all! This spot also had plenty of sun, super fast cell reception, and lots of room for Charlotte to wander. The scenery in this area reminded us of some of our favorite places we camped in Arizona last winter (this became a theme on our Colorado trip — all our favorite places were the ones that reminded us of AZ, or that weren’t in CO). The only downside was that there wasn’t an easy way for Curtis to hike any of the peaks he wanted, though that doesn’t mean he didn’t try!
Curtis: The closest peak that met my prominence goal (Badger Peak) was actually only about 4 miles away as the crow flies, and very visible from where we were. But, the primary way to get to the top was to follow an access road which followed the ridgeline going way to the North. To get there I would have to hike four miles up to the road, four miles back down the road to the peak and all the way back – it’s times like these that I wish I had a bike.
But from where we were, it didn’t look *that* hard. Just 3000 feet of unmarked terrain and forest. Old topographic maps even suggested there might be an old mine road going up to 10,000 feet. But the biggest obstacle was what looked like a large private ranch right in the middle of my route. But I am a responsible hiker, so I decided to scope out a route first and see the lay of the land.
I left the van behind and traveled cross country to an isolated ridge coming off of the main peak. It was clear that this area used to be open to dispersed camping, but a large gate had been put across the access road so I was on my own. Since I wasn’t really aiming for any particular point, I decided to look for a geocache that happened to be near where I was walking. I hopped around the rocks, looking around half-heartedly and then saw the largest antler I’ve ever seen in person – an elk shed. It was enormous, easily 3+ feet long and weighed 15 pounds or more. I stashed it in a place that I could find it again and then kept going.
I ended up skirting around the edge of the private property and up to the top of the ridge. It was very steep but offered nice views of the valley. But the connecting ridge from this peak to the bigger mountain was a giant jumble of rocks that dropped 300 feet very quickly. I was not going to get up the mountain this way. And from where I was, I couldn’t see any signs of an old mine road – though that doesn’t mean it’s not there.
But I wasn’t too discouraged, I really wasn’t that serious about climbing the peak and I wanted to get my elk antler back to show Jess. I retraced my steps back to where I had stashed it then traveled cross country back to the van. Needless to say, Jess and Charlie were both quite impressed…but Jess said I couldn’t keep it. I objected because it was obviously so cool (and even worth a bit of money if I could sell it) but I also knew she was right. No matter how hard I tried, there just was no way that I could fit the antler in the car without it taking up most of our limited space. We kept it around the van for the rest of our time here, but I ended up stashing it again in the woods for the unlikely possibility that one day…I would return!
Jess: On our second day here, we were content to stay in this spot, go for short walks with Charlotte, and get some work done. After breakfast and our morning chores, we put Charlotte up on the bed for her morning nap time and sat in our seats, which were swivelled around facing the back of the van with our side door open. We were both pretty distracted with what we were working on, but Curtis noticed movement from the corner of his eye, glanced up at the open sliding door, and exclaimed something like “woah, dude!” I looked up and let out a screech — a bear was standing right by the door, sniffing at Charlotte’s bowls that we had left outside! As soon as I screamed, the bear immediately turned around and went running across the clearing, back to the shelter of the trees. We were both too shocked and dumbfounded to do anything, which sadly means we have no photographic evidence of this event. It’s definitely a memory that will live on forever in my mind — the closest we’ve ever come to a bear!
After all that excitement, Charlotte woke up and we decided to go on a little walk to see if we could spot our new friend. Sadly we had no more bear sightings today, or anywhere else on this trip. We know it’s for the better that we scared it off right away because ‘a fed bear is a dead bear,’ but that doesn’t mean we don’t dream of another world where we could have all been friends. Another humorous thing to note, the moment that both of us first saw it, our first thought was ‘capybara’ instead of bear.
Besides that eventful morning, we enjoyed beautiful weather and two gorgeous sunsets during our time here. It rained a little on our second evening, which just made the clouds and views even better. We would’ve loved to stay in this area longer, but there wasn’t enough for Curtis to do to hike without having to set up and tear down each morning, so instead we’ll just remember it as one of our favorite places that we’ve camped, and hope we can make our way back someday.
