Leo,
Ray and I decided to head to Hell Hole Reservoir for a one night backpacking
trip. None of us had been out there before and the drive was a little
longer than we thought it would be. Hell Hole Reservoir is located in
Eldorado National Forest in the Georgetown Ranger District. The trailhead
is located 22 miles east of Georgetown on Wentworth Springs Rd, then
29 miles northeast on Highway 2 (Eleven Pines Rd). The roads are well
marked, narrow and paved. Sites do not need to be reserved and you can
reach camp by either boat or trail. We opted to hike it the 5 miles
from car to camp. This picture is of us getting ready to hike. You can
see the reservoir in the background. See map below
for trail.
You
do not need a permit to camp but you do need a fire permit so get one
at the ranger station you pass in Georgetown. The reservoir was a little
low. Still plenty of water for boating but you could see how much more
full it could be.
We
parked in the upper parking lot you pass on the road in and then hiked
down the stairs to the boat ramp entrance. You then have to hike over
the bridge at the dam side of the lake. The Ranger told us that we could
drive over the dam to the other side and then park there. That IS NOT
the case. It is a road but it is all fenced or chained off.
On the other side of the dam you can see this monument marking the date
the dam was completed and the amount of water that it holds back. Why
they call it Hell Hole Reservoir I didn't know until recently. I was
emailed by a fellow backpacker who told me, "back when they were making
the reservoir, the crew was laying down dynamite. A thunderstorm came
through and hit some of the dynamite and blew up a bunch of workers.
So they decided to call it Hell Hole." Thanks Laura!
I
didn't take too many pictures on the way in as the trail went in and
out of sunlight so much it was hard to get any good shots. Plus I think
we were all motivated to get to camp since we were all hungry.
There
were not many people around the lake. We saw mostly people on boats
and hanging out right on the water. The trail does go up and down a
bit and the first 2/3 have some good views of the reservoir. The ranger
did tell us to watch out for both bears and rattlesnakes. We saw neither
but we did tie up our food at night and be careful to watch for snakes.
The
day was really warm. We had a slight breeze that helped but in the exposed
sections it was still hot in the afternoon sun.
They
have water coming into this lake in the middle of it through some pipe
that comes all the way down the ridge. I am not sure what all that is
for.
This
is almost at camp. i think this formations would almost all be under
water when the reservoir is full. I swam to one that was near our campsite
but didn't walk around it too much as it had been used by birds who
had made a mess of most of it.
The
trail was pretty overgrown in spots toward the end. You should watch
for both blue ribbon marking the trail and plenty of ducks. There were
only a couple of spots that were a little tricky on the way in where
the trail and dry creek beds were difficult to distinguish. On the way
out of course we had no problem seeing the trail.
Each
campsite has a "stove" that I guess you could use (if it wasn't
fire season) and a picnic table. The tables are really sturdy. There
are also pit toilets. No water is provided so bring a filter and pump
from the reservoir.
Here
is camp in the morning. We camped at the site we found that had the
best view and proximity to the lake. There was a nice breeze that night
to keep us cool. I think it was a little far of a drive for a one night
trip. I think it would be neat to boat in instead of hiking in as well.
Here
is Leo posing for Backpacker.com Well he thinks he is anyway.
Here
is a shot before we started a downhill section to the dam. You can see
the bridge way in the distance. The spillway is under the bridge. Nothing
was going through the spillway while we were there. They do have water
coming through the dam if you look at the canyon on the other side of
the dam.
The red line shows our exact route. The elevation data is from camp to the car. The net elevation change was a gain of 47 feet from camp to car. Don't let that fool you though as we went up 1313 feet and down 1266 feet. It doesn't look to bad on the elevation profile and it really wasn't bad. On the way in we really warmed up though as the sun was beating down on us on the exposed sections of trail. I would recommend that you do this hike in the early to mid morning hours while you have the most shade.