Cattle Creek Trail

Description:

• The first two miles of trail are steep and exposed and consist of a loose sandy material. Cattle Creek is an adventure route. It is not a maintained trail. Route finding skills and common sense are required to complete this endeavor. Square blazes mark part of the trail, but can be hard to spot and in many places are missing. The route follows the east side of the creek and remains near the creek most of the time. However, wet meadows and marshy areas are skirted by the route and this is where finding the route becomes difficult. Depending on conditions, the meadows can be crossed with some extra care. If you are in a group spread out when crossing the meadows so as not to create a trail and try to stay close to the trees where it is drier. Cattle Creek canyon alternates between wet meadows and wooded areas. All these edges (areas where trees meet meadows) provide for an abundance of wildlife. Deer, coyotes, hawks, and a wide variety of songbirds populate the area. The possibility of black bear and mountain lion also exist in the canyon. Historic carvings appear on some of the old growth aspens and can also help guide the way. The canyon walls are steep, but the floor is relatively flat with only a few hills here and there. The canyon ends with a dramatic series of cliffs and creeks. If your time and energy allow you can push onto Glenberry and Turquoise Lakes. They are 900 feet up and about another mile in from the canyon's end. There is no trail or route leading to them. If you do continue on you enter the Sawtooth Zone of the Hoover Wilderness and special regulations apply (i.e. group size 8). Cattle Creek is truly one of the wild places of the backcountry.