Eagles Nest Wilderness, CO: 4 Days Backpacking in the Gore Mountains

AWESOME 4 day hike in the Gore Mountains/Eagles Nest Wilderness, CO.

4 Day 25 mile backpacking trip in the Eagles Nest Wilderness (Gore Mountains), Colorado in July (July 8-11th). Saw many mountain goats, a few marmots and some of the largest trout I've ever seen.

To start the Gore Mountains/Eagles Nest Wilderness hike, I parked at the Gore Creek Campground/Trailhead. I hiked the Gore Creek Trail upstream for a few miles. Before reaching Red Buffalo Pass, take the trail that heads north (at the intersection with the grave). This trail leads up to the beautiful Gore Lake, which offers excellent camping for both tents and hammocks alike. The fishing is good at Gore Lake. From Gore Lake, I hiked up to Snow Lake and the ridge that is the crest of the Gore Mountains. This offers an excellent view of Snow Peak.

Read a detailed description of this hike, with lots of great pictures and a downloadable GPX file of the hike here:

#eaglesnest #coloradohiking #backpacking

[toughenupfluffy]

I'm an old timer, used to climb fourteeners, but now I can't handle the altitude. Thanks for taking me on this beautiful scenic wonder voyage! Eagle's Nest reminds me of the High Sierras, only less crowded.

[RobPainless]

I lived in Breckenridge for nearly 20 years and have spent countless dozens of nights up in the Gore Range/Eagle's Nest (up the Slate Creek and Rock Creek drainages to the upper lakes more than any other place), but I never had the goats come down around my camp like that. How super cool! Trying to figure out which lake that is. Pretty sure I camped there, but probably 30 years ago. (Willow lake, maybe?) Been too long since I've been there. Great underwater shots of the fish too! I've never seen that grave marker. Awesome. Thanks for the video!

[MileHighGrowler]

An absolutely gorgeous area and some challenging, rugged (and very quiet) spots. I did a loop with my then 9 year old daughter in 2017. We started the same way you did up through to Gore Lake, but then crossed over the pass to Snow Lake (instead of going around) and over the next pass down to Deluge Lake. No trails over those passes, and the one down to Deluge had a massive boulder field I couldn't find an easy way to avoid. We did one night at Gore and one at Deluge and then took the Deluge Lake trail back to the trailhead. Absolutely killer trip, great for teaching my daughter route-finding and map/compass skills. Those passes can be wicked without trails and carrying packs, though! This was a fun look at some of the same places from someone else's experience/perspective.

[cq]

Great video. Love the pictures of the mtn goats and underwater fish scenes. I did not know about this area, spectacular. Thanks for sharing so all can see. Love your website also. Thanks.

[wetsockoutdoors]

Great video, man. Always wondered how to get to snow lake

[mountainwanderer]

WOW! This looked liked an incredible trip! Loved the shots of the fish, looked like you could've just grabbed them with your hand.

[gamedoutgamer]

7:26 looking to Mt of the Holy Cross. Great video thank you.

[Twobarpsi]

Mountain goats, are really rare to see!

[nmxterra]

I wish I were brave enough to do things like this on my own. So beautiful. Thank you. I live in Albuquerque and have just begun enjoying hiking. Are you not scared of bears, big cats, etc?

[MrThreezero]

Wow my friend, these hikes of yours are simply breathtaking... May i ask cause it seems you've been doing this for years but have your ever seen or encountered something strange while out there alone? Maybe something in the sky or heard some strange noises at night? Lol I hope not, but thanks for your reply and be safe out my friend!

[amranackerman]

There is a creek that heads up to Gore lake -- is there a trail along it ?

[KallyJones]

Wow, those cutthroats had a ton of color.

[kongvang]

Love the video. I'm thinking about doing the trail on a three day trip, is that doable? Plus, do you have to get permits for this in advance or just make sure to get to the trailhead early enough for a parking spot? I assume you can camp anywhere appropriate once you're out in the trail?

[Wanderlust]

Lol, charge of the mountain goats.

Looks awesome. I usually only go solo too, but ping me on bcp if you ever want to go out with a partner.

[AdaptorDieChannel]

Hey there,
Thank you for sharing your adventure with us! I have some questions if you don't mind! My wife are planning a CO trip next week and I we are trying to decide where to go. Our criteria:
- Loop Trail
- Mountain Views
- As secluded as possible (trying to get away from the masses)

Questions:
- Based on that criteria is this a good backpacking loop to do?
- Temperatures at night?
- How bad were the mosquitos? A bug head net necessary do you think? Cowboy camping a bad idea?
- What specific trail did you do? On all trails I am looking at the "Eagles Nest Summit Loop".

Thank you so much for the help! I really enjoyed the video as well!

[barbarablackstone]

This looks beautiful!! What trail(s) did you hike?

[gruntlife]

I really like the vids and you have amazing taste on where to hike and film, but here's a little supportive criticism, I would really enjoy it if you would talk during your hikes, it seems kinda boring with none saying anything, maybe take some inspiration from another one of my favorite hikers named Martyupnorth, anyway just keep on uploading and doing good

[tdiler]

Alll the ones cloaked in white want is salt. Salt, salt & more salt