PIKE NATIONAL FOREST - KELSEY (September 5, 2004)

For Labor Day Weekend 2004 we decided to avoid the camping crowds and go to a remote site.  We chose the Kelsey campground in the Pike National Forest.  This was our first camping trip in a National Forest.  Up until this weekend, we always camped at either private campgrounds or State Parks.

 

Kelsey is a dry campground.  That means there is no water, no electric, and no sewer.  What you bring with you is all you have.  The Outback performed great.  The furnace ran at night and kept us warm with plenty of battery power still available on our last day.

 

We chose site 15 and we think it is the best site at Kelsey for our camper.  All the other sites were either too small or too close to the neighboring campers.  The next best site is 13, followed by 9.  There are only 17 sites total at Kelsey!  It is a really beautiful, small, secluded campground.

 

This is the entrance to Kelsey.  It is a little difficult to find, especially when it is pouring rain.  But when we arrived, the rain stopped and we were able to eat spaghetti for dinner outside on the picnic table.

 

The Colorado Trail is a 426 mile trail that connects Denver to Grand Junction.  The kids weren't up for a 426 mile hike, so we just hiked about 4 miles.  We took the "left" trail, which was also popular with mountain bikers. 

 

Along the hiking trail were several rock outcroppings that the kids loved playing on.  Amazing how those rocks ended up right there.

 

Yes, the kids wanted to climb this.  Yes the answer was No.

 

This marked the 50% point of our hike.  We rested on these rocks and ate some gorp before heading back to the trailhead.

 

Dinner on Sunday night was cooked over the fire.  Once again, Melea didn't disappoint with her fire making skills.  We didn't need very much Girl Scout Water (lighter fluid) at all! 

 

Look closely at the end of those forks.  Those are bacon-wrapped hotdogs, baby!  Hey, when you are camping, you eat what you dream up, and whatever cooks well over an open flame.  We had two cans of SPAM too, but didn't need to break into those.  Maybe next time.

 

After dinner, we sat together by the fire and the kids told us some really scary ghost stories. 

 

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