This was a trek up the old 5420 road in the Fish Creek drainage. Many people call it the Calico road (old maps also show this name).

I have explored this area before, however I wanted to go further than I had before. I had heard some interesting things about the area and wanted to explore more.

I ended up going up the road about 5 miles, passing numerous old road junctions. This area had LOTS of roads in it before the ’96 floods when all the roads were decommissioned. I saw some BIG elk prints in the mud –

crossed several creeks, and even got to see a bunch or horses on the trail!

I also found an old stump with an old sign on it, however the sign text was gone. I’d love to know what used to be on the sign, but alas I will probably never know.

It is very interesting to see how quickly nature will recover and reclaim land that man has disturbed. While you can still clearly see the old roadbeds, most of them are being overgrown with young alders – the only thing that keeps it passable is the quad tracks and periodic pruning of some of the alder sprouts.

Most of the old road is rather protected, but there are a few places where you get a good lookout into the drainage. I saw the lower road at one point, and most of the way you could hear Fish Creek in the distance.

I didn’t see anyone else all day, until I was almost back to the truck, and then saw a lone hiker and a group of horseback riders. As I was hiking back, I saw tracks and droppings, and couldn’t believe I had missed them on the way in – well I didn’t, it was because they came in after me!

An interesting day of exploration in an interesting place.