Camping at Willow Creek Trailhead and the man with a machete (video)
On August 10th, at about 7:00 pm local time, I arrived at the Willow Creek Trailhead. The dirt road from the Crestone village that is nestled at the foot of Mount Challenger and Kit Carson. Driving slowly through the village, I noticed there were a few restaurants and shops, though I barely saw people moving in and out at that time of day. Perhaps people were relaxing at home, watching TV, and enjoying dinner.
When you enter the village, you can feel it is a semi-touristic area, but not so obvious because you don't see many tourists. As I was pulling into a small alley leading onto the base of the mountains where the dirt road begins, an eye-catching landscape opened up in front of me as if welcoming me to its bosom. I could feel my heart pounding with excitement.
The village of Creston is about 2.5 hours from Cañon City and about 1 hour from Alamosa. These are the nearest cities where you could access large grocery and outdoor stores if in need of more provisions. On the map, the closest major cities are Pueblo and Colorado Springs, which are about 3 hours away.
As I hit the dirt road and left the village behind, I noticed the narrow road was dotted with parking and camping areas. I saw several cars and tents mounted along the way. Driving is mostly uphill, and the dirt road is well-maintained. The entire drive is not more than 2 miles, which is relatively short compared to other trails that you have to drive for more than 5 miles in order to get access to the trailhead.
When I arrived at the Willow Creek Trailhead, there were only five cars. A dude had a machete chopping a branch of a tree. He kept chopping the branch, which I didn't understand why; maybe because he wanted to, or he was testing the sharpness of his machete. I became nervous because he was behind me, about 10 yards away, but never looked up. At one point, I walked up to him and offered him a peach; he didn't take it, but after a few back-and-forths, I realized he was the most amiable person on earth. When I asked about his machete, he told me he had just bought it and planned to carry it while backpacking at Willow Creek, which is at an elevation of 11,600 feet and about 7.1 miles from the trailhead. I didn't probe further into why he needed to carry a machete while backpacking. Was it a weapon used against a predator? Was it planned to be used to chop trees to make fire, which is banned? Was it for fun? I did not dare ask the reason why he had the machete with him because I literally feared the machete would land on my neck. With unease, I walked away.
After talking to the machete guy, I went back to my car and took out my tent and walked up into the forest. I found a secluded spot that I had never used before; I cleaned the branches and cut some thorns and bushes with my pocket knife. You can't believe how important it is to carry a pocket knife with you, which I always do when I'm out in nature. I consider it an essential tool to have on you.
After pitching my tent, I decided to make a short video. Watch the clip and leave your comment in the comments section if you want to. To make your donation, please click here.
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