WILD at Horsetooth Reservoir
Camping at South Bay
Where nature is the best medicine for body and mind
Looking out the window of my 1967 Forester camper, my early morning view of Horsetooth Reservoir depicts water so still it mirrors the cottonwoods lining the shore. My scene is framed by 1950s vintage white chenille curtains, knobby like popcorn only soft. As much as I can, when I camp, I park my camper next to water, preferably flowing rivers that tinkle all night lulling me into the deepest sleeps. But Horsetooth is quiet water, and I will take that any day. To me, camping means solitude. Silence. A break from our normal connections through wifi and cell phones and a new, more natural relatedness with nature. It’s a flow into living in the moment I feel coursing through my body.
Living in the moment, connected to nature, beneath trees, padding around the campsite in moccasins and flannel pjs feels grounded, close to the earth.
My backpacker tent camping skills come into play when I sleep in my14-foot vintage canned ham, now, a dented, jalousie windows-falling-out, pressed tin walls covering water-stained cherry panels, rattle trap. I am camping with Sisters on the Fly, an organization that celebrated its 25th year in October. It started as a small group of twenty or so friends, headed by two real-life sisters Maurrie and Becky, as a fun-filled group of women who liked to fly fish, collect and restore vintage campers, and “have more fun than anyone”. Today, it is over 22,000 members strong. There are thirty of us on this trip, banded together for five days of outdoor adventure.
As many members have aged in the past two decades, they have upgraded to more modern and comfortable camping vehicles like Airstreams and Class C and Sprinter vans that have amenities like bathrooms. They no longer must pee in a bucket at night like I do if I don’t want to walk to the compost toilets. Just for the record, my bucket has a toilet seat with lid and a fuzzy cover over the bucket filled with a heavy-duty zip lock waste bag containing a kitty litter substance. They are called Double Doodie Bags. I am a stalwart supporter of vintage campers and feel like they are a step up in comfort from tent camping yet still rustic which is the way I feel camping should be. I would now rather pull my tiny home overflowing with camping gear, a comfortable bed, a kitchen and dinette than carry the weight of a backpack pulling on arthritic neck and shoulders. But I do understand why some people prefer a camper that is not fifty years old.
Horsetooth is, a beautiful 7-mile-long lake in the foothills between the mountains and Fort Collins. South Bay Campground is just 31 miles from where I live. My campsite is right on the lake with a panorama of its pristine glassy calm water I savor at sunrise with my coffee. Gazing at that water clears my mind. Last evening, there was a wind storm creating white caps not long before sunset. Pontoon boats and large ski and pleasure boats huddled in the center of the inlet waiting for it to blow over before heading back to shore. Many of my fellow camp mates paddled around on our end of the lake in kayaks. Sisters have found a new interest in recent years in kayaking, not the rushing exuberant kind on roiling rivers but peaceful paddling on placid lakes, some throwing a fly line or two into the water casting for fish, others just enjoying the glide.
Organizing my little camper is like playing house. As usual, I make do with what I have and do without items I forgot at home. I wash dishes with the most minimal of bottled water, boiling a little on the stovetop for sterilizing. I wipe down with body wipes instead of showering. I watch the powder poof of dust sprinkle onto my bed when I first opened the chenille curtains. It’s been since spring that Montana Belle (that’s her name) has been on the road and it’s dusty where she sits on the plains at my house. I was elated to find a large cutting board to sliver the roasted peppers for Tuesday taco dinner and a blue melamine party serving tray for homemade humous and crackers for Monday appetizer-share happy hour. I don’t have a toaster, so I melted butter in a cast iron skillet for eggs and bacon and toasting a thin sliced wheat muffin perfectly. Everything tastes better roughing it outdoors.
After breakfast, a couple of friends acquiesced to drive with me the length of the east side of the lake which has beautiful views of Inlet Bay and Horsetooth Rock, the jagged red horse tooth jaw rocks on the west side that give the lake its name. At 7,255 feet elevation, Horsetooth Rock is a famous regional landmark and popular destination for local outdoor enthusiasts in search of hiking, rock climbing, and horseback riding. The monument got its name from its resemblance to the rear teeth of a horse’s jawbone.
The lake stretches the full length of the town of Fort Collins, from Old Town on the north end to Harmony Road on the south. Hiking the Horsetooth area rewards with picturesque views of snowcapped peaks to the west and endless plains to the east. Standing on some of the ridges, I contemplate that if I could see twenty miles straight east plus five miles south, I would be looking at my ranchette. The plains appear endless like the ocean must have looked to Columbus and his crew on their voyage to America, and I imagine seeing my place.
“I had no idea how long this lake was,” said Evette. “And the views really are spectacular,” added Penny.
We stopped at an old Ace Hardware to buy electrical tape for my frayed electric line and duct tape for my windows and screen door latch which keeps popping open. As a last-minute purchase, I snagged a $3.49 vintage looking fly swatter for the two flies buzzing in my camper and as an ornament hanging on the hook by the closet.
Back at South Bay, we trekked to our own campsites for lunch. I ate peanut butter and honey slathered onto torn pieces of a Farmer’s Market homemade baguette, at my picnic table in a light drizzle. We were all grateful for the cloud cover and incoming rain storms as a respite from 90-degree highs predicted for the afternoon.
Back in the camper for some reading, I wondered if I appeared to be unsociable. It turns out that on our first day, the three of us felt the need to unwind as we edged from our normal lives into the slower pace of nature. Later we chatted about this and why we like to camp.
“Camping is my way of going on a retreat,” explained Penny. “I love slow quiet mornings with a good book and a cup of coffee as I lounge in bed. I bring candles for meditating and yoga,” she said. “At the same time, I love the adventure. I go places I would otherwise probably not go without the adventure part of camping.”
Evette had a similar response. “I love camping because I get to spend time outdoors with friends but still have down time in my camper to read and hang out with my dog. It’s the best of two worlds, being with close friends and meeting new interesting women with common hobbies so it’s fellowship time plus alone time. I love to hike, fish, and visit beautiful places and Colorado has so much outdoor beauty to enjoy,” she said.
“Whew, I’m okay avoiding group coffee, having to chat at 6 in the morning when I prefer quiet time in my trailer gazing at the landscape,” I thought.
Penny and Evette camp almost weekly spring, summer, and fall and both are seasoned fly fishers. They both have become ardent kayakers in recent years. Penny admitted she fishes less these days; Evette is still avidly throwing out lines. This trip she landed two rainbow trout simultaneously, from her kayak, one snagged on a top water fly and a second on a dropper near the bottom. She released one and packed up the 16-inch whopper to take home to the frying pan.
“I like fishing from a kayak because you can reach places you can’t from shore,” she explained, this coming from an experienced wade angler, the more typical method of fly fishing.
Oh, how I love the high winds that blow up at night, kind of scary, dispersing the fire pit crew, but providing a bit of the wildness I was half expecting. We did not see bears swimming in the water that the rangers said we might encounter, but we are in our campers swaying in the wild wind gusts. It is not cold but not too hot either, just the perfect end-of-summer 50s at night and oh how well I sleep in these ideal temperatures.
Sisters on the Fly have always come in all ages, from 20s to 90s. For years, Maizy, the mother of founding sisters number one and two, was the oldest camper on our trips. What is interesting to me is that when I joined in 2010 in my fifties, most of the membership was in their fifties and sixties, though quite a few in seventies and eighties and, as I mentioned, all ages. Today, most of us are in our sixties, seventies, and eighties. It does my heart good to see this age group in our campground, about thirty of us, kayaking, fishing, boating, hiking, riding bicycles. As the saying goes, “age is just a number.” But still, when I was growing up, my parents, aunts and uncles at our ages were mostly sedentary. Nature is the best medicine for body and mind.
Most of our campers this trip are from all over Colorado. A couple live part time in Arizona and one, Kathleen, is on a coast-to-coast road trip from her home in California to the Outer Banks of North Carolina then home again. She is traveling with her dog and much spirit, trying to see as many national and state parks as she can and join Sisters on the Fly gatherings from time to time along the way. The network that Sisters provides is one of its best benefits.
Horsetooth, though it does have plenty of mule deer, bear, and rattlesnakes, is not exactly a place one would consider wild. It is too close to civilization. Still, Canada geese paddled the lake for our viewing pleasure, deer and turkey ambled through the campground. My friend Sue literally locked horns briefly with a mule deer in the dark as she was walking back from campfire to camper at night, head bowed watching for tree roots along the ground with her flashlight. She felt his breath, heard his snort, and almost touched his velvet antlers. Her photo of the big buck proved to us the next morning that she wasn’t making this up.
Because it is adjacent to a major urban corridor, Horsetooth overflows with outdoor enthusiasts who flock to campgrounds, marinas, and hiking trails. In summer, there are motor boats, paddle boats, sail boats, kayaks, and swimmers. But being a large body of water at the base of the Rocky Mountains where there are often big winds, it can become treacherous. Sadly, there is a memorial at the welcome station commemorating a ranger who tragically died in the line of duty trying to rescue swimmers in peril a couple of years ago. Kayakers, paddle boarders, and small boaters need to remain aware that it is time to head to shore at the first sign of winds kicking up turning the glassy water top into whitecaps.
One of my favorite things about camping, especially when the sites are far apart and surrounded by trees, is hanging outside the camper reading, chatting with friends, and by the campfire. On this trip, everyone dispersed into smaller groups for various activities, mostly kayaking. One day, Jan had the great idea to rent a pontoon boat and ten of us explored the lake on a two-hour cruise up towards the scenic north end of the lake. We pulled into a cove for a cold water swim, shooting into the icy water via a slide. Some congregated back at camp for crafts with Kitty, our hostess. We gathered all, at night, sharing stories of the day’s adventures and cooking. Once we made tacos, each person bringing an ingredient to the dinner and once we enjoyed breakfast-for-dinner with a crazy pajama contest.
We were temporary guests at this jewel of an outdoor landmark. Many locals enjoy it daily, weekly, monthly year ’round. One of my Fort Collins friends, Lorraine, who owns and manages Serenity Salon, Spa, and Stay, a hair salon and Airbnb with a breathtaking and contemplative view of the mountains from her property, rents a campsite at Inlet Bay at least two weeks, sometimes twice, each summer.
“I escape to Horsetooth, sharing mornings by the water, evenings by the fire, and the beauty of nature with family and friends. It’s become a tradition of relaxation, adventure, and togetherness, she explains. “We paddleboard, cook outside, gather around the fire. It’s the perfect way to introduce friends to camping. It’s close to home, easy, and exquisite natural beauty. I can wake up on the lake and easily return home for clients or to check in airbnb guests.”
Horsetooth just doesn’t get any better than waking up with coffee and watching the sun break over beauty.
It seems that the consensus about camping is that nature is a combination of community and connection….and solitude.
Why we camp
· Nature gifts us community and connection.
· Nature is nurturing and nourishing.
· Nature engages our senses with color, texture, shape, and smells.
· Nature is a break from screen time and soothing balm for our psyches and nervous systems.
· Nature benefits us physically through movement and through slower heart rate, deepening breath, and meditation.
· Nature is healing.
As always, I so appreciate comments! Please click the button to leave one.
love this, Marsha, your comment just made my day! thank you!!
Loved this article Julia-felt like I was almost there!