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| The steep section of the Catamount Trail in a fall hike of 2025. |
We parked by the Gazebo Park of Green Mountain Falls - no parking at the Catamount trailhead. Then walked the steep Hondo Avenue - means “deep” in Spanish - to reach the trail. Nice waterfall steps from the road: Catamount Falls. Many switchbacks in this slope of the Pikes Peak Massif. Then the picturesque “Garden of Eden” followed by a harsh walk over creek boulders. Disappointment! Trail closed ~3 miles into the hike. Repairs in the Catamount Reservoir - why didn't they put a sign at the trailhead? “Catamount” is an old word for cougar, mountain lion, or puma. The trail name relates to “Catamount Charley”, a trapper that bragged of killing a buffalo and three mountain lions with only two rifle shots in the 1800s. Old fake tales from the West. We didn't meet the wild cats.
