Text File | 1994-05-02 | 792 b | 4 lines | [TEXT/MSWD]
Big Thompson River is a major river flowing out of Forest Canyon through Moraine Park, Estes Park, and eventually into the South Platte River (which goes on to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico). This river helped carve and straighten the deep Forest Canyon below Trail Ridge Road.
The Indians called this river "The Pipe River" due to their use of the shore to carve pipes out of stone brought from the other side of the Continental Divide. The name of Thompson for the river is not so clear. It was being used in 1830 by fur traders. It was likely named for Philip Thompson who was trading mules at Fort Vasquez in the 1830's.
We follow the ice covered river from the Fern Creek Trailhead to The Pool, where it has carved a deep narrow slot in the rock. #
