Text File | 1994-05-02 | 902 b | 4 lines | [TEXT/MSWD]
At the Milner Pass crossing of the Continental Divide is Poudre Lake, once two lakes, one flowing to the East and the other to the West. Thanks to the efforts of a bulldozer, it is now one. This lake is right on the Trail Ridge Road, which crosses the Continental Divide at this point at an altitude of 10,750', making it the highest lake we visit on our Virtual Hike. At almost 14 acres, it's of moderate size for the Park lakes.
During Winter, from about November to May, it can be reached only by Snowmobile (as we did for the Road Tour).
Its name is derived from the French "Cache la Poudre," or hiding place of the gun powder. In 1836, French fur traders buried a cache of gun powder here, storing it for the winter (after being caught in an early snow storm). They returned to find it still there and referred to the river flowing out of this lake as La Cache la Poudre.#
