The burn area in the back of this pre-1898 photo taken from the Goose Creek trail, grew back and has burned again since.

William Kelso (middle) leads a boundary survey to denote the divide between South Platte District and Clear Creek District in 1909. Kelso was the first District Ranger for Clear Creek District serving from 1906-1932 - back in the day when the Ranger "did it all" and most of it on horseback.

The Wilderness boundry runs along a line approximately where you see the trees in this 1914 photo. Today, the Lost Park Campground can be found at this location (bottom left side of photo) and the Wigwam trailhead is on the right.

In 1917, people rode their horses on the trail to reach the top of Mount Evans. This view from the Mount Evans trail (now Beaver Meadows trail) between the Resthouse and the Beaver Meadows shelters at about 10,200'.

This 1920 photo shows the Bear Creek Ranger Station, built in 1906 on land leased from the General Land Office (now the Bureau of Land Management). In the 1970s when the lease ended, the BLM could not maintain the building and it (and the horse barn not shown) had to be removed. In the 1990s this location became part of the State Wildlife Area.

The Bear Tracks Lake Campground, shown here in 1921, was part of the recreational development activity that took place starting in 1916 to increase tourism at the request of the City of Denver. Other projects included the Resthouse, a campground at the top of the Meridian Trail, the shelters at Bear Creek Meadows and the road to the top of Mount Evans.

This Resthouse photo from 1921 features two prominent figures. Arthur Carhart (third from the right) was the first U.S. Forest Service landscape architect and one of the first U.S. conservation experts, inspiring Wilderness protection. William Kelso (third from the left) was the first District Ranger for Clear Creek District serving for an amazing 25 years from 1907 to 1932. The Resthouse structured survived the 1964 Resthouse fire - in fact it was used as a fire camp - but was burned in 1968 by "parties unknown".

The cabin pictured in this 1924 photo was inhabited by an original "Friends"group member who ran outdoor camps for kids.

Near the split of the Payne Creek / Brookside trail at the far end of the meadow you can still find the flat slab that was the shower house for this 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in the south platte district. Before the CCC work, the area was known as "mowing machine meadow" and we assume was used to harvest hay for the horses essential for back country transportation.

The depression era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program spawned camps at each district park to build and improve the trails we use today. This camp at the Hells Hole trailhead in 1933 lasted only for the season as it was too cold to spend the winter there. The CCC workers from this camp went next to Buffalo Creek.

The Chicago Lakes trail from Echo Lake to the Idaho Springs Reservoir was even more perilous in 1933 than it is today. These young ladies would have had to be very careful!

The McCurdy Park shelter house in this 1968 photo was removed sometime around when this area was declared Wilderness in 1980. What a great rock formation!

This photo of a recreational cabin at Chicago Lakes gives you a picture of what camping was like in the late 1800's. The remains of this long gone cabin can still be seen today.

This 1916 photo of Mount Evans was taken from above Chicago Lakes and close to the current Goliath Natural Area. The photographer would likely have reached this location by horseback since the road to the top of Mount Evans was not started until 1923 and completed in 1927.