Tips & Hints - After Work Hikes

One of the great joys of the summer is that it stays light out long enough to get in an after-work hike. Thanks to the excellent work of Jefferson County Open Space and Denver Mountain Parks, those of us on the Front Range have a plethora of options to choose from. Here are a few of my very favorite after-work hikes:

Mt. Falcon – This is a great leg burner. You climb about 1,000 feet in 1.7 miles, and can climb an additional 1,000 feet to a picnic shelter, if you are so inclined. The nice thing about Mt. Falcon is that it offers a hiker-only trail in the Turkey Trot trail. Since this area is extremely popular with mountain bikers, I highly recommend that option!
Mt. Galbraith – A great hiker-only park. Good climb through some interesting terrain, and a very doable 4.4 miles round trip, if you add in the loop at the top, which you should.
Green Mountain – Another popular trail with both mountain bikers and hikers, with a lot of different options for adding or subtracting length to your hike (take a map!). I would recommend doing this one in early summer or late summer/early fall. There is very little shade, and it can get scorching!
Apex – This trail leaves from the parking lot of Heritage Square and is also very popular with mountain bikers. But, it meanders near a creek and you can often catch deer or elk at the top, so it makes it worthwhile. And, it’s a great climb.
Deer Creek – A little south of the metro area, this is a great area that offers mixed use trails as well as a hiker-only option. There are some interesting red rock formations to check out, and usually some deer near the trailhead.
Elk Meadow – I like to save my Evergreen hikes for when it’s super hot in Denver. This one is a pleasant walk in the trees and meadows near Evergreen, and also serves as the base of the climb to Bergen Peak.
Bergen Peak – It a while to get to the top of this 9,700 peak, so I would not recommend it if you are short of time or can’t leave the trailhead by 5:30 or 6. It is 3.7 miles one-way to the top, and I have been caught hiking back down in the pitch black a few times, which can be a little dangerous.
Lair O’ the Bear – This is a great trail for kids because it follows Bear Creek and is relatively flat for about 1.5 miles before climbing more steeply. This JeffCo park connects with Little Park, a Denver Mountain Park, so be sure you have a map that covers both areas.
Red Rocks Trail – This trail offers great views of Denver and Red Rocks Amphitheater. It is not recommended for hot, hot, hot days as there is very little shade. Depending on how far you want to go, you can park at Red Rocks, or at the Matthew Winters Parking lot.
White Ranch – Great Foothills hike with a hiker-only option. Not a ton of shade until you reach the top, but really pretty views of Golden and Denver beyond.
Centennial Cone – This park alternates mountain biking days and hiking days on the weekends, but are multi-use during the week. The trail has several loops, so you can make it as long or as short as you’d like.

There are other options for your after-work enjoyment, but these are a few of my favorites. What are your favorite after work hikes?

Trip Report - Flat Tops Wilderness Horse Packing

The best thing about backpacking with horses? They carry all the heavy stuff, so all you have to carry is a daypack with essentials. The worst thing about backpacking with horses? Horse farts. Specifically, being down wind of horse farts. Phew-eeee!

Grubby Guy and I went on a backcountry camping trip to the Flat Tops Wilderness with GGuy’s friend, Bart, and his girlfriend, Nicole. Bart brought his two horses, Twink and Rue to help us pack in, so we were a party of six.We decided to do a shuttle hike, starting at one point and ending at another, so we left GGuy’s truck at the Hill Creek trailhead, and hopped in with Bart and Nicole to drive up to Wall Lake trailhead near Trapper’s Lake.

Once there, we packed all of our stuff – tent, sleeping bags, clothes, food, camp stoves - into dry sacks and panniers to load up the horses. Twink and Rue were not at all sure they wanted to do the hike and tried to make a break for it several times during the loading process. Bart rounded them up, and we got them saddled and left the parking lot about 1:30 p.m.The Wall Lake trail gains 1,721 feet in just over 2 miles. It is considered one of the steepest but fastest ways to the top of the Flat Tops, and it mellows out considerably after that. Once on top of the plateau, we took the Oyster Lake Trail for another four or five miles to a little lake that was hidden on the top of another, smaller plateau, where we set up camp for the night about 5 p.m. We hung out at camp for the late afternoon/evening, Bart and Nicole went to a look-out point to glass the hillsides and GGuy took his fishing pole to the lake to catch a few. We met up back at camp around 7 p.m. and made some fresh salmon filets that GGuy brought with him from Alaska (gotta LOVE the horses!). We sat around long enough to see a few shooting stars and then crawled into bed to warm up.
GGuy, Bart and Nicole woke up before dawn to look for deer and elk and other critters while I stayed snug in my sleeping bag and slept in. (Heaven!) Once everyone was back in camp, we made breakfast and then packed up again to head toward Oyster Lake. We left camp about 10:30 a.m.
As we hiked, we stumbled upon a herd of sheep grazing on the short grass and their very protective dogs. And, walked past numerous lakes and streams and springs, through flat “parks” that were filled with short grasses and wildflowers, and through low-lying wetlands. We saw the Big Marvine and Little Marvine peaks (http://www.listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/Climbers.php?Id=1834) in the distance, and endless blue skies. It wasn’t a hard hike in terms of elevation gain, but it was a long, long day. I thought it was going to be 2 hours, so I only packed a granola bar and a few little snacky things. It ended up being much longer, and I was low on fuel. By the end, Grubby Guy and I were slap happy and not making any sense, singing nonsense songs to keep ourselves entertained. We sang “Hallelujah” when we finally came over a small hill and spotted Oyster Lake in the distance, about 5:30 p.m.

Bart picked out a camping spot and tied up the horses. Then we snacked, and set up the tents. Bart and Nicole napped while GGuy and I went to the lake to pump water. On our way to the lake, we spotted a herd of elk lazing in the sunshine by the lake. We stopped and watched an elk take a bath in the pond and the rest nap or munch on the short grass. After about half an hour, one of the elk finally spotted my red vest and the whole herd stood up and high tailed it out of there. We got our water and went back to camp to cook dinner. We built a small fire that night and stayed up late chatting and staring at the campfire.

We woke up early the next morning, and, knowing we had another long day ahead of us to get to the truck, we ate a good breakfast, packed sandwiches for lunch and set out for the Hill Creek intersection off of Oyster Lake Trail. Once we got to the edge of the plateau and headed back down, the trail got super steep and rocky. We had to gingerly pick our way down the trail, using our trekking poles for balance and to stop our downward momentum. Wildflowers grew shoulder-high along the trail, in just about every color of the rainbow. It was hard not to look at the wildflowers and the views, but the trail demanded we pay very close attention. We stopped for lunch on a small knoll and then set out for the last three miles. Everything was going along fine until we came upon a hillside that was criss-crossed by cow tracks. We went left when we should have gone right, and thus began a very difficult detour through ferns that grew well over my head and underbrush that was so thick it was difficult to pull your legs through without dragging a plant along with you. GGuy did his best to keep me calm and assure me that we weren’t “lost,” we just didn’t know EXACTLY where we were. After about an hour of bushwacking and trying to find the trail, GGuy finally spotted it down the hill from where we were. Once we found that, it was an easy two miles back to the truck across a beautiful stream and through a wildflower filled forest.
The Flat Tops are one of my very favorite places in Colorado, and this was a great trip overall. The hiking, while long, was definitely ‘do-able,’ and you just can’t beat the scenery. The Flat Tops are one of the first areas to be considered ‘wilderness,’ and it’s easy to see why it should be protected as a wild place. I would highly recommend the Flat Tops to anyone looking for a relatively easy backpacking trip. After the first pitch, you can cover a lot of ground and see some of the most amazing views in all of Colorado.

Lessons learned from this trip:
1) The Flat Tops make a perfect backpacking destination. Once you are on top, you can cover a lot of miles with relative ease.
2) Horses make backpacking much more pleasant, especially since you can fresh food instead of strictly dehydrated food. Not having 40 pounds of gear on your back is absolutely priceless.
3) Right when you think you are in the wrong spot, stop, check the map and backtrack to the point where you KNOW exactly where you are. Far better to retrace some steps than spend an hour hacking your way through dense vegetation that makes it difficult to distinguish land features and find your way back to the trail.
4) Take care of your blisters right away so you don't end up like me!

Trip Report - Rifle Arch Hike

Just north of the town of Rifle is little pull-off parking lot. It is literally just off the highway. It is not well marked...it just has a small brown sign with an arrow on it to mark the start of the trail. But, if you park there and go through a little cattle gate, you will find yourself in the middle of a sagebrush flat and on your way to one of the coolest things in Colorado - the Rifle Arch. This natural arch is pretty well camouflaged against the sandstone cliffs around it, so if you are blasting by in a car, you'd likely miss it. You shouldn't. It is well worth stopping! The trail is fairly flat - just a slow, steady climb to the base of the arch through sagebrush and pinon trees. (If you go, go in spring, fall or a cool-ish summer day. There isn't a lot of shade, and it can get scorching!) It has been a super wet spring, so when we went the second week of June, the many cacti had all bloomed bright yellow and orange. Once you get to the base of the arch, you can stop and rest at the bench and take photos from there, or you can scramble up the rocks to get right up under the arch. Grubby Guy and I decided to scramble up to the arch. The views were spectacular! I got a little panicked by the height and had to gingerly make my way back down pretty quickly, but I was glad I chose to go up to the arch. The whole hike took about an hour and a half, including posing for photos and my brief panic attack. A fabulous, moderate afternoon hike.

Go play!
GG

Trip Report - Shed Hunting

The spring wasn't that great for shed hunting with my man, Grubby Guy. I was training for a half-marathon, so spent most of my spring running. GGuy got out hunting a few times without me, but just once with me. We went in late May to a spot GGuy had been wanting to check out (he's sworn me to secrecy). We wanted to get up on top of a mesa, so took the ATV as far as we could before walking into the woods. We missed the game trail going out, so forged our own path. Once on top of the mesa, we spread out...I quickly found one deer horn, and was totally thrilled! Grubby Girl: 1; Grubby Guy: 0! GGuy went to scan the area on a hill while I stayed in the sagebrush flats and started walking back and forth, doing my best to set up an effective screen. I mostly looked at the amazing wildflowers, and meandered to places I thought the elk would like to hang out. It must've worked because I found two more elk horns and a deer horn. GGirl: 3; GGuy: 1 (tiny one at that). I was doing great, just really enjoying being outside and smelling the sage, and then I found the elk head high in a tree...I figured that anything that could drag an elk up a tree was not something I wanted to tangle with, so I high-tailed it out of there...Called GGuy on the walkie talkie to tell him I was going back, found the game trail I missed on my way up, and scurried back to the ATV to wait for GGuy and eat my sandwich. All in all, pretty successful hunt. With the right mindset, it really is like a treasure hunt.

Grubby and glad to be home,
GG

Getting Started - Hiking

Hiking is a great way to get into getting outside and getting grubby. It's free (unless you choose to hike in a State Park or National Park, which have entrance fees), it's easy (unless walking is difficult for you), and it has virtually no start-up equipment needed. All you need to start, really, are a pair of sturdy shoes and a water bottle. Some people, "experts," recommend a 10-point list of safety equipment for any hike, but, in all honesty, you probably won't need that until you decide that you really like it and want to go for longer, deeper or more intense hikes. If you do decide that you want to hike more often, definitely get that first aid kit, a good hyration system and a packable jacket. But, if you're just exploring and trying to decide whether there's a hiker lurking in you, stick to the popular trails, and you're probably going to be okay. You just need to get out and do it.

The big question for your first hike is: Where to hike? Start by asking your friends or co-workers. They will probably have some recommendations. There are also plenty of books on the subject. REI, Sportsman's Warehouse, Bass Pro or any bookstore will have plenty of options to choose from. You can also look online for trail ideas. Colorado State Parks has a great site with links to other entities that have trails, just search here: http://parks.state.co.us/Trails/TrailMapLinks/ I really like the Jefferson County Open Space trails. There are lots to choose from, the scenery is suprisingly varied, and the difficulty ranges from super easy to pretty difficult. And, they're all within easy driving distance. Here's that link: http://tinyurl.com/lo5pzl.

All the Grubby Details:
How Far - Depends on how far you'd like to go...anywhere from 2-12 miles is do-able in a day.
Time Commitment - Plan on hiking about 2-3 miles per hour...adjust from there.
Misery Index - Low - occasionally, you'll come across a pretty intense hike, but usually, hiking makes for a very pleasant afternoon.
Intimidation Index - Low - one foot in front of the other and soon you're on your way!
Dog Friendliness - High - but, most trails require a leash. Check before you pack Fido.
Equipment needed to start - Sturdy shoes, water bottle, sunscreen
Equipment to upgrade if you find you like it - Hiking boots (or low hikers), good socks, a hydration pack (I like the daypack/hydration combos), first aid kit, rain jacket, wicking shorts and shirts.

Now, get out there and get grubby!

XO,
GG