A BUNCH OF 2019 HIKES

I have been delinquent in my blogging.  And with the Holidays approaching — it’s not going to get any better.  So here (in pictures) are a few 2019 hikes.  But please know that we M.O.M.’s haven’t missed one Friday hike this year.  We are either extremely dedicated — or lead boring lives.  I prefer the former.

We discovered several new trails this year.  One of our favorites is The Lion’s Lair trail behind Mt. Sanitas.  It just opened in 2016 and now that the wildlife is used to hikers and runners (sorry — no bikes or dogs), the trail has become more “tame.”

Goshawk Ridge

Me taking a picture of Vickie

Vickie taking a picture of me. Apparently we had nothing else to do that day.

Dowdy Draw

Laura and Cinda joined us on this beautiful, yet hot, hike.

Yes — this is exactly what it looks like — arm pit drying!

Much better!

Several hikes to Lake Isabelle

Woodpecker

Moose!

Cool tree stump

Someone made a tiny fort between the trees

Spencer has promised to take us up Pawnee Pass. This is a reminder from his mom!

Hiking Boulder Creek Path in the snow (2 weeks ago) 

Hiking Niwot Loop in the snow (last Friday)

Yes — it was as cold as this looks!

We will soon be wrapping up our 2019 hikes and looking forward to more 2020 hikes.  Maybe even discovering some more new trails.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to our loyal M.O.M. followers!

 

PEEK-A-BOO. BEAR SCOUT — WHERE ARE YOU?!?

Well — I see that my last blog entry was March, 2017.  Good grief!  Where did the time go?  Oh yeah, I remember — surgery, chemo, work, rather boring doctor visits, accordion practice, taking up knitting, holidays and more work.  OK!  That’s a good excuse.  Right?

I did, however, make my Friday hikes (even on chemo days) mandatory.  I missed a few Fridays here and there, but for the most part, you could find me hiking a trail on Friday morning.

I’m rolling all of 2017 and January 2018 together into one picture blog entry (in no particular order).  Hope you enjoy the scenery …..

In May, Map Master, Kris, Jacque and I visited Sedona, Arizona and Map Master’s shoe store, A Step Up.  If you’re ever in Sedona be sure to visit her (and her sister’s) store.  The BEST stylish and comfortable shoes ever.  We found time to hike a trail in Sedona.  Arizona is SO different from our Colorado Rockies.

Back to Colorado and hiking beautiful Eldorado Canyon trails.

Map Master “in” the canyon

Me and Vickie trying to look TALL.  We’re both rather short.  For the record, however, she is shorter than me.

In September, Speedy (Suzanne) and I hiked Mt. Falcon Park.  It was her first visit to the west side of Mt. Falcon.

A real snake on the trail

Speedy speeding down the trail (this is how she got her moniker)

We saw all kinds of wildlife.  Some moved so fast (squirrels, eagles, hawks), I couldn’t get a picture.

Elk

Deer

Cows

In November Map Master and I had the pleasure of hiking with two great guys — Lasse and Phillip.  They were visiting Map Master from Germany.  We took them to Eldorado Canyon for some great scenery.

Here are some “trail” pictures.

 

Map Master and I were hiking a low-land trail and all the underpasses were beautifully painted with murals from different artists.  Here Map Master and I tried to mount a painted bike to finish our hike.

I discovered some new hiking trails near Boulder,  The trails wander here and there, over (and in) culverts, under barbed wire fences, around construction and water towers — all over the place.  You can hike to Louisville or into Boulder’s Gunbarrel area.  They have no trail names so I named them “Margaret’s Trails.”  The trails are near my ex-husband and his wife’s (Margaret) home.  She pointed them out to me at Christmas, so now (to me) they are officially Margaret’s Trails.

“Hey Map Master. You first.”

“Any ideas where I should put my right foot?”

This was actually a HUGE tree that split almost in half

Ever wonder what the actual inside of a tree looks like. Well — here you go!

This brings us into January 2018.  Twice Vickie and I hiked White Rocks Trail in Boulder.

While hiking the White Rock Trail I found a heart rock.  People are leaving them all over the Denver Metro area — streets, parks, neighborhoods, etc.  What a fun surprise.  You can keep it, keep it and replace it, or leave it.  We chose to leave the rock for someone else to enjoy.

That just about sums up the past year.  There were many more hikes, but I don’t want to bore you with over 100 pictures.  You know — like when your aunt and uncle invite you over to see pictures of their trip to Nebraska and 3 hours later you wish you’d gone for that root canal instead!

I leave you with a picture taken January 3rd.  A new moon over the foothills as I drove to work on January 3, 2018.  What a great way to start the New Year.  You just gotta love Colorado!

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

….. sang the Rolling Stones.

I wanted to be hiking in the mountains this past Friday.

But instead I was hiking another section of the Coal Creek Trail/Dutch Creek Open Space.

One more week of hiking flat trails and if my x-ray shows my fractured ankle is healed, I’m heading into the mountains.

With my ankle brace, of course!

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A HI …….. OOPS!

It was a beautiful cool, sunny Friday, September 23rd.  My friend and I decided to meet in Golden and hike Mount Galbraith.  Mount Galbraith has beautiful views into two canyons and the City of Golden.  Perhaps we might see some cliff-nesting eagles, a few hummingbirds, or perhaps even a big horn sheep.  Yay!

You begin the hike on the Cedar Gulch trail and at 1.3 miles reach the Mount Galbraith loop trail.  A description of the hike said the Cedar Gulch trail is a “steady, moderate climb with views into Golden Gate Canyon.”  The description also said, “Take it easy at the beginning of the trail.  Hiking Mount Galbraith is most challenging at the start and the rest of the trail is more peaceful and relaxing after the initial incline.”

Aerial view of Cedar Gulch to the loop

Doesn’t that sound nice?  Peaceful and relaxing.  A peaceful and relaxing hike.  It seemed like a nice way to end my busy work-filled week.  Peaceful.  Relaxing.

The description was correct.  Cedar Gulch trail had lots and lots of stone stairs and rocks.

Random hiker

Dottie and I were quickly making our way to the loop intersection.  We were so close to the 1.3 mile mark (1.08 miles to be exact).  The trail was skirting the side of Mount Galbraith and was sloping slightly to the left.  On a flat, dirt-packed part of the trail (the stone stairs behind us) I placed my left foot down and it felt like I folded my foot in half at the ankle.

I thought I could walk it off.  This wasn’t going to stop our peaceful and relaxing hike.  I was determined to rest for a minute and forge ahead.

But after five minutes, I still couldn’t walk.  We had to turn around.  And you know what that means?  I now had to climb down the stone stairs with only one working foot.

With Dottie’s help (a lot of hand holding) and some butt scooting, we made it down.  I drove to my friend’s house where we removed my hiking boot and immediately called the doctor’s office and scheduled an appointment.

It became way more colorful and swollen the next day.

The doctor asked lots of questions.

Then she requested an X-ray.

Doctor’s Diagnosis:  Fractured ankle bone.
My Reaction:  But can I still hike?!?!?
Treatment:  Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (the RICE treatment) and wear a big old fat sweaty boot for 2 weeks, then an ankle support for 6 weeks.
My Reaction:  How am I going to hike in a big old fat sweaty boot?!?!?
Doctor’s Recommendation:  No hiking for 4 weeks.
My Reaction:  WHAT?!?!?  No hiking for 4 weeks!  But I haven’t missed one Friday hike this whole year.  (The doctor wasn’t a bit concerned with my pristine 2016 hiking record.)

So — Dottie and I didn’t make it to the peaceful and relaxing Mount Galbraith loop trail.  We saw no hummingbirds or big horn sheep (although I think I did see some stars!).  But I can tell you that my first hike back on the trail will be Mount Galbraith.

Update:  Don’t tell my doctor, but last Friday was such a beautiful day that I did get on the Coal Creek trail and hiked a little over 3 miles.  The Coal Creek trail has zero elevation, packed gravel, and a beautiful view of the foothills as you head west.  It felt so good to be outside.  I walked very carefully  with my poles (and of course, with my big old fat sweaty boot).

It wasn’t Mount Galbraith, but it was outside and it felt great!

A COLORADO SAFARI

I was hiking on my own this Halloween Friday.  Map Master was skiing (most likely on rocks), and Wandering Ju had a terrible cold.

When I woke up, I wasn’t motivated to hike by myself until I thought — Hey!  I’ll hike Chatauqua over to Gregory Canyon and up to Green Mountain.  Gregory Canyon was finally open (since last year’s flood), and the M.O.M.’s haven’t hiked Green Mountain (one of my favorite hikes) for a couple years.

OK — now I’m motivated!

I grabbed Ellen DeBear and packed a lunch and plenty of water.  Joy!

I began my hike at the base of Chatauqua — headed up Mesa Trail — and then over to Gregory Canyon.  Chatauqua is usually well populated.  Today, however, the hikers were few and far between.  In fact, I passed no one on the Mesa Trail heading to Gregory Canyon.

It sure was beautiful!

The foot bridge connecting the trail to Gregory Canyon’s parking lot had been washed away in the flood, but someone had placed a few stones around so you could cross the stream.

I wanted to see the flood devastation of the road.  It was pretty bad.  I think they plan to have the road repaired by year-end 2014.  I will be surprised if that happens.

Even a 4WD couldn’t get down this road.

I turned around and headed to the Gregory Canyon trailhead.  There in the parking lot was a STEAMING pile of bear scat.  STEAMING!

Pile appears smaller than actual size!

Ummmm

A few steps further — a FRESH pile of bear scat.

Again, pile appears smaller than actual size!

Double Ummmm

The Gregory Canyon trail is very narrow with HIGH shrubs on each side — a perfect place for bears to hide.

Now what?!?!?

I went back across the stream and decided to head up the Amphitheater trail to Green Mountain.  About a quarter mile in — another “deposit” of FRESH and STEAMING bear scat.

Notice the pee is still wet!

OK — that’s it!  Three poops and I’m OUT!  I concluded that I was literally a walking vending machine with my egg salad sandwich, granola, grapes and chocolates!  I was a bear’s dream!

“Dibs on the sandwich!”

I reluctantly headed back to Chatauqua — disappointed that I didn’t make it to Green Mountain.

I was almost to Chatauqua when I encountered my first hiker — a young, spunky gal from Philly.  She wanted to know if she was on the correct trail to Green Mountain.  “Sure,” I said, “but there’s a lot of bear scat over there — you might want to turn around.”

Her eyes lit up!  “Bears?!?!?  You have BEARS here?  That’s awesome!!!  I would LOVE to see a bear!”

(Um — I like this spunky gal from Philly!)

“Yep,” I said, “but I’d rather run into a bear than a mountain lion!”

“You have mountain lions here?!?!?  Bears AND mountain lions?  This is like a Colorado Safari!!!”

(Yeah — I like this spunky gal from Philly!)

Nothing I said was going to stop her.  She invited me to join her to Green Mountain!  It was tempting, but I was so close to Chatauqua, and didn’t feel like adding the extra miles to my hike.  (Yeah — I was chicken!)

I really liked this spunky gal from Philly!  In fact, I thought she would be a good match for my son.  Well — except for two things:  (1) Long distance relationships are hard; and, (2) she was about to be eaten by a bear!

You go spunky gal from Philly!

I hiked around the 1st and 2nd flatirons of Chatauqua for awhile.  Ellen and I found a perfect lunch spot and shared chocolates …..

….. and ended our hike sans reaching Green Mountain.

I guess the spunky gal from Philly made it, because I didn’t hear about her in the ten o’clock news.  What I did hear on the ten o’clock news, however, was that at the same time I was hiking around the 1st and 2nd flatirons, there was a naked guy (high on ‘shrooms) hiking the same trail.

How about THAT spunky gal from Philly!  We’ve got bears, mountain lions, and stupid naked guys!

Welcome to Colorado!

A FAIRY TALE HIKE TO BLUE LAKE

….. I actually made it to Blue Lake.  On July 18th I almost made it with The Boys (Jazzy and Prince), but we fell about a mile short.

We took it in stride!

On October 3rd Wandering Ju and I left Broomfield to hike the short trail (2.5 miles one way) to Blue Lake.  It was a beautiful day!

Blue Lake

There were no cars in the parking lot, so for the first time in years, we were actually able to park at the Mitchell Lake trailhead.  Oh — it’s a glorious day!

We soon discovered why there were no cars in the parking lot.

The trail was 98.6% ice and snow.  We passed a few hikers that warned us there was quite a bit of snow approaching Blue Lake.  They warned us to be careful because the deep snow could easily lead us off trail.  They warned us that the trail was very icy.  But what the heck!  — we had our poles, gloves, warm jackets, and plenty of chocolate.  Blue Lake here we come!!!

It did feel more like we were ice skating to Blue Lake, than hiking to Blue Lake.  We both left our Yaktrax at home, but I was so excited to make it to Blue Lake — I didn’t care!

We hiked through dense forest; past Mitchell Lake; and onward until we had to cross a long, icy L-shaped log bridge to cross a wide stream.

Scary!

Yikes!

Piece of cake!

Because of so much ice and snow, we accidentally veered onto the “wrong” trail, but circled back, and continued on the “right” trail.  Oh yes! — a glorious day!

After what seemed an eternity, I did it!  I finally made it to ………………………….

POOF!

Hey! — this is a Fairy Tale.  Remember?

Fairy Tales aren’t true.

According to Wiki:  “A Fairy Tale is a made-up story usually designed to mislead.  A fabricated story — especially one intended to deceive.  For example:  Everything he told us about his happy marriage was just a Fairy Tale.”

Okay — I didn’t make it to Blue Lake.  Again!  But one day I will!  One day it won’t be a Fairy Tale blog entry to Blue Lake!  It will be a real life blog entry to Blue Lake!

DO WE HERD A BUGLE?

Map Master and I had so much fun the week before (racing to Mills Lake), we decided to hike Rocky Mountain National Park again.

On Friday, September 26th we headed up the trail to Fern Lake.  Just one week later, the aspens were still an incredible golden color.

The Big Thompson River was roaring.

At the trail split, we met up with some campers who told us that, although Fern Lake is beautiful, we would not see aspen trees along the trail.  They suggested, instead, that we hike the trail to Cub Lake.  Initially, the trail to Cub Lake was steep and muddy, but leveled out through some aspen groves.

Cub Lake is surrounded by thick timber and backs up to Stones Peak.  The surface of the lake was clear and ringed with yellow pond lily.

Yellow pond lily floating in the shape of a LARGE Donut!  “Map Master — are you hungry?”

Amen!

Beyond Cub Lake, we hiked through an extensive forest of pine, spruce, aspens and ferns.  About a half mile from the Cub Lake trailhead we arrived at Moraine Park — a vast meadow where large elk herds congregate for their annual rut (a spectacular ritual where dominant bulls battle for mating rights).  We were not disappointed.  We counted 16 elk in all — one bull (a stag), six cows (hinds), and nine calves.

And then — the bull turned to the open space in the meadow (where another bull was trying to invade the herd) …..

….. and he bugled.  I had never heard an elk bugle “in person.”  It was LOUD and beautiful!!!

Side Note:  You may or may not remember that in March of 2013, Map Master and I happened upon a herd with about 20 elk and we tried to join their herd.  As we got closer — they backed away.  We saw the bull, and had we continued forward, I’m sure he would have bugled us back.

We watched the herd for awhile (more bugling from the bull) before heading back down the trail.

Wow!  That was extraordinary!

We only managed 6.25 miles that day, but it was still a good workout.  So — um — did someone say Donuts?!?!?

BEEP BEEP

(Read this blog in less than two minutes.  In other words — read it FAST!  Because that’s how our hike was on Friday, September 19th.)

Beep Beep

Map Master and I headed to Rocky Mountain National Park to view the colors.

We had to be back in Broomfield by 3:00 p.m.

With construction and everyone else driving to RMNP to view the colors, it was a two hour drive each way.

It’s a race for time.

But we’re determined!

We arrive at RMNP only to be told that all parking lots are full, and we need to take the shuttle bus to our trailhead — adding another 30 minutes to our round trip commute.

It’s 10:45 a.m. when we finally hit the trail to Mills Lake.  We calculate that we have exactly three hours to hike six miles and stop for lunch.

Beep Beep

In .85 miles, we arrive at Alberta Falls.  That first mile was crowded.  People were all over the place taking pictures.  It was like Flatirons Mall on Christmas Eve.

Alberta Falls and Map Master

Glacier Gorge

But enough!  Onward!

The trail led us through spruce, fir, golden aspen trees and then onto enormous slabs of granite.

We were running out of time, but Mills Lake was calling!

Beep Beep

Finally! — there it is!

After a quick lunch, it was time to return.

There’s always time for a pic, however.

The last one mile was still crowded with picture-takers, but Map Master blazed through them!

As we emerged from the trail — there was the shuttle bus.

“RUN MAP MASTER!!”

Beep Beep

As the doors closed and the bus was pulling away, we caught the bus driver’s attention and he stopped and let us in (saving us a 15 minute wait for the next bus).

But not for another 15 minutes!

Back in the car — if we hurried — we’d arrive in Broomfield on time!

Bear Scout:  “Why is everyone driving so slow?”
Map Master:  “You know Bear Scout, some people are here to actually ooh and ahh at the magnificent fall colors.”
Bear Scout:  “Well — that’s fine — but — Beep Beep!”

“What she said!”

FINCH LAKE OR BUST!

A couple years ago, we hiked the trail to Finch Lake, only to fall short by a couple miles due to weather — or maybe one of us had to get back for a “function” — or who knows.

On Friday, August 29th, Map Master and I were determined to make it to the lake.  As it turns out — we needed that determination!

The day started out beautiful and sunny.

Several trails converge about 1.8 miles from the trailhead.

Only 3.2 more miles.

“We’ve got this Bear Scout!”

The grade increased as the trail entered the area devastated by a forest fire in 1978.  (I believe this is where we turned around a couple years ago.)  Because of the bare, charred trees, we had beautiful views of the mountainside.

The sun was shinning as we crossed several foot bridges and continued on the trail.

And quite suddenly – there it was!  Finch Lake.

Beautiful!!

Woo hoo!  We made it this time!  A leisurely stroll around the lake found us the perfect rock to enjoy our lunch.  Even a couple ducks floated by to show off their bug-diving lake skills.  They were quite entertaining.

Hey — what’s that in the water?  That’s a funny lookin’ duck!  Why — it’s Map Master’s rain coat!

Kinda cool that it floats!

Got it!

We were facing southeast as we dined on lunch.  Had we been facing northwest, we would have been able to see the dark rain clouds rolling in.

We quickly downed our chocolates (nothing gets in the way of that!), shook out Map Master’s rain coat, and quickly headed 4 miles down the trail.

The skies were getting darker and darker.

We were just one mile from the trailhead when it began raining.  It wasn’t raining hard.  Map Master and I found it quite invigorating actually.

We heard cracks of thunder (“Um — let’s pick up the pace”), and flashes of lightning (“Let’s pick up the pace a bit more please”).

And then the most Bizarro (one of Map Master’s favorite words) thing happened.  There was a crack of thunder and flash of lightning at the same time!

It looked something like this!

Map Master knew exactly what this meant.  I did not.  It was kind of surreal actually.

The dialogue went something like this:

MM:  “Bear Scout!  That was REALLY close!”
BS:  “Yeah?”
MM:  “YES!  Didn’t you notice there was NO time between the clap of thunder and the bright flash of lightning?”
BS:  “I did see the flash, but gosh — isn’t this invigorating?  And the flash was so beautiful!”
MM (sigh):  “We need to get out of here.”

To learn more, I Googled this when I got home.  Google (who knows EVERYTHING) says, “If you see lightning and hear thunder at the same time, that lightning is very close.  You are probably in line with the storm, and it may be moving toward you.”  It went on to say quite a bit more using words like “particularly dangerous,” “potential killer,” “striking as far as 5 or 10 miles from the storm,” etc.

I’m really glad I didn’t know that at the time.

We made it back to the trailhead in record time — albeit a bit wet — proud that our determination got us to Finch Lake.  After all — what’s a little bit of rain anyway …..