Waterton Canyon

Yesterday, I rode my bike in to the extreme southwestern extent of the Denver metro area.  For such a long ride (70+ miles), I spent the vast majority of it off-road by mixing paved and dirt trails through various parks.  After riding to and through Bear Creek Park, a venue I explored on a late 2011 ride, I ventured on a new trail which parallels the major freeway (C-470) that circles the city.   A few miles later, I turned west and passed between the imposing Dakota Ridge formation and followed a couple dirt trails in the South Valley Park, which is full of dramatic rock formations related to Garden of the Gods and Red Rocks.

Back on the east side of the Dakota Ridge, I rode a loop around Hildebrand Ranch Park and then continued south to my ultimate goal, Waterton Canyon.  The local water authority controls access to the canyon.  They own a dam six miles up the South Platte River and allow the public to use the dirt access road along which they have installed recreation amenities.  I found the view at the end of the road a little underwhelming, but a did find interest in a herd of mountains goats grazing nearby.
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Looking for a more satisfying rest stop, I rode further south along a trail that continues from the end of the road.  Exhausted and not seeing any hopeful signs, I plopped down to rest and refuel on the first bench I found.  A conversation with some mountain bikers passing along the trail informed me that there was indeed a 'top' with a nice 'view' ten to fifteen minutes uptrail.  Even padding the estimate for my experience level, I waged it worth continue the ride that far.  It was a tough slog up the mountain bike trail, but I did better and rode more of it that I expected.  I found the top, but had to continue on foot up a side trail to find the view, which looked in to Bear Creek Valley.

The descent back down the mountain bike trail was a novel experience, certainly much more fun than going up.  I rode out of the canyon the same way I entered. and then found a new trail in Chatfield State Park, which took me to the top of the dam that creates a large reservoir along the South Platte River.  I wished I could have ridden more trails, especially the one across the dam, in this park, but it was late and I had to press hard to finish the ride at a respectable hour.  The last dozen miles mostly followed the river, which but for the swarms of bugs was a pretty nice way to end the day.

Trip Statistics
Length: 72.2 miles
Total Time: 9 hours 57 minutes

Avg. Speed: 9.4 MPH
Max. Speed: 27.2 MPH
Total Ascent: 3,800 ft.
Max Elev.: 6,579 ft.

Elevation Profile

C-470 Trail

South Valley Park

Hildebrand Ranch Park

Waterton Canyon
South Platte River

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Bear Creek Canyon

Pine Valley Ranch

I eased up on the throttle quite bit Wednesday with a mostly level hike in Pine Valley Ranch Park.  Save for one steep climb a couple hundred feet to a great overlook of the park, the six mile hike stayed with the valley of the North Fork of the South Platte River.  Along with the fast-flowing river, a large pond in the middle of the park provided a great setting for a leisurely stroll.  Unlike most seasonal mountain streams, the north fork, I learned, is almost always full of water.  It's one of the natural conduits Denver uses to transport water from the high country down to the city for urban consumption.  Controlled or not the swift current courses through the rocky riverbed provided good company on my walk back to the parking lot.

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Trip Statistics
Length: 5.6 miles
Hike Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

Trailhead Elevation: 6,900 ft.
Maximum Elevation: 7,380 ft.
Net Gain: 480 ft.


Elevation Profile

Park View Overlook

Strawberry Jack Trail

Pine Valley Pond

Pine Valley Meadow

North Fork of the South Platte River

Eldorado Canyon State Park

I didn't set out yesterday to exceed my single day hiking distance record.  Rather, I started a pretty unambitious itinerary.  I headed for Eldorado Canyon, the one metropolitan state park that I had not yet visited.  Known more as a rock climbing destination, I knew of one moderate-difficultly hiking trail worth checking out.  I started there, on the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail, which climbed to the ruins of a 1910s hotel and also ventured near the Denver & Rio Grande Western RR tracks high on the mountainside.  While I rested on some rocks with a good view up and down the canyon, I spotted, on the opposite hillside, part of the Eldorado Canyon Trail, which connects to a the Walker Ranch loop on adjacent property owned by Boulder County.  Seeing that trail got me thinking.

An hour later back on the canyon floor, I decided to give that trail a go, even knowing it would add around fourteen miles to the five that I'd already hiked.  The trail climbed almost a thousand feet before giving up half of it by the time it intersected with the  Walker Ranch Loop.  That part took longer than expected and I began to have doubts about completing the circuit, but forged ahead.  The first half-mile of the Walker Loop was wild. It crossed South Boulder Creek at a small waterfall and then quickly climbed the adjacent cliffs on a course possibly designed by mountain goat.

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I really hustled the next couple miles in order to stay on pace to complete the loop. I really didn't want to to turnaround and retrace my steps.  The trail kept climbing eventually reaching the highest point overall on the hike near the Crescent Meadows trailhead.  Once I passed this point, I was pretty much committed to the complete loop.  I'm really glad I continued.  The trail dropped back to the creek and followed it for awhile. Too bad, I didn't have time to stop and rest along side it.

On the north side of the creek, the trail started climbing again, this time to some of the best views of the day.  I felt reassured as I turned east.  Now, each step would be more or less in the direction of the trailhead.  At 6:20 PM, about twenty minutes later than I wanted, I reached the Eldorado Trail again. At least now I knew what lay ahead.  A short, but grueling climb 600 feet up the to the top of the ridge, followed by a long, knee-punishing descent back to the car. The return hike actually took me ten more minutes than the hike out, but I still finished about 8:00 PM, a little more than a half-hour after sunset.


Trip Statistics
Length: 19.2 miles (Previously, my longest single-day hike was Half Dome at 18.7 miles)

Total Time: 6 hours 6 minutes
Trailhead Elevation: 6,092 feet
Peak Elevation:  7,371 feet
Cumulative Ascent: 4,075 feet.

Elevation Profile

South Boulder Mountain

Walker Ranch Park from Rattlesnake Gulch Trail

South Boulder Creek

Walker Loop Trail

Eldorado Canyon from Walker Ranch Park

Nebraska Panhandle

Over the weekend, I headed out of town and in to the plains. Originally, I planned to see three sights (Pawnee Buttes, Panorama Point and Carhenge) in a day, but during last minute preparations decided to throw my camping gear in the car, which allowed me to extend my range a little further and see Fort Robinson in far northwest Nebraska, as well.

The Pawnee Buttes made a cameo appearance in James Michener's Centennial, the first novel of his that I read.  A bit out of the way, it took me three hours to drive there. Then, I spent about as long hiking around them including a climb part way up the eastern butte, but trying for the true top was out of the question.  Located not too far from the buttes, Panorama Point is the highest point in the state of Nebraska.  It's the thirteenth highpoint that I've 'summited' behind Mauna Kea in Hawaii and Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  Like those, I drove to the top of this state highpoint.  From the point, you can see the tri-corner marker placed where Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming meet. After signing the Panorama Point summit post, I drove over to see it.

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From the tri-corner marker, I had a long drive to see Carhenge, a mock depiction of stonehenge using junk automobiles in place of monoliths.  I arrived shortly after sunset and had just enough light for a few pictures.  Two hours later, I pitched my tent in Fort Robinson State Park near Crawford, Nebraska.  It's the first time I used it since the Lonliest Road.  I had a similarly chilly, though not quite as uncomfortable, experience. In the morning, I checked out out the fort grounds.  Still off-season, none of the the buildings nor museums were open, but I was free to walk around and read the historical markers.  The army commissioned the fort during the Indian Wars of the late Nineteenth Century and used it until the end of World War II, during the later conflict, as a POW camp.

I drove back toward Denver through the western fringes of the Nebraska Sandhills, my second trip through the strangely scenic region.  I hoped to visit Ash Hollow State Historic Park, in its day an important way station on the Oregon Trail, but the park was closed for the season. I couldn't even access the park trails.  There weren't any other attractions in the area and the day was almost over so I drove to Ogallala and had lunch at Runza, a Nebraska institution, before finishing the drive back to Denver.

Statistics
Miles: 947.1 (941.6 driving, 5.5 hiking)
Days: 2
States: 3
Total Counties: 23
New Counties: 11

Highest Elevation: 5,610 feet (Lakewood, CO)
Lowest Elevation: 3,225 feet (Ruza, Ogallala, NE)
Pictures Taken: 127
Pictures Archived: 42
Fuel: 26.853 gallons
MPG: 35.1
Cost: $147.85

Pawnee Buttes

West Pawnee Butte & Pawnee Grasslands

Panorama Point

CO/NE/WY Tri-State Marker
(Panorama Point in the background)

Carhenge

Fort Robinson

Smiley Canyon Overlook

Coal Train Traveling though Nebraska Sandhills

Mount Galbraith

After yesterday's long, hard ride, I needed to take it a little easier today, but it was too beautiful out not to get some fresh air. After lunch, I drove to Mount Galbraith near Golden to hike the short if steep trail up to the summit.   Listed at 4.2 miles, I ended up going a little more than that, mainly because I left the trail to seek the summit, which wasn't on the main loop.   Once there I found a Geocache without even looking for one.  I was also joined by a woodpecker who let me get close enough for a good picture before flying away to snack elsewhere.

From the trail, especially the near the top, I got great views of an area I'm starting to know quite well: Golden, North & South Table Mountains,  Lookout Mountain, Green, Mountain, and Clear Creek Canyon.  I remembered my binoculars this time, which I used to pick out distant landmarks like the state capitol building in downtown Denver.


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Trip Statistics
Length: 4.7 miles
Total Time: 2 hours 57 minutes

Trailhead Elevation: 6,284 Feet
Summit Elevation: 7,336 Feet
Net Gain: 1,049 ft.


Elevation Profile

Season's First Wildflower

7

Lookout Mountain

Woodpecker

Metro Denver

Golden Gate Canyon Road

Left Hand Canyon

Yesterday, I loaded my bike up and drove to Boulder to take off on a long ride up in to the mountains.  Looking for something a little different than Lookout Mountain Road, which defiantly climbs the face of the mountains, I wanted to try a ride that went higher and further up and in to the mountains, but did so more gradually.   When my friend Dan and I took a ride last fall, he suggested Left Hand Canyon to me as a future ride possibility.  Looking at the maps earlier this week, it fit the bill for my desired challenge.

I parked on the north side of Boulder and hopped on my bike.  Soon, I was working my way up a steep grade along Old Stage Road.  To my dismay after working hard to climb a few hundred feet, the road took me about as far down hill before intersecting with Left Hand Canyon Drive.   Once I turned left on to Left Hand Canyon, I was all uphill, roughly 3,000 feet in the next fifteen miles.  I maintained a fairly steady 4-6 MPH most of the way, not fast, but light-speed compared to Lookout Mountain Road.  I took one extended rest after surpassing 7,500 feet in elevation and a bunch of short stops for pictures.

The hardest part of the whole ride was the last mile and a half of the road leading in to the village of Ward.   The grade steepened considerably, forcing me to make about a half-dozen stops in that short stretch.  In Ward, I bought some refreshments and rested for about fifteen minutes.  Then, I had a tough decision to make; return the down Left Hand Canyon Drive or take the Peak to Peak Highway to Boulder Canyon Drive. It was about 4:30 PM.  The former option was safer, fifteen miles of easy downhill coasting almost all the way to my car, which would unquestionable bring me back to the car well before sunset.  On the other hand, the topography of Peak to Peak Highway was a mostly unknown, it could be a lot of up and down.  Too much 'up' in proportion to 'down' and I might find myself in trouble.

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Knowing that I wouldn't likely have this opportunity again, I forged ahead and was well rewarded for it.  The eleven miles of the highway in to Nederland, were mostly down, including some of the most exhilarating miles on my bike.  Moreover, the mountain views surpassed even that which I had experienced on the climb up Left Hand Canyon.  I took a short break in the town of Nederland before beginning the final and best segment of the ride, the descent down Boulder Canyon.  I've driven a lot of scenic byways, but this was the first time I savored coasting down one on a bike. Flying down the canyon road I was surrounded by the towering rocks and accompanied by the rushing mountain stream without a windshield or carbody separating me from the scenery.

The ride wasn't done when I got to the bottom of the canyon which exits right in to downtown Boulder. I still had about four miles to go, much of it uphill again, to get back to my car.   I rode a couple miles--in the decreasing daylight--through a residential section of boulder and then connected with an easy gravel trail that took me--in the increasing darkness--back to the car.

With a final cumulative elevation gain of 4,600 feet, this ride ranks fourth on my all time ride list, following New York (7,600 feet), Maryland (5,250 feet) and my last last ride in Philadelphia, Brandywine Battlefield (4,800 feet).  However, normalizing for distance traveled, this ride blows the others away, with an average gain of ninety feet per mile; almost thirty percent more than the next closest, Brandywine Battlefield at seventy-one feet per mile.

Trip Statistics
Length: 50.6 miles
Ride Time: 5 hours 56 minutes
Total Time: 7 hours 34 minutes
Avg. Speed: 8.5 MPH
Max. Speed: 37.7 MPH
Total Ascent: 4,600 ft.
Max Elev.: 9,363 ft.

Elevation Profile

Speed Profile

Old Stage Road Scenic Overlook

Left Hand Canyon Drive

Ward, Colorado

Left Hand Canyon from Peak to Peak Highway

Middle Boulder Creek

Boulder Canyon Drive

Evergreen Mountain

Wednesday, I headed back up in to the mountains for a hike, this time in Alderfer/Three Sisters Park near Evergreen, Colorado.  It's a pretty large park with a lot of trail options.  Naturally, I gravitated toward the highest peak in the park, Evergreen Mountain.  It took me a little under two hours to climb the 3.3 miles to the 8,600ft. summit.  The trail conditions were really good.  I investigated one short spur to a scenic overlook of Evergreen.  Near the summit, I found a wonderful spot to rest with a spectacular view of Mount Evans, fifteen miles to west.

After descending Mount Evergreen, I ventured in to another section of the park along some easier trails through a couple meadows.  Along the Silver Fox Trail, I got my first glimpse of one of the parks namesake features, the Three Sisters, which are three prominent rock outcroppings.  But before approaching them, I sought the lookout atop their sibling, the Brother, whose best views duplicated the the vista from Mount Evergreen, though less grandly. 

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Backtracking a third of a mile, I started along the Sisters Trail, which threads between the bases of the Three Sisters.  The piles of boulders at the Sisters' bases were two inviting to ignore.  Leaving the trail, I started climbing over the boulders and somehow found my way to the top of one of the sisters, certainly the one that was easiest to climb.  Though not nearly at the elevation of Evergreen Mountain, the views were even better.  Unobstructed for 360 degrees, I could see the high peaks, Mount Evergreen, the tops of the other two sisters, and cabins and mountain homes scattered along the ridges, especially to the east.  After a long pause to enjoy the setting, I carefully climbed back to the trail and hike back to the trailhead.

Trip Statistics
Length: 8.3 miles
Time: 5 hours 13 minutes
Avg. Speed: 2 MPH
Trailhead Elevation: 7,500 feet
Peak Elevation: 8,600 feet
Net Elevation Gain: 1,100 ft.
Cumulative Ascent: 1,650 ft.

Elevation Profile

Mount Evans from Evergreen Mountain

The Three Sisters

Sister Trail

Evergreen Mountain

East Sister from West Sister

Castlewood Canyon

Yesterday, I celebrated the last official day of winter with an eight-mile hike in Castlewood Canyon State Park.  Located southeast of metro Denver in high plains country, the park seems an odd place for a canyon.  Indeed it is not a very large one but what it lacks in size in makes up for with scenic beauty.   Cherry Creek carved the canyon out the conglomerate caprock of the Palmer Divide, a large plateau extending from the Rockies into the plains that separates the Platte and Arkansas River watersheds.

At the visitor center, I watched a short video on the park and picked up a letterbox cluesheet.  Letterboxing is similar to geocaching, like I did at Upper Sioux Agency State Park in Minnesota, but it relies on written clues versus simple GPS coordintates.  I started the hike on the paved Canyon View Nature Trail; filling out the letterbox clues as I went, but soon abandoned both in favor of Inner Canyon Trail, which as the name suggests dips in to the bottom of the canyon, to it's terminus near the site of the Castlewood Dam ruins.  This dam, built in 1890, caused the second-worst flood in Denver's history when it failed in 1933.

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There, I joined the Rim Rock trail, which continued northward after climbing to the eastern rim of the canyon.  Without the canyon walls to shelter me, I was subject to gusty winds for most of the trail's two miles.  It ended at the northern extent of the canyon. On my way downslope, I looked at my watch and realized I was running short on time.  It took me 2.5 hours to reach the northern end of the park, but I had only 1.5 hours before the park closed.  The sign at the trailhead warned emphatically the gates would be locked at 7:00 PM.

I wasn't so concerned as to skip a three-quarter a mile side trip to the Lucas Homestead site, but after that stop really quickened my pace for the remainder of the hike.  Along the way, I saw reminders of the 1933 flood, a small waterfall and a the dam ruins up close.  I made pretty good time, but didn't feel confident until I reached the park drive.  Though still a half-mile from the car with fifteen minutes to spare, I doubted they would lock anybody in before conducting a sweep of the parking areas.  I even tried to finish the letterbox, but couldn't find a bird nesting box referenced on the sheet.  I suspected it was MIA and didn't spend a lot of time looking for it. I hurried back to the car and exited the park at 7:05 PM without spotting a park employee.

Trip Statistics
Length: 88.7 miles
Hike Time: 3 hours 48 minutes
Avg. Speed: 2 MPH
Min. Elevation: 6,194 feet
Max. Elevation: 6,640 feet
Net Difference: 446 feet

Elevation Profile

Castlewood Canyon

Inner Canyon Trail

Rimrock Trail

Cherry Creek Waterfall

Lake Gulch

A Very Welcome Sight, an Open Park Gate