Mount Falcon Park

I took advantage of yesterday's warm weather--the first day with a high over 60 degrees--for an extra long hike in one of the nearby mountain parks, Mount Falcon.  I parked on the lower of the two trailheads and started hiking up Castle Trail.  I intended to hike about half the length of this trail and then check-off of couple short spur trails.  Once I reached the trail junction, about three miles in, I realized that I'd achieved most of the elevation gain required of the 3.8 mile trail and started to consider extending my hike.  But first,  I turned left down the first of the two spur trails, Walker's Dream.  Mr. Walker's dream was to build an Summer White House in the mountains and donate it to the country for the President's use.  Though he never completed the project, the cornerstone and some remnants of the foundation of the would-be house lie at the end of this trail.

Returning to the trail junction, I did indeed extend my trek further up in to the park.  I completed hiking the Castle Trail, named for the ruins of the castle-like Walker--yes, the same guy--home, which lie along side it, about a mile for the Summer White House ruins. While I didn't have much more climbing (roughly 300 out of 1,800 feet) to reach the end of the Castle Trail, all the trails in the upper elevations of the park were quite snow covered and I was wearing a pair of old tennis shoes with worn down soles.  Still, I managed to make it to the namesake peak, Mount Falcon before beginning the descent.  I had just enough time to hike the other spur trail, Two Dog, before beginning the relatively easy, if knee-pounding descent back to the car.

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Trip Statistics
Length: 10.5 miles
Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Trailhead Elevation: 6,020 feet
Peak Elevation: 7,851 feet
Net Gain: 1,851 feet

Elevation Profile

Climbing Castle Trail

Summer White House Cornerstone

Walker Home Ruins

Mount Falcon Meadow

Trail Junction Picnic Shelter

Mountain Shadows on Dakota Ridge