Breaking in the Shoes at Flagstaff

Late night in the lab has its perks--means I don't have to go back today until later this afternoon, which in turn means I didn't have to choose between sleeping in and going hiking. Sometimes I sure enough can have my cake and eat it too. So there.

I drove most of the way up Flagstaff Mountain. It sits right next to the Flatirons, so it's in this picture I took from Chautauqua Park last weekend. A cute little mountain that I figured would be good for breaking in the hiking shoes.

I've never really driven up a mountain before. I've ridden in the car while it has happened, and I've got up by train and gondola, but doing the driving was a new experience (unless you count driving I-40 through the Appalachians, but I can't say that I do). There were these crazy turns like the one below, where you are advised to go 10 mph, you hope whoever's coming down is also going 10 mph, and your car just tries to say no way am I going up that incline. I hated driving it and it was bright blue sky, I can't imagine living up there and having to drive home after work in the dark and rain or snow. My desire to have a mountain home sharply decreased.

So once I parked, I didn't really know where to go. I didn't see any major trail signs, so I didn't really know where they were going, but I figured somewhere they were going up and somewhere they were going down--that's the advantage of starting in the middle. I went to a pretty cool area first, where there were some awesome rock formations.

It was a cool area. On one side was a valley...

...and the other was the town.

I walked around this area for a bit, but then I turned back, crossed the road, and tried another trail. This one actually had a sign that said it was Flagstaff Trail, so I figured it was a good way to go. There were a lot fewer people here than on the trails at Chautauqua. It's nice not having to fight for trail room, but I do kind of like seeing people more frequently since I do my hiking alone.

On the other trail I found more cool rock formations. Those are my favorite. I think they're just so cool because I look at them and am just in awe of them. It's like magic-- like thousands of years of weathering in the making kind of magic.

This trail was a lot different from the ones going up the Flatirons. Flagstaff isn't very high, so even though there are quite a few rock formations, the majority of the views are of trees and plants. There were a few places where I had to step carefully, but for the most part, it was an easy trail with a very gradual incline.

But I wasn't up there to get out of breath and bust my butt. I was breaking in my shoes so that in the next few weeks I can climb back up the Flatirons or wherever else I choose to hardcore it. So I enjoyed the view and all the pretty flowers I saw.

There was a bad thing about this trail though, and it will keep me from coming back any time soon. This:

My trail crossed and followed the road more times than I liked. I almost always heard the cars going by. I like to be out there because it feels like I'm away from it all, but when I hear the cars driving by, I can't quite get away. It doesn't quite feel like hiking. But like I said, for breaking in the shoes, it was a good trail. And there were still plenty of nice sites to see.

When I got as far as I wanted to go today, I sat at a picnic table and could see the place I started from with the all the rock formations.  And just beyond them and to the left is the little town of Boulder.

Then I looked to my right and saw this mountain...

Is it just me or does that flat, iron-like face look familiar? It sure looks like the back end of the 1st Flatiron. My eyes went to the base.

Yup. Those are the trails at Chautauqua Park.

Many more places to go. I still have a few more months before the snow makes the trails treacherous (or closed) but if I can keep up this good scheduling of going every Sunday morning, I'll have to start driving more than 10 min to my trails before I know it. I'm pretty spoiled right now. I can sleep in and go for a hike and be back in time for lunch with little to no planning. Spontaneous hiking. I have to say it's pretty easy to understand why people who live here love it so much and don't leave.

And now I have a driver's license to go with my CO plates. I don't know if you can see it, but it has mountains in the background...naturally.