Bear Peak

I started about 7:40 am this morning. It was a beautiful morning that was perfect for hiking. I started the trail the same way I ended it last weekend, and, as expected, it was a totally different experience. Steps and steps and unstoppable uphill were enough to wake me up to the task at hand.

I had my sights set pretty high-- literally.  Bear Peak is where I was headed. Was it on this mountain? I would find out, but in the beginning, it was just a beautiful sight.

Finally I got to the point I turned around last weekend. I was impressed that I was still feeling good. My heel wasn't bothering me at all. Other than the constant sticking/unsticking of band-aid adhesive material,  my feet felt completely normal. To think that other people could hike like this all the time made me very jealous. I took out my poles for the first time, and I was very excited for the uphill trek I before me. It was really only one little hill and then more level trekking. I said a quick hello to the city of Boulder and kept heading toward the mountain.

One more leg toward the mountain before I entered the forest and began the real uphill.

Then the real hiking began. Some places were all about rocks and others had plenty of dirt for easy trekking.

I came across a group of ladies at on point. They were loud and moving so slowly it was like coming across the breakfast club. Luckily they were speaking a different language so it was easy to tune them out. Even luckier, they were turned off by the trail ahead-- or they stopped to continue their breakfast club-- and I didn't have to listen to them anymore. I like my silence, what can I say?

So I continued uphill, up rocks, rocks, and more rocks.

I came across a makeshift ladder-like thing. It confused me a little. This wasn't nearly the worst, rockiest, or steepest part of the trail, but it was there and I thought it was pretty awesome to walk on for those few steps.

Then of course...more rocks.

Looking up, there was still a long way to go. There was a neat rock formation up there, Devil's Thumb I think.

During one of my water breaks I met a little chipmunk.  I tried to get a better picture of him, but he was quick.

More rocks uphill, and then the trees started to thin out a little. I could see the sky. I was getting higher. I was getting closer to the summit. This was the mountain next to mine, and I wasn't climbing these big rocks, just smaller rocks.

Then I reached the top, not the summit, but I was close. I found the sign directing me, and I knew I had less than half a mile ahead of me.

Bear Peak is where I was headed. I felt completely rejuvenated. Being on the brink of treeline, it was easy to see my new west view. I didn't let myself look too much. It's what I was climbing for, and I knew it was going to be worth it.

Part of the trail was pretty level, though still intercalated with rocks.

The last leg. I could hear voices, I knew I was minutes from the summit.

I reached the top at the same time as a big group of Physics first-years. Rounding the corner I saw that this mountain didn't have the leisure summit of Mount Sanitas, but a rocky peak that really wasn't meant for so many people...if any at all.

I climbed part of the way up those huge rocks, but stopped once I found a nice place to sit. A few feet above me, the true summit, was too full of people who had taken over the mountain. My moments of reflection were nonexistent so I sat, took a few pictures, and ate my Cliff bar.

It was a little before 11am. A little over 3 hours it had taken me to reach the top. I was slow going, I know, but hey, I made it. And at 8, 461 ft, I could see farther than I had seen at any other point in Boulder. The beauty was astounding. I couldn't get enough of the views around me.

Then to the right, Boulder and surrounding cities. Still majestic, still beautiful, and still perfect.

And hey, check it out: the Flatirons!

I held polite conversation for a few minutes before heading back down. It was a good decision, the clouds were rolling in already.

The way down was tough. The downhill was steep and painful on the knees, but the poles certainly managed to keep me from looking like an overweight ballerina with an inner ear problem. Even getting past the steep rocky downhill, my feet were aching with every step. Still no pain with the past blisters, but I was still struggling to make it back to the trailhead. My body was already hurting, as it had been most of the trail.

Despite signs warning of mountain lions, the only wildlife I saw was a happy dear running and eating, keeping far away from the people on the trail.

Then, a bit farther, I saw a very unhappy deer...

I said goodbye to the mountains and the rainclouds coming in.

I headed back to the trailhead, happy to sit down in the comfortable seat of my car. Sadly, I forgot to bring my flip-flops so my hiking shoes had to (painfully) stay on until I made it up to my apartment.

Another successful summit. Bear Peak= conquered. Take that.

South Mesa Trailhead

It was a beautiful morning and a perfectly kept trail. The trailhead had a number of trails to choose from, some going along the foothills, and others heading up the mountain to Bear Peak. 

I headed west, the only way to go, and the view only got more beautiful as I walked through the trees.

The trail weaved between the foothills, so turning around, I couldn’t see the town, but it was beautiful and isolated. It felt much farther than a few minutes outside of town. The trail was only out in the open in the beginning.  I walked into the trees and was even more isolated from the city.

I got closer to the mountain, but clouds were rolling in too.

I was only an hour in, but I felt the tickle in my shoe that was my persistent blister. I had gone on a leisurely stroll, and attempting a trek up to Bear Peak, the most prominent peak of the Boulder skyline, was a bit too ambitious. Another day, absolutely, but not today. I snuck a peak at the area south of Boulder.

I turned around and headed back downhill. I retraced part of the way, heading back on the same trail I had walked up. I took extra time to stop and enjoy the flowers. There are some neat flowers growing up in the mountain areas.

And Mom, look away!

When I came to a fork, I took a different trail the rest of the way to give myself some new things to look at. From this trail I could see the wind farm.

And Table Mesa, for which this area of town is named.

This side of the mountains gave a view of different mountains south of where I was. Beautiful.

Bye, bye mountains! Look to the right of those mountains. It wasn’t even 10am, but the rain clouds were already rolling in, quite a bit earlier than predicted. Did my early turn around end up working in my favor? Yes. Yes it did.

I paused for a moment at the bridge over a small creek wishing I could dip my feet in the cold mountain water. Instead I had to settle for changing into flip-flops for the drive home. Good news, the blister doesn’t seem to be any worse so hopefully Bear Peak will be conquered sooner rather than later. 

Lab Hike in Rocky Mountain National Park

We left campus around 7am and drove about an hour to Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO (home of the hotel from The Shining). The drive was beautiful. First it was along the foothills, but then we entered the mountains and it was even prettier.

We entered the designated Rocky Mountain National Park where we had to pay a hefty fee to visit. I say “hefty” but that’s really only the day pass. Getting an annual pass is definitely worth it if you hike frequently in the park.

We drove to a park and ride and took at bus up to the Glacier Gorge trailhead- elevation: 9,180 ft. It was a nicely kept trail and a pretty easy going to start.

The first landmark we arrived at was Alberta Falls. It was a popular spot for people to stop and hang out. We took pictures and kept on going.

The trail got a little bit rockier as it went on, but still in good shape.

We were getting higher up now and could see other mountains both near and far.

With blue sky and cool temps, it was a perfect morning for a hike.  There was a mountain next to us with snow on top—just a tiny bit, but it was still there. Yes, we were up high. Some parts of the trail got a little narrow and rockier still, but the slope was gradual and it wasn’t too much work. I was still able to focus on taking pictures. That’s Timsi in the blue shirt in front of me. She wasn’t very hardcore either so she was usually around me and my slow, sea level elevation self.

The trail followed a river most of the way. Melted water from the glaciers fed down the mountain to the Alberta falls we had passed.

We stumbled upon the first pile of snow, and man, was I excited. Touching snow in August—super awesome!

The trail crossed the snow.

And then we got to the first lake—The Lock. Quite an inventive name if you ask me.  It was absolutely beautiful. Surrounded by trees and mountains and a bright blue sky, what else could you want?

We kept walking, heading for another lake, and once again we were walking beside a stream that fed water from one lake to another.

The trail was still reasonable, with makeshift steps and intermittent rocks.

We even had to walk across a board to cross the stream, which was pretty cool.

The higher we climbed, the rockier it got. And look!—another waterfall!

And more snow!

This high up, we had to maneuver through rocks, snow, and water.

And then…up a waterfall. The photo doesn’t give the experience justice. The water was flowing pretty forcefully. Not that we had to worry about being washed away, just worry about feet getting wet. But I have those awesome waterproof shoes, so I was good to go.

But it was worth the climb. Welcome to Lake of Glass! (OK, so we actually thought we had reached Sky Pond, which was our goal destination, so we sat and hung out here for a while and had “lunch.”)

Yes! I’m awesome. That’s my current boss, Debbie, in the lower left corner. She explained the hiking lingo to me. A "13-er", some of which are around that lake, is a 13, 000 ft mountain. 

It was actually pretty chilly up there with a breeze, so I was glad to have my awesome new jacket. 

Half of the group had decided to hike around the lake. At some point the half of us who were just chilling realized that we were not at Sky Pond. So we started walking, looking across the lake for the other half of the group. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone from across a lake? Not easy. We had to trek across more rocks in attempt to find the real Sky Pond.

Just over the ridge was where it was supposed to be.

And it was!

And the new destination picture at the real Sky Pond.  Elevation: 10,890 ft.  Just short of 5 miles from the trailhead.

Turning around, you can see lots of the mountains in the distance, and you can see that clouds have started to roll in.  There were some cool rock formations around this lake.

Instead of walking back the way we came, we went the other way to walk around the lake.  This was probably not the best decision. I don’t think there was ever supposed to be a trail there. We jumped across rocks like crazy people.

And why just walk across a snow bank when you can slide down it like a little kid?

I can’t tell you how long we were there, going repeatedly down the snow, boss included.

But finally the storm cloud rushed over the mountains as they typically do, so we started heading down. We were above treeline, not somewhere we want to be during a thunderstorm.

We ended up walking with a huge group of children from a church or YMCA or something. It seemed like too difficult and dangerous of a trail for young kids, especially having to climb back down the waterfall, but they seemed to do OK. We made it down all right, and next to the waterfall was the coolest thing:

Then we made the trek downhill. It rained on us a little bit, but nothing too bad. Plus we were below treeline by the time we heard thunder, so no lightning strikes with our group. By the time we made it back down 4.5 miles, my feet were screaming in pain. I could feel my old blisters again, but nothing too bad, but I could start to feel some new ones forming. I couldn’t wait to get back down and put my flip flops on. We took a short detour to Bear Lake for our final stop. It was nothing special after the other three lakes, but it was still a nice way to end to the hike.

See all those brown trees? Apparently CO is infested with a beetle that burrows under the bark and kills the trees. Regular forest fires used to keep the beetle population under control, but as no one wants forest fires anymore, the beetles keep spread and the trees keep dying.

One last photo to end the blog: the CO state flower, the Columbine. Isn’t it just an amazing and beautiful flower?

At some point I should get a copy of the lab pictures we took at various locations. When I do, I'll be sure to add them to give some of the backs of heads and butts actual names and faces. :)