Twelfth Hike - North Cheyenne Canon

North Cheyenne Canon Park is located southwest of downtown Colorado Springs.  Bailey, my trusted hiking companion, and I hiked the Columbine Trail on August 1, 2010.  It is Hike #37 under the Central Mountains section.

It is a 8 mile hike that starts at the Starsmore Discovery center.  Of course it says on the sign three miles one way so I am not sure which is right.

The hike ends at Helen Hunt Falls.  Not sure if it is named after the actress.

It is not the biggest waterfall, but it was pretty.  It rained on Bailey and I as we got to the falls.

Then we climbed to the bridge and took a picture of the waterfalls looking down.

There were pretty views of the mountains with the clouds in the background.

And great views of the Broadmoor down in the valley.

On our way back, we saw a tree that was growing straight out of the rock. 

It was a great hike that was close to the house which was nice.  Here is a shot of looking down the trail.

12 Down and 88 To Go

Eleventh Hike - Vogel Canyon

On July 13, 2010, Brad Winch and I did the Vogel Canyon hike after we visited Bents Old Fort.  Vogel Canyon is Hike #6 under the Eastern Plains section.  I didn't bring my camera but did get one photo with my phone.  Vogel Canyon is in the Commanche National grassland and we did a 2.25 mile loop which wasn't too bad but it was hot and part of the hike was muddy and we lost the trail.  The best part of the hike were the two sets of petroglyphs carved on the eastern wall of the canyon left behind by prehistoric inhabitants.  One set had been badly vandalized by people but another set were harder to get too so they were preserved.

11 Down and 89 To Go

Tenth Hike - Flattop Mountain

Flattop Mountain is in Rocky Mountain National Park and is Hike #15 under the Northern Mountain section.  Brad Winch and I did this hike on July 3, 2010 when we stayed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park for my birthday.  The views from the hike were amazing.

The hike was a strenuous 8.8 mile round trip hike.  It went from 9,475 to 12,324 feet in elevation.  I was definitely feeling it when we went above 10,000 feet.

Longs Peak with a waterfall in the foreground was just one of the views we had when walking through the lower portion of the trail.

 Longs Peak with a lake in the foreground.  We had a beautiful day to hike - clear skies and perfect temperature.

 Aerial view of Emerald Lake was one of the overlooks. 

Getting near the treeline with a view of a glacier.

We are now above the treeline and getting closer to the top.  We actually saw a wolverine right about here.  I didn't get any pictures of it, but it looked between a cross of a bear and a dog.  It was furry but low to the ground.  It was pretty amazing that we saw one since they have just been spotted back in the park.

We had to cross through a snow patch to make it to the top.  It was pretty slushy and hard to walk in but it added a little fun for a hike in July.

View of Longs Peak from the top.  The top was pretty flat and was just a grassy field of rocks.

We had talked about climbing to the top of Hallett Peak, but the wind was fierce and I was about done.  It is amazing how much faster I was going down than going up.

Another great birthday hike.

10 Down and 90 To Go

Ninth Hike - Santa Fe Trail

Not sure what possessed me to do it, but I thought it would be a good idea to hike the Santa Fe Trail on Memorial Day weekend with three dogs - I was watching my friend's two English Springer Spaniels.  The Santa Fe Trail is Hike #4 in the Eastern Plains section and we (Brad Winch, Bailey, Kirby, Dyson, and I) hiked this 6 mile hike on May 30, 2010. 

Kirby on the left and Dyson looking at me.  I thought it would be nice and open for them to run around - which it was.  The problem was that there was no trail and there were cactus everywhere.  We had to stop every few feet to pull out cactus thorns and give the dogs water since it was brutally hot.

The hiking book said that the hike holds little challenge (obviously he didn't take a dog) or intrigue (very true), but it is of historical interest.  The Santa Fe Trail runs for 900 miles from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  This was a trade route and not of one of emigration. 

The route is marked with waist high stone markers which can be seen from a distance and leads a pretty much straight line from the trail marker to an Overlook.

Though the hike was hot and long and the poor dogs had to get cactus pulled from their bodies for hours during and after the hike.  I think that everyone had a good time.

10 Down and 90 To Go

Eighth Hike - Exclamation Point

Exclamation Point is a hike located on the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Hike #89 in the Plateaulands section of the hiking guide.  I did this hike by myself on September 20, 2009.  Black Canyon of Gunnison is a beautiful park which was perfect in September.  Exclamation Point is a three mile loop though I continued the hike to the top of Green Mountain which added another 4 miles.

The scenery is amazing with the steep canyon walls with the Gunnison River 1800 feet below.  The steep walls are lined with igneous intrusions and it is amazing to see.

It was amazing how resilient trees are.  You can see them growing on the sides of the cliffs.

I thought I was alone hiking up the mountain, but then I saw this track.  It is kind of hard to see in this light, but it looked huge to me.  I have no idea what it is a track of - bear, mountain lion.  I decided to sing out loud for the rest of my hike so I wouldn't surprise anybody (or bear) going around the switchbacks.  Of course if it was a mountain lion then I was just telling him where his lunch was :)

The scene from the top - it was a great hike with beautiful weather and amazing geology.

8 Down and 92 To Go

Seventh Hike - Dillon Pinnacles

Dillon Pinnacles, Hike #87 under the Plateaulands section, is in the Curecanti National Recreation Area just west of Gunnison.  I did this hike on September 19, 2009 and had perfect weather.  The Dillon Pinnacles are on the Blue Mesa Reservoir which is a huge lake in the middle of the desert.

The Dillon Pinnacles are composed of West Elk Breccia.  They consist of ash and rock that was spewed from fiery volcanoes some 30 million years ago.

Deposited in a layer thousands of feet thick, this volcanic material was eventually cemented together to make a conglomerate rock that has subsequently eroded into the cliff of spires.

It was an easy 4 mile hike though I did meet a lot of school kids on the way going to the Dillon Pinnacles on class trips.

It was a beautiful and easy hike.  A perfect way to start my Gunnison trip.

7 Down and 93 To Go

Sixth Hike - Boulder Creek

Boulder Creek, Hike #40 under the Central Mountain section, is in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.  I went with my parents and friend, Wes Stone, during Labor Day weekend 2009 (September 4, 2009).  My mom was about to kill me since I made everyone do the 3.2 mile loop around the park.  I must say that it was a pretty boring National Monument though the fossilized tree stumps were pretty cool.

Though you really can't see it in the photo, there is part of a saw that is stuck in the stump since people used to try and steal part of the fossils.  There were alot more stumps, but because of weathering and vandalizism, most have been covered by dirt by the Park Service to preserve them. 

Wes thought that Big Stump was a funny name and had to point it out.  Big Dork :)

Luckily Mom didn't kill me since I brought along a boy that she could flirt with.  She might kill me now that I wrote this on a blog.  Overall it was a great day and was able to get my National Parks passport stamped.

6 Down and 94 To Go