Ramblin' Round

So here begins a series of posts on what we've been up to the past few weeks. To start, we've been engaging in the most Coloradan of Colorado activities: working out on the street and in the mountains.

Now, before I jump in, I must apologize: neither Joshua nor I have been very committed in the photo-taking department, so this post is decidedly image free. However, Brian Devane, our friend and fellow hiker has got it goin' on when it comes to fancy lenses, perfect composition, etc. So we just leave all that camera obscura stuff to him. Check out some photos from one of the last hikes we did at Brian's website. I particularly enjoy the victorious photo of Brittany and me at the top of Round Mountain. Let's just say I look very enthusiastic.

For directions and inspiration, we bought 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Denver and Boulder (by Kim Lipker. Joshua is determined to knock of each hike, one by one, and so far, we've completed eight.

Near Boulder, we've hiked both the Royal Arch Trail in Chautauqua Park and the Meyers Homestead Trail at Walker Ranch. Chautauqua Park sits just outside of a residential neighborhood in Boulder, because it's close to the University and Boulderites are notorious for the love of the outdoors, the place is usually packed.

Despite the crowds, the stiff switchbacks lead up to the Flatirons, and views from the top offer a great view of the valley and city below. We spotted dozens of climbers hiking up to rock faces where they nimbly scrambled their way to the top, without a rope or any safety equipment. It scared the piss out of me.

Other than the Flatirons, you can walk a little further south and climb up to the Royal Arch, a rock formation with another grand view of the valley. Perched beneath the arch, we ate lunch and watched a storm come in over the valley, the dark clouds casting advancing shadows and the rain marching like a curtain over the land. It was bizarre; from up there, we could see where the storm ended and began.

The second time we drove up towards Boulder, it was just Josh and me on Memorial Day weekend. In order to get to Walker Ranch, you drive past Chautauqua Park, and the place was absolutely teaming with hikers, runners, and bikers. In fact, pretty much every where you look in Boulder, the place is teaming with hikers, runners, and bikers. All the hemp and Chaco sandals and Mountain Hardware apparel makes you think that perhaps you're in the Pacific Northwest.

Just past Chautauqua Park, the road begins to switch back and forth, up the mountain. Dedicated cyclists ride the narrow shoulder all the way up to the top - it's five miles with a steep grade.

At the top, there are fewer people, and as we begin to descend into another valley, we turn into the trailhead at Walker Ranch. Here, the trail is well-used, but there are few people. It's a short trail - just over 5 miles, so we run it. At the turn around, we sit on a bench and contemplate the view. Oscar whines; he doesn't appreciate the interruption of his run.

Back at the car, we drive down the mountain again and head towards Pearl, Boulder's main artery. Here, beautiful old homes and trees line the street. As we walk we sneak peaks at the specs for homes for sale. None of them are selling for less than half a million.

Walking down Pearl, we stumble across what appears to be a fair. People are everywhere, and stands selling energy bars and expensive minimalist running shoes are making a killing. Street performers are standing on their hands and conducting various feats of strength and skill. We deduce that this is the Expo for the Boulder Boulder 5 and 10 k races tomorrow. There are runners everywhere.

Past most of the crowds, we find what we're looking for: a cafe that Joshua has found on the internet. Apparently, they sell the best cappucino in town. Neither Joshua nor I are particularly big coffee drinkers, but recently, we've been studying a lot of Spanish, and we like going to cafes when we do. Joshua read an article that drinking coffee can prevent testicular cancer, so now he's all over it. (That, and something about Cormac McCarthy's writing made him feel like real men drink coffee.) Joshua orders a cappucino, and I order a latte (like a real woman). We study Spanish for a few hours, and passers by admire Oscar as he sits demurely at our feet.

But I digress. Just outside of Denver, we've hiked on the Mountain Lion Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Green Mountain and Hayden Trail Loop in Lakewood, Hell's Hole Trail in Mount Evans Wilderness, Castle and Parmalee Trail Loop in Mount Falcon Park, and Trading Post Trail in Red Rocks.

The day after our adventure in Boulder, we drove up to Golden Gate Canyon State Park to meet a few friends that Joshua has made on his gaming nights. Mountain Lion Trail is about 8 miles long, and hikes through a variety of landscapes - open valleys, dense forest, along streams and up a rocky peak for views of the snowy mountain range to the west. It was a beautiful day, and a nice way to start my first week of teaching summer school.

Green Mountain, Castle, and Red Rocks are all in the same valley near the Red Rocks amphitheater. We love this valley - not only for its proximity (it takes less than 30 mn to get here) but also because the red rock formations are absolutely beautiful. We hiked both the Red Rocks and Green Mountain trails on the same day with Brian and Brittany, and then Joshua and I took Stacy up the Castle trail while she was visiting for her interviews in May.

The Hell's Hole Trail was another one of our trail runs. In the same direction as the Mountain Lion Trail, this place is even more wild and takes about 45 mn to get to from our house. I love the mix of forest and open space in a hilly landscape.

For something new, we drove up past Loveland to Summit Adventure Trail at Round Mountain. Here, the mountains rise in dramatic swells, and the road to Rocky Mountain National Park winds along a river in the valley. I loved the hike here, mostly because I appreciated the satisfaction of a four mile hike straight up and then another four miles straight down. However, the summit was a bit disappointing - there wasn't a great view.

On our way back, we stopped at a kitchy mountain shoppe that sold all things cherry. The four of us bought an assortment of honey, bar-b-que sauce, cider, and honey sticks, thrilled with the red, 50s decor.

Finally, a couple of weekends ago, Brian, Brittany, Joshua, and I drove down to the South Platte River, west of Castle Rock. We camped for a couple of nights on the river, enjoying generous meals engineered by Joshua, and hiking up Cheeseman Canyon on Saturday. The whole area was filled with fly-fishermen, and we admired their graceful casts into the river. I absolutely loved this hike - even though it was a bit sandy and the footing was difficult, it was one of the most beautiful hikes we've done so far. At one point during our hike, we stopped near the river to jump in the freezing water and eat lunch. Afterward, we stretched out on the rocks and fell asleep in the sun.

Beyond mountain hikes, we've been running very regularly - 5 to 6 miles a day, 6 days a week. Usually, we run around Sloan Lake or Rocky Mountain and Berkley Lakes. Last Saturday, we decided to test our metal and drive up to the Red Rocks amphitheater, where all the buff Denverites go to punish their bodies and check out the competition. We ran ourselves into the ground, hurdling hundreds of stairs, but somehow, it wasn't quite as gratifying when you could see women literally walking up flights of stairs on their hands. Seriously.

So what's next? While I've been working, Joshua has been master-minding The Trip. Settling on the Weminuche Wilderness, he's decided to put in near Creede, hike to the Chicago Basin, and then loop back. It'll be ten days of hiking near and along the Continental Divide.