Summer Lake Day hike!
Received a clean bill of health from the doctor on Friday after last weekend’s lightning strike — but still taking it easy for 2 or 3 weeks. ALSO only seemed fair to do a hike just for Ro. My dog LOVES snow but swimming is a close #2.
Started off early after only a 20 minute commute but parked at the wrong entrance. Protrails.com directs hikers to the West Portal Entrance (South Shore) which unfortunately is closed to dogs during summer. ALSO thought it was odd that I was seeing so many women — like 30:1 ratio to men. I walk up with my dog & backpack — past the start line up for ‘Diva Dash’, an all-women’s road race scheduled. Sometimes you just gotta laugh at life’s mishaps. Too darn funny.
Your girl’s weekend starts here, at the SHAPE Diva Dash Packet Pick-Up in the Millennium Room at the Millennium Hotel in Boulder. You’ll meet your fellow Divas and get Inspired. Energized. We’ll have you ready to run, jump, splash and dash your way through the Saturday Diva Dash course in a flash. Bring your ID! You’ll need it! Don’t forget to shop the Diva Store, where we’ll be selling shorts and skorts, socks and hats, and more!
So…half a mile back to my car and maybe another mile up the road to the North Shore trailhead. At this point starting kinda late so the sun is already warm — but this hike has only a 200 feet incline over 6 miles (virtually flat). Walked down to a boat launch and let Ro get wet – yep, my dog’s gonna love this day 🙂
Wildlife watch at the Rez were easy pickin’s for Ro — flying grasshoppers and frogs. Just don’t have the same game as marmots, pikas & black squirrels — poor little creatures didn’t know what hit them. All but one of the frogs were released, grasshoppers did not fare as well.
Added Coot Lake to our day hike to extend total mileage. Light hike day so took Ro to Community Park (Louisville dog park), went for a 3 mile run and hiked around Waneka Lake (another 2 miles) before showering and attending a late afternoon baptism.
Woke early on Sunday. After our morning run, took Ro back to Community Park before we both got showers and headed to church.
Lazy summer days. I’ll review this post in a few months when the snow starts flying.
(p.s. Thanks Leslie for hike recommendation. Ro LOVED it, you were right! ALSO, 3 creepy nudists – thanks for forewarning!)
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- why so many cars? why 30:1 gal-to-guy ratio?
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- Diva Dash, all women’s race; you gotta laugh at life’s mishaps – this was not my intended destination
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- happy to see a Trailhead; still trying to wipe all the estrogen off my clothes
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- horses allowed; this place ROCKS!
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- Coot Lake
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- picturesque Flatirons
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- trying to catch wake waves – what a nut!
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- doggone good day; hike designed just for Ro
Feeling a bit under the weather – bronchitis from the recent fires – was looking for a relatively easy hike…no 3rd straight 14er weekend for me. A co-worker spoke highly of Ceran St. Vrain. Her dogs love water and this hike crosses the St. Vrain more than a few times. Named for an 1800’s fur trader, just past the trailhead in Jamestown walked through an all-pine forest. So FRESH – love the smell of pine!
Didn’t start this hike ‘til 10am so shared the trail with many many others. Easy 45-minute hike OUTDOORS, which lifted my spirits.
Lunch on the St. Vrain riverbank, then got inspired. Hey – why not hike back UP the river? Sole was cracked from last week’s Quandary summit…was gonna toss these shoes anyway. Weather was HOT, water cold – great combo for our first ‘river’ hike.
Met a few tree dilemmas – climb over or under? Surprisingly, not always so obvious. Under – you’re bending down in the water. Over – one wrong move, crunch and ouch. LOL> Then of course never expected to see snakes 🙁
Highly recommend taking the road less travelled – ROCKSTAR day!
protrails.com – Ceran St Vrain
Sounds a lot like the plot of James Michener’s Centennial – hmmm….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceran_St._Vrain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bent (first governor of NM territory & scalped alive by Pueblo Indians – ouch)
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- Jamestown trail named for 1800’s fur trader
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- free hat (notta product placement promo, honest)
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- smell of pine (LOVE IT!)
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- lunch break on St. Vrain
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- hey, hey…can we get in?
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- and so our 2 mile river hike begins…
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- was gonna toss these shoes anyway (cracked sole last weekend on Quandary)
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- tree dilemma: (climb) over or under
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- assume this wasn’t poisonous? (don’t know, don’t wanna know)
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- Highly recommend taking the road less travelled — ROCKSTAR day!
Per Dr. Glenn — no rock climbing, no Saturday or Sunday hikes (maybe Monday depending on Ro), no baths, no swimming. That’s a lot of ‘NOs’. Friday was ‘Happy Sterilization Day’ for Rowan O’Roark. Couldn’t quite find the ‘right’ card for this occasion 🙂
Memorial Day Monday — Ro and I lazily roll off the couch and lil’ guy heads for the backdoor (an entrance to the garage). I oblige, open the door and the begging begins. Days of being cooped up/trapped inside — with ‘the cone of shame’ affixed around his head — my pup wants O-U-T.
A co-worker once bragged about an excellent hike for her & her Huskies nearby — only 30 minutes away in Eldorado Springs. Quick online research, backpack jammed with water & snacks, and BAM — we’re in the car by 10am.
Eldorado Springs — another ‘hippie’ town who complacently never voted ‘YES’ for paved roads. That’s 2 so far this year — Ward (shanty town) CO and now ElDo (as known by its natives).
Unofficial start of Colorado hiking season is Memorial Day so shouldn’t be surprised — park is CLOSED to cars due to overcrowding. COLORADO ROCKS! (Almost) ALL other U.S. states are plagued with obesity, yet my state’s parks are at capacity. How cool is that?
Ro and I drive back to ElDo, find parking in a shady trailer park, and hike into ElDorado Canyon. Paid our $3 ‘walk-in’ fee and the attendant hands me a bag of Milk-Bone trail mix for Ro. LOVE LOVE this place!
Settled on Rattlesnake Gulch — only 4 miles roundtrip and includes burnt-out 1920’s Crags Hotel and view of the Continental Divide. ALSO, on the hike up I noted a cave on the other side of South Boulder Creek — check, doing that 🙂
Bird-watching husband/wife (watching nesting golden eagles) took our picture at Continental Divide Overlook. Thanks!
Day ended with a dip in the river. Dr. Glenn said NO to bathing and swimming – nothing specific about wading 🙂
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- doggie Trail Mix makes neutering seem so Friday ago
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- W-O-W!
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- caving (sorta, kinda)
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- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A47m754F-S0
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- “Remains of the Day”
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- “It’s a Beautiful Day!” (U2)
