Nearly 1 foot of snow falls on Boulder, more expected through morning
The slow-moving winter storm that developed late Sunday had dropped nearly a foot of snow on Boulder by Monday night, with more accumulation expected overnight and Tuesday morning.
National Weather Service forecasters were calling for several inches of additional snow Monday night into Tuesday, with perhaps another inch after 6 a.m. Tuesday.
LOVE LOVE this time of year – brisk morning temps, pink sunrises…and SNOW. Weather ya’ll know is unpredictable – so a Monday/Tuesday storm, while pretty to watch, does not always mean will still be there for weekend play. Colorado high-altitude sunshine burns snow off roads & west-facing trails within a day or 2 (luckily, ground cover stays deep).
Chose an easy hike in Lyons for Saturday – snow increases the difficulty factor. Don’t log in a lot of miles winter hiking…but the landscape/those views are SPECTACULAR. Precip-free drive on 36 toward Estes, hung a left on Longmont Dam Road (County Road 80). Popped the Jeep into 4WD. LOVE LOVE having a vehicle alternative to the Prius 🙂
Relatively late hike start – quarter past 8 – but found ourselves alone this day. Snow.
Leash-free hiking for Sno’ Ro – good day to be dog. Little guy does a good job of staying close on long hikes but always on wildlife alert, better if hiking with another dog.
Followed a plowed trail to the Ranger Station. Unexpectedly easy hike to the dam. Living in the middle of nowhere, new post-retirement goal: Park Ranger 🙂
The St Vrain gurgled from upstream reservoir release. Sucked in high altitude air, wind bit at my cheeks, listened to the river. Quiet. Gotta do this more often, absolutely nothing better.
Deep snow proved a good deterrent for Ro. Sinking to his neck, Ro loped back on trail, glanced behind (checking in on Dad), then greyhound-galloped ahead again. All smiles.
GO BRONCOS!!
Briefly stopped at Button Rock Dam, water exploding from Ray Price Reservoir into the St Vrain. Thick winter ice formed ’round the pipe release – WOW! Crazy beautiful.
Trudged thru waist-deep snow, switch-backing up remnants of the summer trail ‘til we reached the top. Wind blew strong. Little tree coverage overlooking the Reservoir, which traps snow melt for Longmont & Lyons local water supply. Hugged half the reservoir lip before returning to logging roads, hoping to loop back to the trailhead.
Had earlier averted a herd of deer; Ro picked up their scent but didn’t see them, deep snow further deterred his interest. Hiking down from the Reservoir, 4 deer darted across the road & up the mountain face. No stopping Ro – argh. Thinking the rock face would hold back my pup, I didn’t call him back ‘til he had cleared 500ft+ in elevation. Deer continued to climb. Ro looked around – continue up, or listen to Dad & head down.
Overall – GREAT winter hike. Highly recommended.
Sunday a.m. — Morning run, Ro’s annual vet appointment (yeah, on a Sunday), church, then popped 2 previously prepped dips into the oven for today’s Super Bowl gathering at Ash’s house. Wings, jalapeño poppers, man dip (chili, cream cheese, sharp cheddar) & chicken enchilada dip (whole lotta ingredients).
Two of past 3 years, Denver’s made the Big Game. Long, defensive haul — 24-10 victory for our Broncos. SUPER BOWL 50 CHAMPIONS!
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- layered up, getting my snow hike on
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- water spray & ice – WOW!
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- today’s hike destination: Ray Price Reservoir
Button Rock Dam, Lyons
Last day — no surprise, hard to say goodbye.
Up early, showered, packed, keys on the counter, door locked behind me — aloha. Aloha, hello & goodbye. Goodbye Wailea, hello volcano hike 🙂
Ya’ll know I’m a fan of our National Parks — and hiking, that’s my first love. Hit the highway & spent my last Hawaiian day in Haleakalā Nat’l Park. We Americans are so blessed. Whether it’s Glacier, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Rockies, Crater Lake, Pikes Peak, Mammoth Cave, Assateague Island, Grand Teton or Haleakalā — our nation’s strength, its core, its inner beauty comes from the land…Atlantic to Pacific, we Americans are blessed. National Parks are our country’s greatest gift to its citizens. HUGE fan!
Renewed my annual pass at Park Headquarters, then started the climb to Haleakalā Visitor Center & Pu’u ula’ula Summit 10,023ft — high even by Colorado standards.
This dormant volcano last erupted 400 years ago. Lava poured from Haleakalā & flowed south to the Pacific, just east of Makena. I remember my hilly Day One run — landscape formed from this same massive explosion.
Aside from stunning views at each of the Park’s three overlooks, I appreciated the dramatic temperature drop. After 4 days of island humidity, mountain breeze & low 50’s were a welcome relief 🙂
Summited Maui’s high point, an easy .2 mile hike on Pā ka’oao Trail. Whatta view! Haleakalā Crater was formed from wind erosion — not dome collapse like Crater Lake in Oregon. Arid, desolate, wind swept sands. The volcanic panorama was more reminiscent of Iceland than tropical Hawaii.
Spent so much time landscape gazing, left myself only an hour to hike from Keonehe’ehe’e (Sliding Sands) Trailhead. Orange, reds, browns, taupe, auburn, pink, maize — not ONE colour of sand, but an intricate patchwork of WOW!
Clouds gathered (first rain all holiday). Drove north shore, back to Pāʻia for one last mind imprint — dinner at Mama’s Fish House. [Excellent recommend, thanks Tina.] Menu varies based on the day’s fresh fish catch. Yeah, FAAANN-FRICKIN’-TASTIC!
Mahalo, Hawaii — thanks for 5 unforgettable days; Wailea to Lahaina, Pāʻia to Hāna Bay, Molokini Crater to Haleakalā.
Mahalo, Hawaii. No regrets, nothing left undone.
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- sunrise
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- LOVE our National Parks!
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- Hawaiian Goose, the Nene
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- climb up to Haleakalā Visitor Center
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- life always finds a way
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- volcanic panorama, reminiscent of Iceland
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- first Pu’u ula’ula, then Keonehe’ehe’e
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- Pu’u ula’ula Summit 10,023ft — high even by Colorado standards
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- formed from wind erosion, not volcanic dome collapse
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- colourful patchwork of WOW!
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- barren, desolate & beautiful — last eruption 400 years ago
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- arid, wind swept, volcanic landscape
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- memorable, last dinner in Maui
Marathon & volcano hike – top 2 (only 2) items on my Hawaiian adventure list. Being a cold-weather mountain enthusiastic, ran the risk of missing out on everything Hawaiian – island activities just don’t cross my mind (I’m in the 2% world minority 🙂 ). Luckily, many of my friends have been to Hawaii & filled my post-race itinerary with excellent recommendations. Thanks!
Woke early Monday still feeling a little banged up from the previous day’s marathon, so opted for a sit-down road trippin’ day. With no east-west highway available across Maui’s south shore, headed north toward Kahului before driving east on Maui’s infamous Hāna Highway. Today’s road-trippin’ destination: the Road to Hāna
Stats: 52 miles, 617 curves, 56 bridges, 3 hours
Sandy beaches & the arid landscape of Wailea soon gave way to lush green forest & dark lava-fed soil – exactly what I remember folks talkin’ about on their Hawaii vacations. What folks didn’t talk about was the windy road to Hāna. Scenic – heck yeah – but curvy…worse than California Highway 1. One-lane bridges, the new norm. No visibility; initially you inch around these blind turns hoping a car won’t clip you on the other side. An hour in, you realize that’s why you buy insurance. LOL>
2 hours in, pulled over & hiked Ke’anae Arboretum – short hiking trail thru the tropical forest. Highly recommended.
Back on the road, stopped for lunch in Hāna Bay. Fresh fish, outdoor seating with an ocean view – FAAANNNTASTIC! Stopped in a gift shop to verify I wasn’t missing something historic – nope, nothing else in Hāna…beach & food. Check, got it covered 🙂
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- lush green forest & dark lava-fed soil
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- 52 miles, 617 curves, 56 bridges, 3 hours
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- Twin Falls
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- Ke’anae Arboretum
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- Rainbow Eucalyptus
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- short hiking trail thru tropical guava groves – highly recommended!
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- fresh fish, fresh fruit — my 2 Hawaiian faves
Autobahn’ng the return, stopped to watch the mighty waves of Pāʻia.
Worked my way down the rocks at Ho’okipa & stared ahead into the aqua blue. Rough surf made for AMAZING 20-foot waves. Ocean smashed over the large volcanic boulders. Sound. Smell. It’s the mighty waves of Pāʻia I’ll remember years from now.
Watched surfers ocean-paddle, incoming wave approach, surfers seemingly disappear, moments later heads break the surface in unison – pop, pop, pop – and the game repeats. Mesmerized, stayed ’til nightfall.
Hawaiian Day 3 over – tomorrow morning, snorkeling Molokini Crater.
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- WOW WOW WOW!
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- whatta show — ocean smashed over the large volcanic boulders
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- mesmerized, stayed ’til nightfall
mighty waves of Pāʻia
