Leyden, Colorado hiking trail

In my quest to find new hikes, near the metro area, that are at least semi-toddler friendly, I stumbled across a trail outside of Leyden, Colorado -- which is fairly close to Arvada just off Hwy 93 between Golden and Boulder.  
When I arrived on a weekday morning, the parking lot was nearly empty and it took me a while to get Magnolia out of the car and into the Ergo carrier.  I still have not mastered this and its a struggle each hike to get her on my back.  I am much more comfortable when hiking to wear the Ergo (which is extremely comfy on the back), over the hiking backpack.  The downside with the Ergo, no place for water.  During this hike, I had the baby on my back and the water in the camelback on my front, talk about feeling like a pack mule!  
The trail has no sign, just paths, we started up the mountainside, which goes pretty much straight up to the top of the plateau.  The entire time we were hiking, we could hear coyotes hollering from across the street, I looked at my watch and it was 11am, so I was surprised to hear them in the day like that.   

Hike a 14er, Mt. Yale, Buena Vista Colorado, Denny Creek Trailhead

Guest post from fellow hiking sister, Bobbie Rappe.  Bobbie lives in the high desert of New Mexico and is an avid hiker and runner, when she's not hitting the trails, she's volunteering at the local animal shelter, helping to change the lives of our furry friends.

So you want to hike Mt. Yale?  DO IT!   

Mt. Yale sits atop the Sawatch Range and is one of the majestic Collegiate Peaks.  Mt. Yale comes in at a whopping 14,196 ft and is truly worth the 9.50 miles you will spend on the Class 2 trails. 

Palmer Lake Colorado, Hike the Reservoir Trail

Wow, in the entire time I've had this blog, I don't think its been this long since I've updated.  This fall and then winter were very busy for our family, my daughter turned 1, we had a barrage of visitors from out of state to visit her, then after they left it was holiday season and we were busy making gifts and decorating our house.  Then, just when things started to settle down, we all got sick.  And it wasn't just a little sick either, I ended up with pneumonia, Magnolia had 2 ear infections and a horrible cold and my husband also caught the mess and was sick himself.   The pneumonia was very bad and I ended up with complications that landed me in the hospital for 5 days.  It was miserable.   While I am not better yet, I'm getting there.
This hike was done back in November, before all the illness began.  We had planned on taking a small weekend getaway to Monument, Colorado and decided to hike the Palmer Lake Res Trail that took us to 2 reservoirs just outside of the town in the mountains.