Mount Evans 14er Hike Sept 14, 2008

Pre Blog 14er, hiked 9/14/2008

I was so excited to have my family come to Colorado this year, and my whole family too! Dad, mom, and sister! They havent all come out together since our 2nd year here in Colorado. It was great to have them here!
Here are some photos of us hiking Mount Evans, 14,258 feet above sea level. It was 69 degrees in Denver and 39 degrees at the base of the mountain, and much colder at the top. It was one of the toughest hikes I have done, mostly due to the snow and very very cold wind, but we all forged onward and completed the 5 mile hike. ( It felt much more than 5 miles, and technically we came down a steeper and shorter incline, making the hike less than 5 miles. However, after many years of hiking and running and timing myself, I felt this hike was probably longer than measured)

~ A pre blog 14er ~ 14ers Democrat, Cameron, and Bross.

Hiked 7/27/2008 ~ Prior to my starting this trail blog.

Josh and I finally had time to hike and camp this weekend, since his math class is now over. (and he has finished his final paper in his DU class). We had planned to hike a 14er named mount Democrat. A 4 mile round trip hike, pretty much straight up! However, there is the option of doing 4 peaks over 14k from this trailhead and Democrat was the first of 4, so we had left it open to see how we felt to continue on the loop. Once you start the hike, you spend pretty much 6-8 hours above 12, 500 feet.
Our friends heather and Russ hiked with us also. Russ is a really fast hiker, and Rock stuck with him the whole time. (I had thought Rock was so loyal to always hike with me.....but nope, She wants to hike with the lead person, and then run back to check on all of us slow saps and whine

Goat Mountain, Start of the Colorado Trail, Waterton Canyon, CO

Goat Mountain at 7,797 feet is west of Sedalia in Waterton Canyon, which is the start of the Colorado Trail (CT); click here to check out the CT site. The entire trail is 7.3 miles and can take anywhere from 4.5-6 hours depending on your hiking speed.

Chief Mountain, Evergreen Colorado

Chief Mountain is Colorado's 1,452nd highest peak at 11,709 feet tall located in the Arapaho National Forest. It is located just minutes outside of the Denver metro area and is a very do-able hike with incredible 360 degree views. I plan to take visitors here the next time they are ready to do a hike, you get a great alpine experience without the long, long hiking.

Jones Pass and Stanley Mountain

Over this Thanksgiving weekend I wanted to get out and hike a big peak instead of sticking to the warmer Front Range trails. After searching and searching for an accessible winter peak online, I came across the Henderson Trailhead in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest outside of Empire Colorado. This trailhead gives access to Stanley Mtn at 12,521 ft, Vasquez Peak at 12,947 ft, Berthoud Pass at 11,315 ft and Jones Pass 12,451 ft and all of those peaks are on the Continental Divide.

Clear Creek Canyon Hike 11-9-09

Clear Creek Canyon is West of Golden, Colorado on highway 6 and the canyon continues up the gorge to Blackhawk Colorado.
Jefferson County Open Space has been building trails in Clear Creek Canyon for several years and their efforts are an ongoing project. Eventually the the goal is to have a trail which connects to the Continental Divide Trail.
Because the project is currently underway, there is often construction on parts of the trail and the only way to find out which is open is to start driving up the canyon. And that is what I did today!
I woke up on my Monday off, feeling very restless and in need of a good hike. I had a couple of hours of work to do then I gathered up my gear, laced up my hiking boots, and got the dogs ready to hike. The dogs and I drove into Clear Creek Canyon and kept our eyes peeled for a trail-head. Since the canyon trails here are new, I don't know where they are all located but I knew of one farther up the mountain near the city of Blackhawk. As I drove up the winding mountain with the music blaring, wind in my hair and two dogs eager to hike, I was taking the time to reflect on my goals in life. The reflection time was much needed. After driving up the mountain for 20 minutes, I came across my hike, which was closed due to construction on the road in that area and no parking.

Lumpy Ridge, hike to Gem Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Park History
Lumpy Ridge rises above Estes Park on the North side of the town. It is part of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), but there is no fee to hike here. Lumpy Ridge has a large raptor habitat, and the birds live in the rocks and cliffs on the ridge. One important point to remember is that in 2007 the Twin Owls Trail head was relocated south and is now renamed Lumpy Ridge Trail head. It encompasses the Gem Lake Trail, Twin Owl Loop and all the Lumpy Ridge Climbing destinations. It now has a larger parking lot and bathrooms. Some of the newer maps do not reference this change, if you are seeking to hike Gem Lake or Twin Owl trails, this is where you start.

Mountain Biking at Centennial Cone Park

Last weekend Josh and I decided to go mountain biking. This is something we don't do very often because it is so much harder to take the dogs; and because I am not the most adventurous mountain biker and it's more fun for my hubby to go with the boys. I would prefer rolling hills to steep rocky trails for my biking experience, but after hiking at Centennial Cone Park, I knew I had to go back and try it on the bike.

Centennial Cone Park, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado

Park History
The Centennial Cone Park is north of Clear Creek Canyon and it sits on top of the foothills outside of Golden Gate Canyon. It was acquired by voter approval in 1999 to be preserved as Open Space land. The park is created to sustain the elk and mountain lion habitat in the area. You will see many old ranches and homesteads throughout the property which were purchased to preserve the land in the 90's. Now this park has over 3,000 acres of land and is one of the largest Open Space Parks in the Jefferson County System.

Deer Creek Canyon Park, Jefferson County, Colorado

History of the Park
In the late 1800's Deer Creek Canyon was once a homestead for John Williamson from Plymouth England; as well as a campground for Ute and Arapahoe tribes. Deer Creek Canyon was also a hideout for Jesse James and other villains with it's large scrub oak habitat, creeks and fertile grounds it was a great place to hide out. The Plymouth Creek Trail has been a passage way into the mountains since the 1900s. In 1991 Jefferson County purchased the land and named it Deer Creek Canyon Park and it became part of the Jefferson County Open Space.

Getting There
To get to the park from the metro area, take C-470 and exit at Kipling Street. Go west onto W. Ute Avenue, then west or right onto Deer Creek Canyon Road. The streets are well marked with the signature brown Open Space signs at each turn.
Follow Deer Creek Canyon Road into the canyon for a few miles, you will pass South Valley Open Space on your right (which is another good hike deserving of a blog post soon) and continue on Deer Creek Road until you see the Open Space Sign to turn LEFT onto Grizzly Drive.

Grizzly Drive will take you up the mountain through a neighborhood of huge houses and beautiful scenery! Each time we have driven up this road we have come across an animal, most recently a deer and her fawns, we have also seen coyote, fox and turkeys. Continue up Grizzly drive and turn Right into Deer Creek Canyon, you will see the sign above on your right.

The Park
As you drive into the Deer Creek parking lot you will almost always notice that it is busy!