A summary of the last month because, well, it's just been that long....

The last hike Tim and I both took, in June, was Lost Lake.  It's an awesome shorter hike, about 4.5 miles round trip.  The weather was gorgeous the day we went and the trail was snow covered, muddy, or flooded depending  on which part of the trail you were on.  It was a lot of fun to navigate  through it all though.  When we got to the lake there were people sledding, and it was 70, which is awesome.  We ended up walking around the lake and cutting back across a beaver dam.  Definitely a hike to go on if you're in the mood for some warm sledding:)



After that hike life got insanely busy and we really didn't have time to go for another hike for a long time. Although this is actually a good thing because it gave my hip some to heal before jumping into some crazy hikes. I was taking an insane class(which still seems to be ongoing), that is now over, and grades are being posted sometime today:) Tim is extremely happy that it's over...

The day after my last day we left for a spur of the moment camping trip.  On the drive there we took Guenella Pass, a really scenic road that takes you right past the trailhead for Bierstadt Mountain, another one Tim wants to hike.

  We camped near Fairplay, CO and since it was Fourth of July weekend the campgrounds were really packed and people were crazy loud....it made for an interesting night.






The next morning we got up and headed to the Mt. Quandary trailhead.  Mt. Quandary is the 14th
highest 14er in Colorado topping off at 14, 265 ft.  It's located in the Tenmile Mountain Range, just about 15 miles from Breckenridge, CO.























 It was actually a really good hike, despite the sunburn we both got. It was also, really windy at the top, the picture of the two of us kind of demonstrates that, seeing as my hair is usually not that crazy;)   The views from the top were really awesome, the pictures just don't do it justice.  On the way down we ran into a mountain goat family hanging out on the trail. Tim got some really nice pics:)

The hike, I think, proved to both of us that 14ers aren't as bad as they sound as long as you can get through the challenge the altitude provides. So, I think Tim won't be satisfied until we hike a lot more, if not all of them.....:)  

We got back from our mini camping trip late Sunday night and Monday we hiked Gregory Canyon. It's a shorter hike right in Chautauqua Park.  The hike was great and the weather was really nice, although a bit hot for hiking unless you had a lot of water.

If everything goes according to plan this week we're hoping to take another quick weekend trip to do some more really awesome hikes.

Ski Jump and Annie U. White Trail

This past weekend we took it kind of easy and did some shorter, closer hikes.  Friday after Tim got off from work we drove out to Chautauqua  Park, which is right on the edge of Boulder.  And it may just be me, but wow that's a lot of au's.  We didn't really have a trail in mind, but luckily for us there are a lot of trail options here.  We ended up taking Ski Jump Trail, which takes you up a hill and ends at the Gregory Canyon Trailhead.

It's a  trail that for the first part works it's way uphill, until you find yourself at the top of a hill at the foot of the Rockies.  It then works its way downhill and then winds its way down to the base of Gregory Canyon. Gregory Canyon is definitely a hike we'll have to come back and do.

On Sunday, we took a drive directly west of where we live, to a trail just outside N. Boulder.  It's located in Four Mile Canyon, right on the edge of a neighborhood.  It's an out and back trail that comes in to just over 3 miles round trip.  It was a rainy, damp day, but that just made the hike even nicer since the colors popped a little more.  Although, one wouldn't want to get caught here in the rain as the potential for flash flooding is huge.  The trail winds its way through a canyon, along a stream.  The trail crosses the stream countless times, but even still if the trail is dry it wouldn't be a bad place to run.

You may notice that this last picture is rotated wrong; take it up with the blogger uploader. It has a mind of its own and apparently feels this picture looks better from this perspective.

Boulder Falls, Sleepy Lion Trail, and Evergreen Mountain

It has been a while since our last post, therefore, I will be grouping together all the hikes we did last week. After finally getting over the virus we had we were determined to get out and hike.

Tuesday evening after Tim got off work we drove up to Boulder Falls.  It's just a couple miles up Canyon Rd and we'd been attempting to hike to the falls since we'd visited Boulder; before we moved.  The falls happen to be closed most of the year due to the number of fatalities that have occurred over the years.  So, this year as soon as May came we were planning on going.  It's a short hike, but since it's close it makes the perfect evening/after work hike.

On Saturday we drove up to Lyons, CO and into the Button Rock Reserve.  We did the Sleepy Lions - Button Rock Dam Lollipop Loop.  It's a nice loop hike partially along a river, a small mountain, and valley.Along the river there were quite a few people fishing and there was also a place that was ideal for climbing. Our hike turned out to be about six miles  and the entire hike is under 7,000ft. Overall it's a really nice, easy, lower elevation hike.

We bopped into Upslope on our way back and played cards for a while.  We also ended up playing war with a girl who was bored and thought we were having more fun.  This tends to happen all the time...

After church on Sunday we drove down to Evergreen, CO.  Along the way we stopped in Golden for some much needed coffee.  Golden is always a fun place to stop, especially if you are downtown.  Feeling much better we proceeded to Evergreen.  Along the way we passed through several mountain suburbs of Denver, which was quite fun to see.

The trail itself is right outside Evergreen and not too far from the high school.  It's a very popular hiking as well as mountain biking trail.  It was later in the day by the time we started, which I think turned out better because we missed a lot of the trail traffic this way.  This trail was also a loop hike and just over five miles.  The trail gradually climbs all the way to the summit.  We actually played leap frog with a mountain biker who was working his way up the mountain at a similar pace.  We didn't lose him until we ducked off the main trail onto a smaller trail to a scenic overlook.  We ran quite a ways down until I fell; good times.  We made it back to the trail head without any other issues and then headed back to Boulder.


 
The weather was in the high 70s-80s all weekend, so it was definitely an ideal weekend for hiking:)

On a side note, it appears blogger has updated its picture uploading feature.  Unfortunately it still has a few bugs and feels the need to rotate my pictures, so sadly I didn't add some pictures as a result.

Just Around the Corner

This past Saturday Tim and I spent the morning working through taxes. It was a chore to be sure, but mainly because we had to file as partial year residents in CO, which means more paperwork. All in all it wasn't so bad and after spending the morning inside we decided to head outdoors.

We were also staying indoors because I'm pretty sure we have a strep infestation going on. Tim's going to the doctor today, so we will find out what's been plaguing him. All that aside though we still felt the need to enjoy at least part of the day.

About a mile from where we live, it's literally just around the corner, there is an open space area. This space contains the Heatherwood Trail, Walden Ponds, and Sawhill Ponds. We started on the Heatherwood Trail which follows Boulder Creek until you wrap around the back of the water treatment plant. At this point the trail meets up with Walden Ponds and the trail diverges in many directions. We chose to follow the path around the perimeter of all the ponds which eventually meant we'd end up at the Sawhill Ponds.

It was a really nice afternoon, but a bit windy. If you would like I can fill you in on all of the clouds we saw as I am in the process of tracking the weather for a two week period. We saw a lot of people out fishing, although it didn't seem like many of them were having much luck. This area is also good for people wanting to bird watch or for photographers. You could tell it was spring though by all of the wildlife that was out and about. I'll post pictures later, I'm recharging the batteries for our camera. I didn't get that many, however, because the batteries died about 2 miles into our walk. This was of course right before you definitely wanted to pull out the camera and get some really nice shots.

Next weekend we'll hopefully be feeling better and be able to proceed with our original hiking plans; Green Mountain:)

Mt. Sanitas

Last Saturday Tim and I met up with Mike and his wife as well as his temporary roommate and his dog for a hike. But first, we met at the Boulder Farmers' Market. The market is always a fun place to check out on a Saturday morning. Tim and I ended up getting some popcorn and tortillas, and the popcorn is tastes much better than the yellow kernels you can get at the store:) It's a mixture of blue, red and yellow kernels. Not a bad place to meet up before a hike.

We decided to hike Mt. Sanitas, a nice moderate climb, just off of downtown Boulder. The hike was about four miles and the climb up was a climb that never seemed to end. If you ever have the chance to look at Mt. Sanitas from Boulder you'd completely understand. Everytime you thought you were at the summit the trail would continue up even further, but I'm glad it did. The views at the top, while not as awesome as Bear Peak, were pretty good considering we were at a lower altitude.

We hiked down the East Ridge trial which then connected to the Sanitas Valley Trail. We were in the mood for a little more of a hike so we then hoped onto the Dakota Ridge Trail. The ridge trail, while more rocky than the Sanitas Trail, had a nice view of the valley. This trail eventually reconnects with the valley trail .

We then headed downtown Boulder to check out the Peppercorn, a fun kitchen themed store. It really has everything you could think of for a kitchen/dinning room. Mike was just there for the hot sauce, but I always like to browse when I go. Tim and I then stepped into the Mountain Sun Pub. Along the way I stepped into and art gallery, which actually had some pretty awesome photography.

All in all it was a great way to spend the day:)

Bear Peak

Yesterday Tim and I found ourselves out at NCAR waiting for one of Tim's coworkers so we could start our hike to Bear Peak. It was a perfect day for hiking; sunny and 80 degrees. The hike up was about 4.5 miles and was a gradual climb most of the way until about the last mile where it got significantly steeper until the summit. The views from the top were amazing, which was a good thing.

We hiked down on a different trail, Fern Canyon. This route is about 4 miles long and significantly steeper, good thing we weren't going up this way;) The trail through the canyon didn't have as many views as the trail up, but the walk through the canyon was still cool. There were also several opportunities to get some awesome pictures of the flatirons from the trail. On a side note I love the camera we have. It's perfect for hiking or any kind of activity, except for water sports of course, since it has many of the options of an SLR while still being a point and shoot. That way we don't have to mess with settings/lenses unless we want to.

We finished the day at the Southern Sun Pub, one of my personally favorite places. The atmosphere is fun and the food options make both Tim and I very happy. So, it was indeed a great way to spend a beautiful day:)

One of these days I will remember to title my blog before I publish

Tim, I think, finally comprehends fully now why I keep band-aids in the kitchen. Knives like me a little too much:) On the topic of last night though, we had a good time checking out some places in Longmont/Gunbarrel. Also, Inception is a pretty good movie, although the ending kind of bugs me. Does the top fall, or not? Seriously... but I suppose it was more about how Cobb ended up there and his journey anyways. Movies have this way of leaving huge questions or events unexplained. For example, in Children of Men what causes the infertility? One will never know so have fun coming up with your own ideas, the answer is simply the most obvious component to the entire premise of the movie...

On a different note I found a picture of the massive cinnamon roll I mentioned the other day. If you ever find yourselves in CO and want to indulge a little bit you should check out the Donut Mill in Woodland Park, CO. The cinnamon roll we had was baked, but they also have a fried option and was really good, although we still couldn't finish it.

Speaking of sweet things; I made a cake the other day that is quite delicious. It's a chocolate cake with irish cream ganache and irishcream buttercream frosting. It's super rich and moist, but most importantly good:) And yes, I suppose you could say I was inspired by St. Paddy's day. Tim is convinced I've been in an Irish kick, but whatever. I personally don't see how vegetable stew with dumplings goes along with that;)

This week I also procured a library card, which I have already put to good use. The Boulder library is quite nice is you can get past some odd odors at times...Tim and I are convinced people camp out in some corners of the library. Tim and I spent some time there on Saturday, Tim studying and myself finding something to read. I checked out Patrick by Stephen Lawhead, which is a good read, not quite as good as some of Lawhead's other books, but still good. Yes, I already finished it... I tend to devour books, I acquire one and read it because as long as it's good there really isn't any good reason to read the book several chapters at a time; takes too long. Why finish a book in a week or even two when it really only takes 3 hours to read?