Climbing Elephant Butte

A unique feature of Denver that very few people know about are its Mountain Parks.  In the early 20th century, the leaders of the young city of Denver concluded that it would be in the city's best interests to preserve tracts of wilderness outside of Denver's boundaries.  This decision was driven by the idea of setting aside land that might otherwise be developed so that it could be used by the people of Denver for recreation and to allow the city dwellers to escape into the wilderness.  What started in 1910 has continued and grown.  There are now 22 properties, holding over 14,000 acres of land that make up the Denver Mountain Parks system.  Many of these properties are parks in which trails, picnic shelters and other facilities have been built.  A small number of these properties have remained untouched and undeveloped.

Elephant Butte is one of the Denver Mountain Park properties that has remained untouched over all these years.  According to everything I could find on the Internet, there are no trails in the Elephant Butte property.  In the center of this preserved space is Elephant Butte, which is an 8,400 foot rocky point that looms over the Jefferson County mountain town of Evergreen.  Located to the southwest of downtown Evergreen, Elephant Butte is "sandwiched" between Evergreen Lake and the Jefferson County Open Space - Alderfers Three Sisters Park.

(Elephant Butte as seen from Blue Bird Meadow Trail in the Alderfer Three Sisters Open Space)

Each time I have gone to Alderfer Three Sisters Open Space to hike, I have looked at Elephant Butte in the distance and told myself that someday I was going to climb to the top of it.  This past Tuesday, after getting Zack off to the bus, I set out on my journey to climb Elephant Butte.

Driving to Evergreen I encountered the typical morning rush hour traffic along highway C470. It honestly wasn't that bad as Denver's rush hour traffic is no where near as congested as other cities.  Thankfully most of my journey was on the winding roads of Bear Creek Canyon.  Though traffic was sparse the sharp curves and steep inclines ensured that I kept my speed in check.

I arrived at the parking area of Three Sisters/Alderfer's Open Space and realized based upon the lack of cars that it was pretty likely I would have the trails to myself.  Looking towards Elephant Butte to the north, I reminded myself that the looks of a mountain are usually quite deceiving, as it didn't look like it would be a hard climb.  Assuming a mountain is an easy climb is a great way to get yourself into trouble!

In preparation for this climb I had done a lot of reading about Elephant Butte.  There wasn't one article in which a trail to the top was mentioned.  It was going to be an off trail bushwhack to reach the top of this mountain.  From the parking area I would strike out on the Bluebird Meadow trail and then link up with Mountain Mulhy trail.  Following this trail for about 8/10 of a mile, I would cross Buffalo Creek and then move off trail to cover the last 3/4 of a mile to the summit of Elephant Butte.

The first part of my hike was wonderful as I meandered along the trails.  Moving steadily down hill towards Buffalo Creek, I entered a small valley still in the early morning shadows.  The cool morning air was still and calm.  It seemed as though I had entered a different world removed from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.  This sense of peace and calm was further emphasized when I came across a pair of mule deer quietly grazing on the banks of Buffalo Creek.  They startled me more than I startled them and I stood there for several long minutes looking at them as they assessed whether I was a danger or not.

Letting the deer to graze in peace, I continued my journey down to the bottom of the valley and Buffalo Creek.  Taking a last look at the trail to ensure I could find my way back, I struck off into the bush.  I was able to follow a faint path along the pine needle strewn forest floor.  Eventually the heavy forest cover and the trail petered out and I found myself along the steep flanks of Elephant Butte.

To climb this mountain, I would need to carefully navigate my way up the steep slopes without putting myself into a perilous situation.  The method I use to bushwhack my way up a mountain like this is to "follow the green".  That is, I try and follow the areas in which trees and bush grow up the side of the mountain.  If a tree or shrub can grow on it, then it usually means that the ground isn't too steep to walk upon - usually.

It seemed like it took forever but I finally arrived at a point on the mountain right below the top slab of the mountain and it was there that I came across a path.  Coming across the path was both reassuring and annoying.  It was reassuring in the fact that I would be able to get my way off the mountain without having to go back they way I came and it was annoying in the fact that there was obviously a path that ran the whole way up and down the mountain.  I spent all the time and put myself in peril to reach this height on the mountain only to find that there was a path the whole way up it!

Following the path to the top was difficult at it was not a formal, well constructed path.  There were several points in which the path seemed to fade away but it was because there was an abrupt turn that wasn't marked.  Eventually I gave up on the path and got down on my hands and knees and climbed the last several hundred feet to the top.

Obtaining the summit presented a marvelous view in all directions!  I could see clearly for many miles.  Though the climb had been difficult, it was well worth it because of all the wonderful views.

 (Some of the views from the top of Elephant Butte.)

There were several peak registers in a plastic container stuffed in the hollow of a dead pine tree near the summit.  Of course I had to stop and sign the register and read what others who had come before me had written.  It is fun to see the thoughts and comments of those who have scaled the mountain.

After spending about 30 minutes enjoying the view at the top, I started back down.  Shortly after I left the top I ran into an older gentleman walking towards the summit.  We stopped and talked for a short bit and I asked him about the trail.  He was able to provide me with a couple of reference points so that I could follow the trail the whole way down.  Needless to say that made my return trip down the mountain so much quicker!

To help those who scale Elephant Butte in the future I used my GPS to mark where the informal trail to the top of Elephant Butte starts.  This trail branches off of the Mountain Mulhy trail in Alderfer Three Sisters Open Space at these coordinates -  N 39.37.736 W 105.21.609.  The branch point is not obvious at all and unless you are looking for it, you probably will not find it.  If you intend to climb Elephant Butte, use these coordinates as it will make your hike so much easier!

Elephant Butt is just one of the many hikes and climbs that I have been doing in the two weeks since Zack went back to school.  I have many more of these hikes planned in the coming days and weeks.  As the weather and the leaves begin to change, I'll be heading further into the mountains to see the wonderful colors of autumn.

I hope everyone is enjoying there long weekend and has a great day off tomorrow!

Thanks and peace to all!

Summer Time Photos

Without passion, writing is a burden to be borne like a yoke on the back of an ox.  Lacking the drive and the passion makes it hard for the words to flow and the ideas to spring unbound from your mind.  Right now I seem to lack that passion to write this blog.  My day-to-day thoughts are instead turned to the projects on which I am working and the helping Zack continue his growth.  I will eventually rediscover the passion for blogging, but for now my writing efforts are focused almost exclusive on those projects that will get me published.  I believe I am close to that goal and I will of course announce it here on this blog the day that first article or book is accepted for publication. 

For now instead of a long narrative of our adventures and fun that we have had I will post these pictures that capture some of the beauty we have seen this summer.

 Hiking into the prairie at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

 Don't mess with the big guys at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (RMANWR)

 Water fowl habitat at RMANWR.

Big Sky at RMANWR

Hiking in unique rock formations at Staunton Ranch State Park - Colorado's newest state park.

 An interesting array of wildflowers

 Gorgeous scenery at Staunton Ranch State Park

 Hiking the wetlands at Flying J' Ranch Open Space

 Water break!

I love trails like this through the deep forest!

Zack on the ropes course at his Outward Bound Expedition

Zack climbing high on a cliff face during Outward Bound.  Never would have believed he did this until I saw the pictures!  I am very proud of what he accomplished on Outward Bound!

Zack and his team ready to do some serious hiking.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.

Summer 2013 - Outward Bound for Zack and Bicycle Tour Colorado for Jerry

It's hard to believe that summer is upon us!  Zack finished school on Monday and now has 10 weeks of summer bliss to look forward to.  Unfortunately for me the work schedule will continue on the same as it does every other month.  However with Zack out of school we will be doing some things like spending more time in the mountains.  As a matter of fact, I am writing this blog entry from there as we left home early this evening and are now hanging out in our condo in Silverthorne.

With the summer season comes plans for summer vacations.  Unlike last year we do not have any international travel planned for the summer of 2013.  I considered taking a trip to Ireland for a week, but the economics of it given all that we had done to the house in 2012 just didn't make sense.  So instead we are staying close to home and pursuing a different sort of vacation.  In fact, Zack and I will be taking separate trips!

Zack's trip is an Outward Bound Expedition.  For those of you who might not know of Outward Bound, it is an organization that is dedicated to providing young people and adults experiential trips into the wilderness.  They describe their purpose in this way on their website.  "Outward Bound is the premier provider of experience-based outdoor leadership programs for youth and adults. Outward Bound courses change lives and give you the tools to see further, climb higher and know your way."

Both Zack and I are hoping that he will gain some valuable life experience and internal confidence from taking part in one of their expeditions.  We discussed a lot of different options as to what kind of course he would take, as there are options for backpacking, mountaineering, canoeing, etc.  After our discussions we decided that he would take part in a backpacking expedition that was specifically for kids who have suffered some in-depth loss in their life.  Both Zack and I felt, along with the Outward Bound counselors that this kind of course would give him the best opportunity to grow in specific areas that deal with all the trauma the he experienced with Patty's illness and death.

The expedition he will taking part in is in the middle of July and will take place in Collegiate Peaks area of Colorado.  It will be a great experience for him.  He has experienced a good amount of camping in his life so that won't be a shock to him.  Additionally, in past summers we have done a lot of hiking in the Colorado high country, so that shouldn't be much of a challenge.  What will challenge him is doing both at once and sharing the experience with a group of other kids.  He won't be able to put off doing things and will be part of a team seeking to accomplish a series of goals.  It really should be a great experience for him that will hopefully help him grow and come to terms with all that he has experienced in life and all that he has lost.

As for me, I have big challenge ahead of me.  I will be riding in the 2013 edition of Bicycle Tour Colorado.  This year the Tour will be a 483 mile loop starting in Canyon City.  A total of seven days will be spent biking through the beautiful Colorado scenery.  The first day takes us 86 miles from Canon City to Buena Vista.  Day 2 goes from Buena Vista to Carbondale covering a distance of 91 miles.  From Carbondale we will travel 58 miles to Paonia on Day 3.  The next day we will have a choice of routes to reach Crest Butte.  We can travel 47 miles, including 26 miles on dirt over Keebler Pass or do 111 miles and stay on paved roads.  After the tough ride to Crested Butte we get a day off to enjoy that beautiful town before taking on a 99 mile ride on Day 6 of the tour to Salida.  The last day takes us on a short 55 miles jaunt from Salida back to Canyon City.

(Bicycle Tour Colorado Route for this years ride.)

It should be a great ride if my body will cooperate and stop hurting!  Surprisingly as I have been ramping up my biking throughout the last month my back has responded very well.  For reasons unknown to me however, my right elbow and wrist have been killing me.  Unfortunately, this makes some of the motions I go through while riding my bike very painful.  Based upon the symptoms it seems like it is the proverbial "tennis elbow", though I don't play tennis.  My doctor has me on steroids to help resolve the situation.  Worst case, each morning with my breakfast of energy bars I will eating a bunch of Advil to shed the pain.

The tour takes place from June 22 - June 29, so hopefully the weather will be good and we will not yet be into the really hot days of July.  My prior experience riding the BTC in 2008 was fantastic and I am looking forward to the experience this year.  I will be doing the ride with my college roommate Allen.  Even though we only see each other at most once a year, we still have the same easy go lucky friendship we had in college.  So I am sure we will have a good time!

Zack's school came to an end on Monday, with the 8th grade class picnic at Elitch Gardens Amusement Park in Denver.  I can't believe that he is on the verge of going to high school!  It seems so strange to me as I still think of him as my "little Zackie".  He is anything but these days as he is only about 2 inches shorter than I am and is becoming built like a brick wall.  You always hear people say it but you never believe it, our kids do grow up so fast!  Though I miss those days when he was a little kid, I am so proud to see my son growing up and becoming a young man!

An End-to-End Hike of Denver's High Line Canal Trail

Numerous times in the past I have mentioned what I consider to be one of Denver's hidden natural gems - The High Line Canal Trail.  This trail runs from the mountains to the plains and it winds its way through many of Denver's suburbs.

In the past, I have hiked, walked or run on about 1/2 of the distance of this trail.  My wandering has been mainly confined to that section of the trail that is to the west of Interstate 25.  For the last six or so months however, I have frequently driven past sections of the trail that are to the east of Interstate 25.  One of Zack's best friends lives a short distance off the trail on Quebec Street.  In the course of the many times Zack and I have driven to his friend's house we have had the occasion to drive across half a dozen or so street crossings of the trail.  Each time I have driven across the trail, I have thought how cool it would be to start and hike the entire trail from one end to another.

I am not proposing to do that hike all once as it is over approximately 66 miles in distance.  Though I consider myself to be a good hiker, I can't do 66+ miles in one day.  However I can break it up into manageable distances and knock out 10 - 20 miles of the trail per week.

With the beautiful weather we had in Denver today, I decided to start hiking the trail again.  This time my goal is to hike the entire trail from one end to another within the calendar year.  It really shouldn't be that hard of a goal and to be honest it really is not.  The only thing that makes it somewhat difficult is that I have to normally cover twice the distance.  My normal manner of hiking the trail is to take the car, drive to a trail head or a nearby park and then walk out 2 -3 miles.  Then I have to turn around and get back to the car.  Therefore, I have to cover double the distance.  Other than that, hiking the 66+ mile trail isn't that big of a deal.

As you can probably tell by the name of the trail, The Denver High Line Canal Trail, it follows the course of an irrigation canal.  The purpose of the canal is to provide the "plentiful" water of the mountains to the agricultural areas of what is now the Denver Metro area.  The canal was originally conceived a few short years after Denver got it's start as a city.  The idea was first floated in 1870, but construction on the canal didn't begin until 1880.  From start until finish, construction took 3 years, which to me, seems like a very short period of time for work that was done exclusively through manual labor - as there were no mechanical means to build the canal in those days.

From it's completion, the canal has provided a not so steady stream of water to the arid farm lands on the plains.  In it's earlier days, I am quite sure it ran on a much more consistent basis, however in the most recent years the flow of the water in the canal has been restricted quite often due to the extreme droughts that Colorado has faced.  In fact there are very few, if any agricultural customers who still utilize the High Line Canal.  Denver Water now owns and maintains the canal and so the use of the canal is all incorporated into the overall Denver Water management plan.  Additionally the canal, given it is simply an earthen ditch is a very inefficient means of delivering water as it is estimated that between 60 - 80% of the water is lost to evaporation or just drains out of the canal into the nearby ground.

The trail along the canal didn't open for recreational purposes until the 1970's as prior to that it was considered private property.  Even now, sections of the trail are sometimes closed by Denver Water for various reasons.  However, access to the trail is one of the governing principles that Denver Water uses in it's overall management plan.

Besides walking, hiking and running the trail is also used for biking and horseback riding.  Pretty much any non-motorized type of recreation is allowed along the trail.  Though due to the rough nature of the trail as it is primarily dirt and gravel - I won't recommend riding a high performance road bicycle on it nor would I recommend skate boarding or inline skating!

To keep track of my progress on the trail I am going to take pictures of each of the mile markers as I pass them.  It might get a little confusing for me at times as there are 4 or 5 different entities that work with Denver Water to maintain the trail.  And through each of their sections they use different mileage equations.  But as I pass each marker I am going to take a picture of it!

If you have any interest in learning more about the trail, here's a link to the Denver Water Website on the trail.  Additionally, you can check out the entire length of the trail on Google Earth.  Just go to Google Earth and type in Denver High Line Canal Trail in the Fly To Box and it will take you to the center point of the trail.

For those of you who read this and live in Denver, if you have interest in hiking this thing with me, please let me know.  As I always say for my hikes and bike rides - the more the merrier!

And here are the pictures of the first two mile markers I passed today!  Mile markers 42 and 43 are now officially complete!

(The hanging sunglasses are someone's attempt to get a lost article back to whom ever lost it.  I wonder if it ever works or if the lost item - sunglasses, hats, gloves, etc - just hang out for a really long time!)

Well that's about it for today.  Nothing else of significance to note!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Tuesday!

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Thirty-four million years ago a series of 'strato-volcanoes' roared to life is what is now central Colorado.  These volcanoes, called the Guffey Volcano center would create a rich and abundant record of the plant and animal life forms that made the area their home in those long distance times.

When the Guffey Volcano center erupted, a series of lahars and ash falls covered the land in an impenetrable layer of mud and ash.  Preserved within this ash and mud were the remains of giant redwood trees that covered the area in this epoch.  Over time the tops of the trees that remained above the mud decayed and fell away.  The stumps that were covered in the mud and ash eventually petrified.

As the eruptions from the Guffey Volcano center progressed the makeup of the land changed.  Originally a thick redwood forest, the land was eventually transformed into a large but somewhat shallow lake.  The lake formed when a stream was blocked by one of the lahars or pyroclastic flows from the volcanoes.  Over time, the life that made the lake it's home would die and fall to the bottom of the lake forming a thick mat of organic matter.  As more volcanic eruptions occurred, these thick mats were covered over by ash and eventually the organic matter turned into a fossilized record of everything that had lived in the area.

In the late 1800's the area that is now the National Monument was privately owned and people by the hundreds and thousands came to the area to exploit the cache of petrified wood and fossils.  Over time much of the rich geological record was carried off into private ownership.  What remained was only preserved through the efforts of locals who ran tourist businesses that were dependent upon the fossil beds.

In 1969 after a long and protracted battle with local landowners and businesses, the federal government was able to purchase the area that made up the fossil beds and turn it into the Fossil Beds National Monument.  (On a political note: Imagine the Federal Government trying to buy up land like this today.  Fat chance that would ever happen with all the vitriol against the government that is out there today.)

The Florissant Fossil Beds is one of the National Monuments in Colorado that Zack and I had yet to visit.  This past week, I decided we needed to get out of the house and get into the outdoors.  Given we have never been to the Florissant Fossil Beds I decided this would be our objective for the weekend.

We got up early Saturday morning but we didn't get going right away as I was scheduled to have a work meeting and I didn't want to be out of cell range.  As it turned out it didn't matter as the meeting got cancelled since the person who scheduled it was involved another meeting that took precedence.

To reach the Florissant Fossil Beds our trip would take us south on I-25 to Colorado Springs.  From the Springs we would journey on Highway 24 through Woodlawn Park to the small town of Florissant.  Once in Florissant we would head south on Teller County Road 1 to reach the National Monument.

The journey was uneventful except for an exceedingly long breakfast at a small restaurant in Woodlawn Park.  I wasn't sure what the deal was there, the staff was just really slow!  I don't think we will go back to that restaurant again.  I don't want to give them bad press so I am not mentioning their name.

Arriving at the Visitor Center of the National Monument, we went inside to pay the entrance fee and get the scoop on the monument.  I expected to use this visit as my opportunity to purchase my 2013 National Park Pass.  However, I only had my debit and credit cards with me as I rarely carry any cash these days.  Unfortunately the visitors center is not equipped to take debit or credit cards.  Oops!!  Despite the fact that I didn't have any cash to pay for our visit, the staff on duty said no problem we could still visit, we just couldn't buy our 2013 National Park Pass.

It was obvious from walking into the Visit Center, that this National Monument doesn't get a lot of visitors.  According to the most recent figures I could find, it receives about 60,000 visitors per year.  The staff on duty (a US Park Ranger and some one who wasn't wearing a Ranger's uniform) were exceeding friendly and explained anything and everything we wanted to know about the monument and the extent of it's natural treasures.  We were the only people in the visitor center and we got to take our time looking at everything.

Finishing our viewing of the exhibits in the visitor center we journeyed out on to the trails.  The first trail we took was the Petrified Forest Loop.  This mile long trail provides the best access to the visible petrified trees that remain in the park.  There are apparently a number of other petrified trees that remain buried, but for now the Park Services has decided to leave them underground for preservation purposes.  Some of the exposed petrified trees are absolutely massive.  The largest one is 41 feet in diameter!!  Dear god it was massive!

Right outside of the visitor center is an amphitheater that is framed on either side by two massive petrified stumps.  The first is that of a single massive tree and it looks to be at least 35 feet is diameter.  The second is a group of 3 stumps.  These stumps, similar to many modern day redwood trees had all grown out from one central core.  It was a truly impressive artifact!

Walking the length of the Petrified Forest Loop we saw numerous other examples of the massive petrified stumps and also people's stupid attempts to remove these massive objects.  On one of the very largest stumps, appropriately named "The Big Stump", there are at least 3 different rusted steel saw blades embedded in the top of the stump.  These remain as evidence of the amount of ruin caused by fortune seekers in the 1800's and early 1900's.

(Zack by one of the petrified stumps at the visitor center.)

(Zack by the appropriately name "Big Stump.)

The Petrified Forest Loop eventually brings you back to the visitor center and it was from there that we started out into the wilderness of this wonderful place.  The staff in the visitors center had recommended that we hike the Boulder Creek Trail to it's furthest point because of the dramatic scenery found there.  We set off towards the Boulder Creek Trail with the silence of the monument ringing in our ears.

The trail was gentle with some rolling ups and downs until you come out into long series of meadows that skirt the route of a stream.  Due to the arid nature of the environment this stream only flows periodically - when there is enough water in the environment.  Given the recent cold weather, there is a lot of ice built up in pools in the some of the meadows.  Progressing up through the meadows we eventually came to the very farthest reaches of the trail.  At this point the meadows gave way to a dramatic landscape of boulders that had potentially come from the Guffey Volcano Center in it's last eruption.  Given my proclivity to do stupid things I just had to climb up on the snow and ice covered boulders.  It really wasn't that dangerous but it did allow me to get a great view down the entire set of meadows.

(Zack on the trail.) 

(Frozen pond/swampy area in one of the meadows.  In the summer this area is probably is as dry as a desert.)

(These boulders could be part of the outflow from the "Guffey Volcano Center".)

While hanging out in the boulders, I had Zack just listen.  It was amazing as we heard nothing.  NOTHING at all.  There was no sound at all - no airplanes, no cars, literally nothing.  The only thing that would break the deep penetrating silence that filled the air was the infrequent cry of a bird or the chitter of a squirrel.  The silence was so deafening that it actually seemed to hurt our ears after a bit.

The trail back to the visitor center lead us through a vibrant forest of Ponderosa Pine mixed with some Aspen.  We didn't encounter one single person on these trails - it was fantastic.  Arriving back at the Visitor Center we went inside to thank the staff for all of their information and ideas and then it was back to the car for the return journey.

Given my overall lack of knowledge about this part of Colorado, I decided to take another way home.  Instead of just taking the quickest route back to Highway 24 we decided to continue on Teller Country Road 1 and go through the gambling town of Cripple Creek.

Now one of Colorado's gambling towns (the others being Blackhawk and Central City) Cripple Creek started off as a gold rush town back in the 1890's.  The Cripple Creek Gold Rush was one of the last seen in Colorado.  This area had been avoided by prospectors as a result of a hoax perpetrated in 1884.  The hoax, dubbed the Mount Pisgah hoax, occurred when an unscrupulous speculator seeded an ore sample with gold.  This of course caused the anticipated gold miner stampede and the associated profits for those who ran the stores, railroads and other infrastructure around Cripple Creek.  Exposed as a hoax, prospectors had a hard time believing tales of gold when it really was found in the area in 1890.

Today Cripple Creek draws it's income from another type of gold - gambling.  Driving down Main Street of this small town you can see the impact that gambling has had.  Every old store front has now been turned into a casino.  Unlike the mass commercialization that has taken place in Blackhawk, Cripple Creek seems to retain the mom and pop gambling culture that first sprang up when gambling was legalized in 3 Colorado mountain towns (Blackhawk, Central City and Cripple Creek) in 1991.  All of the casinos are relatively small and there are no big name casinos like Ameristar or the Riveria as in Blackhawk.  (Blackhawk is the closest of the gambling towns to Denver.  As a result of it's closeness to the large Denver metro area, Blackhawk has benefited the most from the 1991 gamble law.  Central City which is only 2 miles further from Denver than  Blackhawk hasn't had the same kind of success because everyone stops in Blackhawk and never goes further up the hill to Central City.)

After driving through Cripple Creek and deciding there wasn't any reason to stop as I wasn't going gambling we continued up the mountain and back towards Highway 24.  Reaching Highway 24 we headed east back towards Woodlawn Park and Colorado Springs.  We did a quick stop in Woodlawn Park for lunch at Sonic and then made our way home.

It was a great day of exploration as I am very happy we visited this wonderful National Monument and saw a part of the state that we had never experienced.  Though the drive was lengthy Zack and I engaged in some really good and meaningful conversation, which is something I don't often get from him.  Of course, I facilitated things a little bit by not allowing him to bring his Nintendo 3DS with him and not allowing him to listen to music on his iPhone.  So he had to talk to me or face a massive amount of boredom.  Sometimes it takes a little bit of work, but I can get through to that teenage brain of his!

The rest of our weekend was good.  Saturday night Lisa and I went to the Nuggets game.  It wasn't much of game as a rout.  The Nuggets beat the snot out of the Sacramento Kings.  We had a good time watching the game, eating some bad for you stadium food, drinking a beer and talking.  It made for an exclamation point on an overall good day!

Sunday has been all about getting work done and getting ready for the coming week.  Zack had his friend James over for a little bit and I went shopping and ran errands.  Now as Sunday evening winds down it finds us hanging out in the basement with a warm fire burning in the wood burning stove.  We almost don't need the fire as today in Denver it was mild and beautiful.  We took the dogs out for a walk this afternoon and it seemed the whole neighborhood was out walking.  It was nice to see people and catch up with many neighbors and friends along our walk.

We hope everyone has had a great weekend and is eagerly looking forward to the  work week ahead.  Alright - I guess I am pushing the envelope a little bit with that statement! :-)

Thanks and peace to all! ~ J.

A New Years Hike in Solitude

Solitude (noun) The state of being or living alone: to enjoy ones solitude.

In recent years I have adopted a New Years Day tradition of taking a hiking into some place wild in which I can find solitude and quiet.  This tradition was interrupt for the 2012 and 2011 New Years so I was determined to resurrect this tradition today.

In the past I have taken Zack and the dogs with me on these hikes into the New Year.  To maintain a sense of peace and quiet this year I choose to undertake the hike alone.  That is not to say that I can't experience quiet and peace with Zack and my dogs as I certainly can.  But given the cold weather and fact that Zack loves to sleep in these days, I decided it was best to leave Zack and the pups at home.

Departing the house around 8:30AM I found the streets and highways to be pretty much deserted.  There was almost no traffic and the drive from our house to entrance of Waterton Canyon was very pleasant once the heater in the car warmed up.  When I arrived at the Waterton Canyon parking lot, I found the place empty with only 2 other cars there.  On a normal day at 9:00AM in the morning, the parking lot would be full of several dozen cars as Waterton Canyon is a popular place to hike, run and bike.  The temperature and the fact it was early on New Years Day played large roles in the fact that it was so quiet.  When I rolled into the parking lot, the thermometer in my car read only 14 degrees.  It was going to be a cold and brisk hike!

It took me a few minutes to get everything set and put on my warm clothing, but then I took the plunge into the frigid air and got out of the car.  When dressing for cold weather I like to dress in many thin layers as opposed to big bulky jackets.  Today I had on a bottom layer of Under Armour, a long sleeve t-shirt and an outer layer of a Northface athletic pullover.  Sometimes with a layering system like this you end up a little bit cold and today was going to be one of those days.

Starting out through the parking lot, the snow was crunching under my boots.  And my breathe was producing a very large cloud of steam in front of me.  For a short time I was seriously reconsidering the wisdom of taking a hike on this cold and frigid day.  But as I crossed the road to reach the entrance of the canyon, I realized I would almost have the canyon to myself.  That made any amount of cold I would suffer through well worth it.

Walking into the canyon I noticed how still and quiet everything was.  There was almost no sound at all.  A few cars on the nearby road generated a low hum but after a short distance into the canyon even this noise was left behind.

About a quarter mile into the canyon, I encountered two people walking the opposite way - going out of the canyon.  Besides these 2 people I would only see 2 other people during the entire time I was there.

Moving further into the canyon, the Platte River runs right beside the trail.  Most of the river was frozen over but there were a few place near rapids and fast flowing areas where water could actually still be seen.  At each one of those places, the sound of the rushing water was a jarring contrast to the silence that filled the rest of the canyon.  With the sound of silence ringing in my ears I came to look forward to the sound of the running water.  It was such a beautiful sound that I took a video of the rushing water with my iPhone's camera.  I have attached one of them to this blog entry for the peaceful and calm sound of the water.

The mountain peaks through which the canyon is carved were all covered with snow.  Closer to the floor of the canyon, only the north side was covered with snow as the sun tends to quickly melt the snow on the south facing side of the canyon.   Looking upward at the peaks and the sky even they were quiet with no big horn sheep to be seen or hawks circling on thermals.  It was like the whole planet had gone to sleep for this day with the exception of the river.  Only the river showed any kind of life or movement as even the air was still and quiet.

Given the cold I decided to turn back after journeying 1.8 miles into the canyon.  At that point my fingers were becoming numb so I decided it was time to head back to the car.  Though my hike only lasted a little over 1 hour and 10 minutes it was a wonderful and peaceful walk through solitude.  What a great way to start the New Year!

Aside from my hike this morning, Zack had a gathering of geeks/nerds at the house today.  For whatever reason Zack and his group of friends love to refer to themselves as geeks and nerds.  This afternoon Zack had two of his best friends over to spend a wonderful afternoon of jumping on the trampoline, listening to music and of course.... playing video games.  They are in the process of filming several videos for YouTube about video gaming and today they spent a fair amount of time working on episodes 1 and 2.

With all that teen mental power in my house, I had to get out for a little bit.  Given that it is winter break and Lisa is on a two week break from her job as a school teacher we have been trying to see each other every day.  So while the nerds were occupying the house Lisa and I caught up on our movie watching as we went to see the Cirque du Soleil movie - Worlds Away.  Nothing compares to seeing a Cirque du Soleil performance in person, but given that is difficult to do unless you live in Las Vegas or happen to be in a town visited by one of their touring shows this movie is a great way to get an introduction to the beautify, grace and mystery of a Cirque performance.

The movie was interesting as it combined scenes from most of Cirque du Soleil's shows in Las Vegas directly into the movie.  An overarching story was wrapped around these scenes and the scenes were shot specifically for the movie.  Unless you plan to see a show in person within the next year, I highly recommend the movie!

Finally Over!

With a title like "Finally Over" I am sure everyone is thinking that I am talking about the election.  As a matter of fact I am.... not!  Just had to add that for dramatic effect.  What I am actually talking about today is that the work on my kitchen/family room  is finally done.  The work completed on Friday when the contractor finished some painting that needed to be done as a result of the unexpected leak from the upstairs bathroom.  The final payment has now been handed over to the contractor and their lock box has been removed from my front door.  I am quite happy that it is finally done.  The work was supposed to take between 6 and 10 weeks instead of the 24 weeks that it took.   Some of my decisions contributed to the delay.  But the majority of the delay came from very small little things like a custom stainless steel cover for the ventilation from the over the stove fan and replacement of 2 warped doors on the cabinets.

Though Friday was the official end of the project we have been able to use the kitchen since August so it really hasn't been that big of a deal.  The more significant pain in the butt was having to schedule the continued presence of contractors in the house.  Over the last several weeks there hasn't been that much activity but I have had to watch out so that the dogs were kept in the basement and so forth.

I have decided not to publish any pictures of the completed project yet.  There are still a number of things that need to be done like hanging pictures on the wall and deciding what other furniture I am going to put in the family room.  So far we have two couches and the area rug in the family room.  The smaller of the two couches is going into the basement and there will be two chairs in it's place.  Table lamps, end tables and a coffee table are are also needed.  Zack and I will be hosting Thanksgiving this year so I am going to do my darnedest to have all this additional work done by then.

On to the other issue that is "finally over".  Yes - that is the presidential election campaign.  Voting on the East Coast will begin in less than 10 hours!  So that means we will be hearing our final campaign ads and getting the final robo-calls within the next few hours if that hasn't happened already.   Colorado has been ground zero for the most intense campaigning.  Literally I have received hundreds of robo-calls and every night during the 10PM newscast I see at least a dozen campaign ads or more!

With the campaigning pretty much done and the voting and litigating to do, things look pretty rosy for my candidate - Barack Obama.  According to the reliable and well respected poll handicapping service "RealClearPolitics.Com" President Obama has a .7% lead in their poll of polls and he has a distinct 68 electoral vote advantage (303 to 235) over Romney.  Of course these estimates are based upon the algorithms that they use to weight the various polls on both a national and state level.  However, I have been following this website since the election of 2000 and they have been remarkably accurate in predicting the outcome of just about every election since then.

In the end run whoever is going to win is going to win, I can only hope the election will be free and fair.  If President Obama wins we may finally see an overall shift back to a more liberal viewpoint within the electorate of the United States.  It should  mean that the Affordable Care Act will never be repealed.  With Obama in the White House the earliest opportunity it could be overturned is in early 2017.  By then most provisions of the law will have been in force for at least 2 years and it will be very hard for anyone to take those away once they are fully in place.  There will be no going back!!

On other notes - Zack is back at school after a so-so week of fall break.  It was only so-so because his trip to Washington DC was of course cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy.  He was supposed to leave Denver on Saturday, October 27th at 7:20AM.  We only found out that the trip was cancelled on Friday evening at 7:30PM.  He was disappointed at first but that passed pretty quickly.  The other down side to the week off was that he got sick and then I got sick.  Tuesday night his stomach started feeling bad and by 8:00PM that night he was throwing up and sick as a dog.  I got sick later that evening.  He recovered by Wednesday afternoon whereas I didn't get back to feeling normal until Thursday night.

We have continued to get out and hike as much as humanly possible since I last posted to the blog.  We did a major hike at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday October 27th.  The place is amazing as there are so many animals there and they are not very afraid of people!  In addition to this hike we have been spending a lot of time racking up distance on the Douglas County East-West Regional trail.  I've written about this trail before.  It is a relatively new trail having only been around for the last 5 or 6 years and is still in the process of being built.  Eventually it will go all the way from Chatfield State Park in the west to Castlewood Canyon State Park in the east.  So far the trail has been constructed from Chatfield to I-25, so it about 1/2 way done.  Our goal for now is to hike the roughly 20 miles of completed trail.

My back seems to have finally turned some kind of positive corner.  With all the hiking and walking that I have been doing it seems like I have regained a lot of strength.  As such the amount of pain that I am feeling in my hip and back has started to diminish in the last 2 weeks.  In addition to the exercise I am doing the physical therapy really seems to be making positive changes.  The pain isn't totally gone, but it is much better.

Thanks so much for reading.  I know my writing has been somewhat sporadic recently and I will continue to try and write more in the coming days.

For all of you who are American citizens please do your civic duty and get out there and vote tomorrow.  I will never discourage anyone from voting even if they intend to vote against my candidate.  Regardless of that fact, just get out there and vote!

Thanks and peace to all! ~J


     

HIking Roxborough State Park

This past Sunday offered yet another wonderful weekend day to get out and take a hike.  The weather was absolutely fantastic with lots of sun and warm temperatures.  Instead of heading to an open space, we decided it was time to visit one of Colorado's beautiful state parks.  Our destination was Roxborough State Park where the plains meet the mountains and home to some amazing red rock formations.

The Colorado State Park website describes the park's striking red rock formations in this way. "The most striking feature for visitors to Roxborough is the dramatic Fountain Formation.  This spectacular tilted sandstone began over 300 million years ago with the gradual erosion of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains.  Today these red sandstones stand beautifully at Roxborugh at a sixty degree angle and are the result of millions of years of uplift and erosion."  For more information on the park, see their website at: http://www.parks.state.co.us/parks/roxborough/Pages/RoxboroughStatePark.aspx

This formation of red rock is seen throughout the front range from the Famous Red Rock Amphitheater to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  There are numerous other places that it pops up as it seems to underlie much of the area of transition from the plains to the mountains.

For another weekend we took it easy in terms of getting up.  Zack of course was awake at 7:00AM but I didn't manage to roll out of bed until 9:00AM.  I use the weekends to catch up on the sleep that I lose because of my weird work hours so I tend not to get up too early these on weekend mornings.  We were in the car and headed towards Roxborough by 10:00AM.  The drive is only about 15 miles so we were in the parking lot by 10:30AM.   Once we passed the entrance booth to the park we spied a large herd of elk grazing on the prairie that marks the transition from the plains to the mountains.  (A side note concerning this - 3 weeks ago there was a very large bull elk poached in the Plum Creek drainage about 2 miles to the southeast of the spot we saw the herd.  It's highly likely that the bull was part of that herd.  It is so sickening that people poach elk in the way this animal was killed.  First off - it isn't elk season.  Elk hunting doesn't start until November. Secondly, this animal was killed strictly for it's head and rack as the rest of it was left to rot.  Hunting serves a vital purpose since we don't have large numbers of predators in Colorado.  But to kill an animal out of season and only take it's head is purely despicable.)

Striking out on the trails I decided that we were going to hike up the flank of the highest point in the park - Carpenter Peak.  This peak is part of the hogback that forms the first ridge of the Rockies.  Though it is considered a "peak" it really isn't that tall by Colorado standards as it is only 7160 feet above sea level.  I know this sounds gigantic by east coast and mid-west standards, but when the average elevation in Colorado is over 5000 a peak of 7160 feet isn't that particularly tall.

There are several large "loop" hikes throughout the park.  The first part of our hike started on one of those loops as we took the eastern edge of the South Rim Loop Trail.  We hiked about 1/2 of a mile before we hit the Willow Creek trail that we used to cross through the center of the park to the western edge of the South Rim Trail.  From there we started the steep uphill climb on the Elk Valley Trail that would eventually connect into the Carpenter Peak Trail.  Given the state of my back's recovery, I did not plan to hike the whole way to the top of Carpenter Peak as that would have involved a hike of over 6 miles.  My endurance and strength need to recovery a little more before I start pushing myself beyond 5 mile hikes.

The hike up the flanks for Carpenter peak wasn't too bad except for the fact that it was so hot.  Temperatures running near 80 degrees are just not normal or expected in mid-October!  Thankfully we were dressed for the weather - wearing only shorts and T-shirts.  We hiked about 1.5 miles up the side of the mountain before I decided that my thighs and calves had had enough.  Though we didn't go the whole way to the top we got some fantastic views as we hiked upward.

The park was packed with people on this beautiful day.  There was still some color left in the leaves and given the fact the Broncos weren't playing, everyone and their brother seemed to be out and about.  It was so packed that when we went back to our car there wasn't one parking space left in the lot.

(This kind of terrain is typical of the transition between the plains and the mountains.)

(My intrepid hiking buddy Zack taking a break to cool off and rehydrate.)

(Red rock formations that make the park so notable.)

(Looking out on to the plains from up on the flank of Carpenter Peak.)

(More red rock formations)

 (Zack hiking through the scrub oak.)

As we left the park we saw the elk lying in the grass taking it easy in the heat of the day.  I will definitely be going back to the park once the snow flies as I would like to see the elk in the snow as that is always a wonderful sight!

The rest of the weekend was relatively uneventful except for Friday night.  On Friday night Lisa and I went out to a nice restaurant in Greenwood Village called Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse.  I've heard lots of comments about the place but in my 17 years of living in Colorado I have never been there.  Everything was great!  We had a good time and enjoyed some really good food.

This week is the last week of school for Zack before Fall Break.  This coming Saturday - October 26th he will be traveling with a group of 51 other 8th graders to Washington DC.  This is the first time he has traveled so far from home without me.  He is really looking forward to the trip and I am looking forward to him demonstrating the maturity that he needs on a trip like this.  All-in-all I think it will be a very good experience for him.  The trip lasts 4 days and 3 nights and he will arrive back home on Tuesday evening.  This will be the longest that he has been away from home.  I don't know that I have ever had the house to myself for this long of a period...  not sure what I am going to do with myself.  Ah...  actually not, I am quite sure I will figure out what to do!

That's about it for today.  I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.

Weekend Hiking Adventures

It's been a bit - almost a year since I have been able to write a blog entry that has describe any serious hiking that Zack and I have done.  We did manage to hike to Devil's Head in July but we didn't follow that up with any other kinds of hikes.

This past weekend we hiked two days in a row!  Slowly but surely I am working through the back and leg pain enough to allow me to get out and do some actual hikes.

Our first hike came as soon as Zack got home from school on Friday.  He had nothing taking place after school, so as soon as he got off the bus we hopped in the car and made our get away to the hills.  Our destination for this hike was Waterton Canyon on the far south western side of the Denver Metro area.

Waterton Canyon is where the South Platte River finally leaves the mountains and emerges on to the plains.  It is a very important location as most of Denver's drinking water comes from Waterton Canyon in one form or another.  Much of the water from Denver's holdings on the Western side of the continental divide eventually flows through the Waterton Canyon.  In the case of water coming from Summit County on the western side of the divide, the water is taken out of Lake Dillon and then pumped through the Roberts Tunnel to be dumped in the North Fork of South Platte river not far from Kenosha pass.  This water then follows the route of the South Platte and enters Waterton Canyon near Sprontia Springs Dam.  The Sprontia Springs Dam stands at the top of Waterton Canyon and serves as the last reservoir for Denver's water before being put into the city's water pipes.  The water that is not put into the city pipelines is eventually released from the Sprontia Springs Reservoir and flows through Waterton Canyon. From there it is caught in the reservoir formed by the dam at Chatfield State Park before eventually flowing the whole way through Littleton, Englewood, Sheridan and into Denver.

Hiking Waterton Canyon is an easy proposition as the hike is along the road used by Denver Water to access Sprontia Springs Dam.  That is not to say that the hike is not beautiful as it is.  A short distance after you start into the canyon you tend to forget that you are near civilization as you are absorbed into the gash in the earth surrounded by the high walls of the canyon sides.  There is a large amount of wild life to be found in the canyon from small chipmunks to the much more majestic big horned sheep, bears and the occasional mountain lion. 

The Waterton Canyon trail is also the starting point for the Colorado trail.  This trail run across the western 2/3 of the state and after approx 470 miles it terminates near Durango.  Each time Zack and I walk into Waterton Canyon I tease him saying that we are starting on the Colorado trail and we won't be home for another 2 months.  He is now old enough that he doesn't bite at that joke anymore but I still have to try.

Our planned trip for Friday was to hike in about 1.8 miles or so and then turn around and come back.  The hike went exactly as planned except for the fact that Zack didn't bring sunglasses and we were walking directly into the sun.  As a responsible, loving parent - you can imagine where things went.  Yes - that's right, I gave Zack my sunglasses and he wore them most of the time and I ended up with sore eyes.  Teenagers!!!

Throughout the hike I kept my eye peeled to see if we could spy any big horn sheep, but luck and the fact that the sheep don't come down to the river until later in the evening prevented us from seeing any.  Oh well - it's not like we haven't seen hundreds in the past.  We had a great time for the hike as there were hardly anyone around.  The weekdays are the most enjoyable time to hike Waterton Canyon as on the weekend, the place is crawling with tons of people.

The hike wasn't anything fantastic but it was sure a lot of fun to get out there and enjoy the outside.  I have been missing that for so long.  I can't go back to not exercising - it has to be a constant in my life again.  Despite the continuous pain I have from my back injury I will press through it so that I can be in the outdoors!

That was our hiking experience for Friday!

Our experience on Saturday was combination yearly adventure and hike.  Every Autumn I always try and have at least one Saturday or Sunday to go to Rocky Mountain National Park and experience the autumn leaves and the elk rut.  To ensure we could get there and have some really good sun for photos we got up early and were on the road by 6:30AM.  I had to take care of feeding the eating machine (Zack) and getting gas for the Explorer, so by the time all that was done the time was closer to 7:00AM when we were headed north on I-25.  The drive was simple and easy with absolutely no problems.  We took I-25 until we reached Colorado Route 66 a little past Longmont.  Heading West on Colorado 66 we traveled about 15 minutes until we reached the small town of Lyons.  From there we joined up with highway 36 that would take us directly into Estes Park.  Given the early hour of the day we did not run into any traffic problems at all.

Arriving in Estes Park we quickly noticed the signs for the Estes Park Elk Fest.  Needless to say we had no desire to get involved in that as it was just a giant draw for crowds.  Instead we headed straight for the park and entered via the Fall River Entrance Station.  My National Park Pass expired in July so I was expecting to buy another.  The ranger at the entrance station informed me that Saturday was a free day for the park - so we didn't even have to spend a cent to get in.

Driving through the Sheep Lakes area things were very quiet as it was early and there were no elk around.  Heading up to the Deer Ridge Junction we came across a bull and his harem of 10 or so female elk and a yearling.  They were contently grazing in small meadow among the pine trees.  Given that these guys were what we were here to see, we pulled over and spent about the next 20 minutes hanging around taking pictures and just observing.  The big bull was keeping farther from the road and it made it difficult to get a picture of him.  The best I could do was to see his huge rack as he was bent down grazing away.

After a bit we moved on towards the Beaver Meadows and Morraine Park areas.  Along the way we came across another big bull just sitting among the trees.  He didn't have a harem with him and he just looked like he didn't want to be messed with.  However, stupid tourists being stupid tourists there were a number of people getting within 20 feet or so of him and he was showing his displeasure - moving his ears, jerking his head around as they moved towards him etc.  Why do people have to be so stupid to try and get close to these magnificent animals?  Messing with an elk could get you really hurt!  Thankfully the offending tourists were quickly drawn away by something else and left the area.  That allowed the rest of us the opportunity to snap some fantastic photos of the elk.  I was using my zoom lens on my landscape camera, so I think I got some really good photos of him.  The light wasn't optimal as he was in the shadows but I still think they came out pretty good.

The main road to Bear Lake was only open to park shuttle buses because of construction, so Zack and I headed as far into Morraine Park as we could go.  Eventually the road ended at the parking lot for the Fern Lake Trail Head.  We knew we wanted to take a hike so given the Fern Lake Trail was right a head of us, we decided what the heck.  I hadn't hiked this trail before but I had heard that it was quite beautiful and lead to some wonderful overlooks of the Big Thompson River.

Looking at the topo map at the trail head we decided that we would hike 1.7 miles in to the "The Pool".  We didn't really know what this geological feature was, but the name sounded neat so we decided to go for it.

Immediately after leaving the parking lot, the trail begins to run parallel to a medium size stream that is the head waters of the Big Thompson River.  For the first 3/4 of a mile the sound of the stream fills the air as you hike to the west.  Eventually the trail separates from the stream and enters and area filled with huge boulders.  These boulders are massive with each one being as big as a house.

After the giant boulder field the trail leveled out and we spent the rest of the hike weaving in and out of standing of aspen and pine trees.  With all the colorful leaves cloaking the aspen trees the hike was beautiful.  To top it off the temperature was perfect!  Neither Zack or I broke a sweat even though we were moving at a good pace and most of the hike was up hill.

Forty minutes into our hike we reach "The Pool".  This hydrological feature is a pool of deep clear water after the river has gone through a series of cascades and waterfalls.  It was beautiful and I am sure in the middle of summer it must be a wonderful place to wade or swim.  However the water appeared to be a bit cold and we had no desire to climb down the rocks and take a plunge.

A sturdy bridge crossed the river at The Pool.  It was a great place to stop and admire the beauty of the river and Zack and I hung out there for awhile.  Staying in the same place for 15 minutes allowed us to see how busy the trail was.  Numerous parties of hikers passed by us continuing further up the trail.

We spent 20 minutes hanging out by the bridge before we started back down the trail to the parking area.  The hike back to the car went quickly as most of it was down hill.  Despite some of the pain I was feeling in my lower back and hip, it felt wonderful to be out on the trail again.

Returning to the car we packed up and headed into Estes Park for some lunch.  We ate at the normal pizza joint on Elkhorn Avenue that we normally eat at when we are in Estes Park.  I have no idea of what the name of the place is, I just know where it is and that Zack and I like the pizza.

Afterwards we headed back home.  We took a different route home as we headed down Colorado Highway 7.  Zack didn't really care which way we went as he had his nose in his Nintendo DS but I was interested in seeing some more scenery.  Taking Highway 7 offered me the opportunity to stop and take some pictures of "The Chapel on the Rock" near Allenspark, Colorado.  This chapel is a great photographic location and I really enjoy shooting pictures there.

Here are some of the photos that I took on our day of hiking, elk watching and leave gazing in Rocky Mountain National Park.

 
It was quite a nice weekend and it was quite nice for me to actually get out into the wilderness for a change.  Though I do continue to deal with lots of pain in my back I am not going to let it keep me from doing the things that I want.

The week ahead will be pretty nondescript as we don't have much going on other than school and work.  We are into the midst of the "fall slog" as we have a good 4 weeks until we reach Zack's fall break from school.  Between now and fall break we won't be having any days off, so we just have to slog through each work/school day after another until we can get to our next break.

We hope everyone has a great week!

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.