Hiking in Colorado

16September2008

Chautauqua/Flatiron Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Chautauqua/Flatiron Trail
Total Distance: 5+ miles
Elevation Gain: 500+ feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: At the intersection of Baseline Rd and Kinnikinic Rd.

You can get to Chautauqua Park by heading west on Baseline Rd. until you see the entrance to the park on the south side of the road. Once there you have a lot of options on which trail to take. There are a lot of trails that will take you all over the park and around the mountains in the area. These trails are well marked and they are a great way to see the Flatirons, the City of Boulder and the CU campus.

My friend Dave and I took the trail to the third Flatiron by starting on the Chautauqua Trail and then following the signs to the 3rd Flatiron. Walking through the trees makes for a nice experience and as you climb there are some rock field crossings that are fun to walk across and allow for a nice view of the city bellow. If you are into rock climbing there are some nice rocks to start on because they are not that vertical, making it easier to climb. On the weekends you are likely to see a lot of people climbing in this as you hike around the area.

There are so many wonderful trails, like Bluebell, Mesa, Flatiron, Chautauqua and Ski Jump, that start at Chautauqua Park which gives you some great variety every time that you go there. I like this park and think that it is a great place to see some unique rock formations, get some exercise and see great views of Boulder.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

28August2008

Williams Canyon Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Williams Canyon Trail
Total Distance: 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,400 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: Glenn Rd. in Manitou Springs.

From Highway 24 take Manitou Ave. to Canyon Ave and take Canyon Ave until you reach Glenn Rd where you will want to park your car. If you can not park here then you can park at Soda Springs Park which is at Canyon and Park Ave.

Before you can go on this hike, you need to go to the main ticket window for the Cave of the Winds to fill out a waiver, which is good for one year. You need to do this because the start of this trail is on Cave of the Winds property.

Once you are at Glenn Rd and Canyon Ave hike up Canyon Ave which will take you under Highway 24. Soon you will come to a gate and a sign overhead that reads “Cave of the Winds Exit Only Please Use Entrance On Highway 24,” this is where the trail begins. You might notice some no trespassing signs, but if you have signed the waiver you are free to continue. As you walk through Williams Canyon you will see some great views of rock formations on both sides and some interesting caves. This part of the trail is an old road that will eventually lead up to the Cave of the Winds parking lot. Cars do not use the road anymore so you don’t have to worry about any coming down. This part of the trail alone makes this a worth wile hike.

After about 0.75 miles you will come to a switch back in the road, at this point you will want to go striate onto a trail in front of you. This trail allows you to continue to walk along the canyon floor. You will continue to walk along a creek bed, which may or may not have water in it depending on the time of year. At this point you will be walking through a very lush area of the canyon, with trees and bushes all around you. At about 1 mile you might see a trail that goes off to the right, you do not want to take this trail, instead continue along the creek to the left. Soon after this the trail will climb up the side of the canyon a bit and at the top there is a great view of the canyon along with some waterfalls and pool along the creek.

At about 1.75 miles there is a fork in the trail. If you go to the left you will go to the Waldo Canyon Trail and to the right you will go to Rampart Range Road. The one bad thing about going to the right is that you will be hiking close to a firing range which makes me always feel nervous. I went to the left and it is a great hike so you are not missing out by going this way. The trail starts to climb, but it is not very steep, all of the ways up until you reach Waldo Canyon Trail at the 2.5 mile mark. This part of the hike also has some great views as you get higher and higher and walking through the forest is very nice.

Once you reached Waldo Canyon Trail, you can hike along this trail for a will or head back the way you came. This is a great hike with lots of diversity between the canyon walls and the plant/wild life.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

4August2008

Barr Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Barr Trail
Total Distance: 12.6 – 26 miles
Elevation Gain: 7,300 feet
Difficulty: Hard to Very Hard
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: At the end of Hydro St. off of Ruxton Ave in Manitou Springs

To get to Barr Trail, follow the signs to the Cog Railway but instead of stopping at the railway go past it and take Hydro St. on the right side of the road. If you can’t find parking there, which is a pretty good chance, then there is some more parking bellow the Cog Railway.

This trail can be an all day hike so make sure to give yourself enough time to get up (and back if you plan on doing so) and make sure that you are prepared with food and water for one way. The weather at the top can be unpredictable, especially in the afternoons, so make sure to pack warmer cloth for the top because it will always be a lot colder (by 30 degrees or more).

The start of the hike has many switchbacks and goes in and out of the trees. As you climb you will have a better and better view of Manitou Springs and the Cog Railway bellow. It is a well worn dirt path and on weekends you will come across many people going up and down. The first 3 miles go up at a good incline so make sure to pace yourself. After about 3 miles you will have a great view of Gog and Magog to the south as well as a glimpse of the Cog Railway tracks. The trail continues to climb for the most part and the trail starts to become a little wider.

After about 4 miles into the hike the trail becomes more level with some inclines in the middle for about the next two miles. This is where you are walking along the ridge towards the base of final incline up to the top. As you get closer to Barr Camp the trail starts to go up again. At Barr Camp you will find benches resting and eating, shelters for camping, and a cabin with some friendly people inviting you in to sign their logbook. This is a good spot to have a meal and enjoy the great wilderness around you. At this point you have hiked 6.5 miles and you are at 10,200 feet, so even though you are more then half way up the mountain you have more then half of the elevation to climb.

Once you have enjoyed Barr Camp you will continue going up the trail as it gets steeper and a little more rocky/gravely. You will start to have some great views of the ridge that you just walked along and the city beyond that. At about 9.5 mile and over 11,000 foot mark you start to hike above timberline. At this point you will see an old A-frame shelter that you can take a look at and get information about it.

Above timberline, you have to be extra cautious of the Sun since you are at such a high altitude and there are no trees to shade you. This part of the trail is very gravely and rocky so be careful as you climb. The last 3 miles of the hike are the hardest, because there is a lot less oxygen, so you have to make sure that you are breathing correctly, and there is about 2,600 feet in elevation to climb. All the way up this section, make sure to stop and take a look at some of the wildflowers as well as the view of the city bellow. There are some great panoramic views above timberline so take some breaks on the way up and take it all in. In the first mile above timberline you clime over 1,000 feet in elevation but the hard part is still to come. In the last mile of the hike there are the 16 Golden Stairs which are quite hard since you have just hiked over 12 miles up at this point and some of the stairs are quite high. But soon you will see the people that took the Cog Railway or drove up the mountain and you will know that you have reached the top.

Once you have reached this point there are some great overlooks and you can checkout the gift shop and cafeteria to restock and rest if you need to. You now have a choice to make, you can either hike back down or take the Cog Railway down. Which one you choose really has to do with how much time you have before sunset, you can assume that it will take a little less time going down but not much, and how you feel physically.

The first 3 miles of the hike down you have to be careful with all of the rocks and gravel but once you get bellow the timberline it is a nice hike back. Over all I liked the challenge of this trail and the sense of accomplishment when you get to the top. It is a long and hard hike so just make sure that you are prepared for it and don’t hesitate to turning around at any point if you think that you will not be able to make it to the top or back down.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

28July2008

Columbine Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Lower | Mid | Upper Columbine Trail
Total Distance: 7 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,100 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: Starsmore Discovery Center parking lot.

Take a left at the intersection of North Cheyenne Canyon Road and South Cheyenne Canyon Road and the Starsmore Discovery Center is immediately on the right hand side. Once you have parked your car, take a tour of the great exhibits at the center. The center is open 9am to 5pm everyday during the summer and 9am to 5pm Wednesday-Sunday during the spring and fall. If you take the path on the left hand side of the center you will reach the Lower Columbine Trailhead.

This first part is not very steep and follows North Cheyenne Canyon Road and the creek. This dirt path is a very nice walk along the rock features. There are a lot of people rock-climbing on the weekend, which makes for some interesting sights. If you are looking for a nice casual walk, this section of the trail, between Lower Columbine Trailhead and Mid Columbine Trailhead, is for you. The “Mid” Columbine Trailhead is less then 1 mile from the start so you still have about 3/4 of the trail to go.

At this point the trail starts to climb and moves above and away from N Cheyenne Canyon Road. There is a lot more gravel on this section, but the trail is well maintained (they were doing work on it the day I hiked it and sections had the gravel scraped off of the trail which left a nice hard surface to walk on). The trail continues to climb up and down the side of the mountain, but as you go higher in elevation you get to see some great views of the Broadmoor area as well as the canyon bellow. Towards the end of the trail there is a trail that diverges off of the Columbine trail and leads to Gold Camp Road. If you continue on the Columbine trail it ends at one of the many bends on N Cheyenne Canyon Road near Helen Hunt Falls.

This is an OK trail to hike. There are some great views on the way up, but it is very open and on a hot day it very important to keep yourself hydrated. The one thing that I did like about the trail was how it was broken up in to two sections. If you are looking for a easier hike only do the section between the lower and mid trailheads, but if you want more of a challenge do the mid to upper trailhead section.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

22July2008

Stanley Canyon Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Stanley Canyon Trail
Total Distance: 4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,300 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: On Air Force Academy’s land off of Pine Dr.

Take the south entrance into the Academy and follow the road as it turns into Stadium Blvd or if you take the north entrance you will have to turn onto Stadium Blvd. Turn west on Academy Dr, then turn right onto Pine Dr and take a right on a dirt road on the right hand side of the of the road which will lead to the trailhead.

The trail starts out by going up a dirt road and you just follow the sign directing you towards Stanley Canyon Trail and Stanley Reservoir. After about 200 feet the trail becomes narrow and you start hike up the rocky incline. This part of the trail is a little hard to navigate because of all of the rocks but the view is great as you clime. After about half of a mile the trail meets up with a stream and you follow it the rest of the way up. If you hike the trail in late spring there is a good chance there will be ice or large amounts of water on the trail which can make the trail difficult to navigate. As it was, there were many places where you had to walk along slick rocks and loose gravel but the view made it worth it. You will see many small waterfalls and great rock outcroppings as you climb.

After about one mile of hiking up the trail, you reach the top of the incline and you start to walk through a valley with a very slit slop up (at this point my heart rate went down and my breathing slowed because it was basically flat). There are some great meadows that you walk trough with some nice wild flowers in them as well as aspen groves. You continue along the stream which is quite soothing and makes for an enjoyable rest of the hike. At the end of this part of the trail you reach the Stanley Reservoir which is not very large and it does not take long to walk around it if you choose to. Taking a break and just sitting there and enjoying the water is very relaxing. The trail does continue on from here, but at this point I turned around and headed back the way I came.

The walk back was nice for the first mile, the flat section, but once you got to the descent part it was a little tricky in spots because of the steepness of the mountain and the rocky/gravelly terrain. Over all I liked the hike, there were some great views of the Air Force Academy and the walk at the top was enjoyable and peaceful.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

18July2008

Waldo Canyon

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Waldo Canyon
Total Distance: 6.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,000 feet
Difficulty: Moderate Hard
Hike Type: Loop
Starting Location: Take Highway 24 from I-25 for 7.7 miles until you reach the trailhead on your right (north) side.

The parking lot for the trail comes up fast on the north side of Highway 24th so you have to be ready for it (there is a trail sign with an error right at the beginning of the right hand turn before you reach the parking lot). On a nice weekend during the summer the parking lot gets fool very quickly so you might want to go early if you can. Once you reach the parking lot you will find the trailhead at the east edge. The first part of the trail is a little steep but it soon levels off and it is a gradual incline for about 1.25 miles. Soon after you start, there is a great overlook that branches off to the right. There are some great geological structures here and a little sign that talks about the rocks and what they are made of.

As you continue along the trail you will reach the top of the first ridge and then walk down the other side a little ways. At this point all of the road noise from Highway 24 goes completely silent and you are left with beautiful views and the peace and quite of nature. As you go along you start to move into more of a forest section of the trail, at this point it has been a little over 1.5 miles and you reach the loop sections of the trail.

I took the loop to the right and found it to be steep and gravely for about half of a mile, after which it levels off and becomes more of a slight incline. There are some excellent views of the different rock layers and some signs along the way that explain how these were formed. As you go along you crest another ridge and start to go back towards the forested area. The trail continues to pop in and out of the forest and I continued to see many lizards that would dart all over the trail in the more dry open sections of the trail. For the last 1.5 miles of the loop you are in the forest again and you get a chance to walk along the stream. At one point there is an option to take a trail that goes west to Cascade but if you go east you continue around the loop. After the loop meets up again you head back into the more open desert region and along a nice descent back to the parking lot.

One of the nice things about this trail is its great diversity in ecosystems. You go from the high desert with many lizards, low brush and rocky terrain to a lush dense forest with a stream flowing through it. I really liked this hike because of its variation in terrain as well as the fantastic views and geological structures.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

25June2008

Gog Magog Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Gog Magog Trail
Total Distance: 3 miles
Elevation Gain: 1400 feet
Difficulty: Moderate to Hard
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: Start by the Cog Railway station and hike along the railway.

This trail starts the same way the Turntable Trail starts. You go along the road that follows the Cog Railway and when it ends you take a bridge across the water and then walk along the edge of the tracks for about 100 feet. You then cross into an opening in the trees, but you have to look closely for it.

The trail is not well defined but it has been worn down by people using it. After about a half of a mile from the Cog Railway station there is split in the trail, if you go left you head towards the Turntable but if you go right along the rocky mountain face you will be on the Gog Magog Trail. The trail goes parallel with the railway for a while and then starts to clime up the side of the mountain. The tail continues up and it a little tricky in spots with some fallen trees and plants encroaching onto the trail.

As you go up, you see some great views of Manitou Springs and the Cog Railway. You can also check glimpses of the two rock outcroppings that are nameed Gog and Magog. Magog is the one that you come to first and Gog is about 400 feet higher up the mountain’s ridgeline. From Magog you can see great views of Picks Peek, the Cog Railway and Manitou Springs. It is a very impressive rock formation. You can see Gog from here and you just need to fallow a trail that runs along the west side of Magog to get to it. The 3 miles round trip does not include this section but the hike is not hard compared to the hike to get up to the first formation.

This was an ok trail, but it was hard to follow and maneuver through at times. I also did not like having to walk along the Cog Railway. The one nice thing about this trail is the view at the top.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

23June2008

The Incline

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: The Incline Trail
Total Distance: 1.6 - 2.8 miles
Elevation Gain: ~1900 ft
Difficulty: Very Hard
Hike Type: Out and back or Loop
Starting Location: Next to the Cog Railway and Barr Trail in Manitou Springs.

To get to the Incline Trail, you need to head towards the Cog Railway by heading up Hwy 24. Take the Manitou Ave exit and head west. Then take Ruxton Ave. to the Cog Railway and park anywhere you can. The base of the trail can be found on the north side of the Cog Railway parking lot.

The trail is very easy to see while you are approaching because it cuts strait up the side of the mountain. This hike is not very long but it has about 3000 steps that go up almost 1900 ft in only 0.83 miles. The overall incline is about 44% but some sections are much greater then this. It starts off at a mild incline but soon becomes steeper and steeper. The trail is well maintain (I have seen people working on it every time I have gone up it) and has railroad tie steps all of the way up. It can be a little slick in spots because of the incline but as long as you are watch where you step you should be fine. At about 3/4 of the way up, the trail levels off giving you a little break but it soon becomes very steep all the way to the top.

If you take breaks on the way up, there are some great views of Manitou Springs which are well worth it. Once you get to the top of the trail you can either go back down the way you came or go to the left and take a trail that leads to Barr Trail. I personally go to Barr Trail because it is hard going down the Incline and can be a little treacherous in section. If you take the Barr Trail the total distance is about 2.8 miles and it is a lot more pleasant of a hike with some good views along the way.

I really like this trail for a nice hard workout. It is great for building up your stamina and strengthening your legs. But you should really make sure you are ready for it because it is quite a workout.

17June2008

Gray Back Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Gray Back Trail
Total Distance: 3.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 670 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: Off of Old Stage Road.

We took Old Stage Road for about 6.5 miles. We turned left on FR 371 and continued about a half a mile at the top of the pass. The trail itself is not marked but it is well defined because it has been used by a dude ranch so many horses have been on it (it is at N 38° 43.888’ W 104° 54.403’).

The over all trail is not very steep but it has a lot of loose gravel from all of the horses that have been on it. The trail goes up and along the ridge of Gray Back Peak and is called Happy Trail by some. As we climbed up to the ridge there are many spots to see some great views of the mountains. We came across a fork about a mile in and we took the right path to continue up and along the ridge. We zigzagged up to the summit of the peek which gave us a great view of the southern valley as well as some of the southern mountains.

At this point you can go either go back along the ridge to get to a rock outcropping with a good view or you can go back the way you came. We headed back the same way we came and it was a little slick because of all of the loose gravel.

Overall the trail was ok but considering it is a long drive from the center of Colorado Springs, and some of it on rough dirt roads, I am not sure it is worth the drive.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.

12June2008

Red Mountain Trail

Posted by kris under: Trails.

Name of Trial: Red Mountain Trail
Total Distance: 3 miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Hard
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: At the base of the Cog Railway on Ruxton Ave and Spring St.

To get to the base of the Red Mountain Trail I had to take the Paul Intemann Nature Trail. From Spring St. I took the Paul Intemann Nature Trail for less then a mile until I saw a sign the shows Red Mountain Trail going to the right and the Paul Intemann Trail going to the left.

The Red Mountain Trail is a little steep in some places and also a little gravel. It is a nice walk through the forest and it is nice and shaded for an afternoon walk in hot weather. There were some great views of Manitou Springs and the mountains on the way up. The trail is about 1-2 feet wide and pretty well maintained.

At the top of the trail I reached an overlook that gave me a 360 degree view of the area round. The top used to be an incline were people would ride up on a ski lift like apparatus to the top. The construction was not very good so it was shutdown soon after it was opened, but you can still see some of the remnants of the setup there today. I can understand why people would have wanted to come up here, because it does have a great view. The decent was a little hard because of the gravelly steep sections, but it was not as bad as some other trails that I have been on.

This is a great trail for a nice afternoon hike and the view at the end is spectacular.

To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.