Lyons - Picture Rock / Wild Turkey Loop

It was my usual day to hike, but earlier I had received a text from an old colleague who wanted to have a late breakfast and a catch-up chat.  So I met him in Longmont at Leenie's for breakfast at 9a.  That caused me to adjust my hike for the day to somewhere a bit closer than usual.  We were also scheduled to get some weather early in the afternoon; so those two conditions caused me to choose to hike the Picture Rock Trail at Heil Valley Natural Area outside of Lyons.

Picture Rock TH

The Picture Rock Trail starts just outside of Lyons and meanders up the valley between two hogbacks to the top of the western most hogback before hitting the mountains fully.  The trail is a gentle climb of 5.2 miles to the junction with the Wild Turkey loop.  This trail is frequented heavily by mountain bikers.  In fact, during the day I encountered probably a dozen bikers, but only one hiker and one trail runner.

Heil Valley Natural Area (1)

Heil Valley Natural Area (2)

About a third of the way there is a picnic table that must have been used by the Flintstones, since it is made entirely of rock.

Flintstones Picnic Table

Not too much beyond the Flintstones picnic table, I encountered a small flock of wild turkeys.  They were in the same place on the way down too.

Wild Turkeys (1)

Wild Turkeys (2)

Further up (about half way), there is a homestead that at one time must have been a small ranch.  There is an old flagstone quarry near there too.  This area was very pretty and had a lot of opportunities for pictures.  Silos, the valley, building ruins, a quarry, a hay rake, and a couple of old cars hulks.  I would guess the cars would have been vintage for the 1920's.

Building Ruins

I soon reached the junction with the Wild Turkey Loop.  This would be an added 2.9 miles which I thought I could get through and still make it back home when I said I would.  I had been on the Wild Turkey loop before, so knew what to expect.  I worked my way around the ridge to the Overlook, then down the loop back to Picture Rock trail.  Yep, the weather was starting to move in.

Wild Turkey Overlook

While on my way back to the Picture Rock junction, I found a little wildlife.

Deer

Fox

Once I made the junction, it was all downhill from there.  Eventually the weather did show up and I got rained on for about the last two miles.  Oh well, my rain jacket kept me dry.

Another good hike in the books.

Overall Track Statistics for track Lyons - PictureRock

 Length 14.066 miles

 Start Elevation - 5383.99 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 6592.72 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 5373.72 feet

 Date of Hike - Nov 04, 2015

 Start Time - 10:35 AM

 End Time - 03:52 PM

 Total Duration -     5:17 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 1713.68 feet

 Total Descent - 1714.24 feet

 Net Ascent - -0.56 feet

 Maximum Grade -  6.63%

 Average Speed -  2.66 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 266.27 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.21 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  4.54%