Ft Collins - Horsetooth 2017 r1

The weather was to be unsettled and I didn't feel much like a long drive today, so I opted for a tried and true hike near home;  Horsetooth Mountain Park just outside of Ft. Collins.  It is about a 1/2 hour drive and the park has quite a few good trails; although I have been on them several times.

I opted for a semi-perimeter hike.  I felt like that would give me both the miles and gain I wanted, but nothing too serious.  Since I've been here many times, I didn't take many pictures

When I started out, the weather was fairly nice, but chilly, low- to mid-30s.  There were a couple of good pictures of the Masonville valley and Longs Peak/Mt Meeker to be had.

Masonville valley

Longs Peak/ Mount Meeker

Today, I approached Horsetooth Rock from the south and was able to get a picture from a little different angle.

Horsetooth Rock

I've been to Horsetooth Rock a couple of times and, since I knew there would be many people there and I didn't want to mess with them, I didn't go to the Rock today.  I continued on around the perimeter.  About 1100 I could see that the weather was starting to work it's way in and it was starting to get colder.

Weather coming

I worked my way around on various trails and started the final leg back to the truck when the snow started to fall.

Summer is just around the corner???

I got off the trail and the truck said it was 33 degrees.  Brrr.

The day was nice, but chilly.  I dressed for it so no problem.   Next week we head out on our first fifth wheel adventure of the year; a short trip down to Colorado Springs.

Overall Track Statistics for Ft Collins - Horsetooth 2017 r1,   1526 data points

 Length 11.087 miles  :  Garmin Length 11.546 miles

 Start Elevation - 5739.76 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 7135.70 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 5636.52 feet

 Date of Hike - Apr 28, 2017

 Start Time - 09:29 AM

 End Time - 01:49 PM

 Total Duration -     4:20 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 3154.66 feet

 Total Descent - 3076.54 feet

 Net Ascent - 78.12 feet

 Maximum Grade - 19.39%

 Average Speed -  2.55 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.65 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 593.21 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.15 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 10.98%