Boulder - Walker Ranch Loop & Meyer Homestead

I was in a quandary about where to go today.  I wanted something fairly long, not in the snow, close, but something I had not done before.  With this hike, I got 3 1/2 of 4.  I have been on the Walker Ranch Loop once before, in 2014, and on a portion again in 2016, but I had never been to the Meyer Homestead before.

Parking at the Walker Ranch TH, I was able to get on the trail early and headed immediately to the Meyer Homestead link trail.  The Meyer Homestead trail is an old ranch road that, in about 3.25 miles, takes you up the gulch toward the old Meyer Homestead; hence the name.  Andrew Meyers homesteaded the area in the 1890s, but later sold off to James Walker (of Walker Ranch fame).

The trail begins on a fairly level, rolling part of the gulch, but soon begin a long steady pull up to the area of the homestead.

Early trail conditions on Meyers Gulch trail

I paw an old hay barn so, of course, I had to go off trail and take a look

Walker Ranch hay barn (1)

Walker Ranch hay barn (2)

Walker Ranch hay barn (3)

The trail began to steadily climb and I soon encountered a very nice aspen grove.  It is nice to see the aspens starting to leaf out.

Aspens are finally getting their leaves

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Near the end of this section of trail, I encountered what I think is ruins of the original homestead.  I'm not sure though since rocks can be found in some of the most interesting places and distributed in odd ways.  I usually find other 'artifacts' at homestead, but there was no other detritus, so, I'll let you decide.

Ruins of homestead?

I finally made it to the end of the Meyer's Homestead Trail and looked through the trees and down into Boulder Canyon

End of Meyer's Homestead Trail

Overlooking Boulder Canyon

I retraced my steps back to the Walker Ranch TH and began the Walker Ranch Loop.  Just as I got there a bus load of 14-15 year old teenagers had just started up the trail.  Man, do they talk alot.  The trail starts out with a fairly good climb and I found that I quickly overtook the group, but when the trail started a steep descent, they pushed me hard.  But, I stayed ahead of them and soon lost them in the next climb.

There was not as many people on the trail as I expected, but I did encounter a couple of women several times.  Each time I saw them once of them was talking.  The final time I saw them, the one not talking looked like she had enough talk for one day.

The best part of the Walker Ranch Loop is the two encounters with the South Fork of the St. Vrain River.  It is quite a good flowing stream, has good fishing, and is quite beautiful.

Sign here say "swift current'.  Seems kind of obvious

This part of the river runs through a narrow canyon

One of the river's quieter spots 

The last part of the hike is a climb out of the river canyon and back to the trailhead.  The canyon had many interesting rock formations.

Canyon Rocks

Overall, it was a long and strenuous hike, but one that was very enjoyable.  Although, I was pretty tired by the time I got home.

Overall Track Statistics for Bldr - WalkerMyer 2017,   2082 data points

 Length 15.094 miles  :  Garmin Length 15.710 miles

 Start Elevation - 7216.60 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 8004.20 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 6435.43 feet

 Date of Hike - May 12, 2017

 Start Time - 07:37 AM

 End Time - 01:25 PM

 Total Duration -     5:47 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 3051.84 feet

 Total Descent - 3153.94 feet

 Net Ascent - -102.10 feet

 Maximum Grade - 18.45%

 Average Speed -  2.60 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.71 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 497.87 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.45 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  9.30%

Golden - North Table Mountain

Not every hike will fit into the 'best hike ever' category.  This was one of those.  North Table Mountain is on the outskirts of Golden and is more a mesa than a mountain.  Both North and South Table Mountain exist because there was a small lava vent nearby that 'capped' the underlying sedimentary rock.  Then as erosion and uplift occurred the mesa tops were left while the area around the lava flow eroded, leaving the Table Mountains.

As far as a hike is concerned this was not a particularly scenic or difficult hike; although the views of the Denver skyline are cool.  Pictures just can't capture the real views, especially at distance.

Denver Skyline (barely)

The weather was not all the great either, winds around 15-20 mph with morning temps in the low 40's.  Although by late morning the sun was out and temperatures were in the low 50's, but the wind had picked up some, especially on the mesa top..

This was kind of a 'check the box' hike.  I won't be trying it again.

Overall Track Statistics for Golden - North Table Mtn,   1114 data points

 Length 8.869 miles  :  Garmin Length 9.010 miles

 Start Elevation - 6012.63 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 6593.50 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 5873.88 feet

 Date of Hike - May 01, 2017

 Start Time - 09:33 AM

 End Time - 01:01 PM

 Total Duration -     3:27 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 1692.55 feet

 Total Descent - 1742.29 feet

 Net Ascent - -49.74 feet

 Maximum Grade - 14.47%

 Average Speed -  2.56 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.60 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 398.98 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.21 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  6.96%

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%

RMNP - Three Falls in a Day

The weather kept me home last week, so it has been about 10 days since I was out and about.  Today, there would be a one day break in the light snow and rain we've had, so I tackled a trip that I've been thinking about since early winter.  I've been to Bridal Veil Falls several times, but I learned about an 'Upper Bridal Veil' earlier this year, so I decided to tackle that.  Also, in 2008, I tried to hike to West Creek Falls, but wasn't in good enough shape to complete the trek.  I decided to try and tackle both in one day.

I got a reasonably early start and was on the trail at the McGraw Ranch TH by 0830.  There was no one else there.  The trail works its way up Cow Creek in a nice valley.  I was early enough to get to see more wildlife than I've seen up there in all the other times I went.  I wasn't able to get pictures of everything, but here are some.

Turkey Buzzard

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey (head of the flock)

I've not seen turkey buzzards in RMNP before, so it was a treat to see a couple sitting around.  I came upon  the first turkey early in the hike.  When I encountered the second on the trail, I stopped and watched for a bit, so as not to disturb it.  Soon, about five or six more came moseying up the hill from the creek, crossed the trail, and headed on up the hill.  My guess is that they went for morning water and were headed back into the trees for the day.

Later on, I saw out of the corner of my eye a coyote on the side of the hill about 50 yards or so away.  That is too far to get a decent picture with my camera.  At first, I was quiet enough that he didn't notice me, but soon turned and checked me out.  As he turned to ignore me, I saw two deer jump up and bound away.  The coyote quickly trotted after them.  My only guess is that he was starting to stalk them and I ruined his hunt.  Bummer for him, although I didn't think a coyote would be big enough to tackle a mule deer.

I soon got to Bridal Veil Falls.  I learned that to get to the upper falls I would have to find and climb a path up the left side of the falls.  I had never crossed the creek before, so this would be a first.

Lower Bridal Veil Falls

Cow Creek below Bridal Veil Falls

 Even though Cow Creek was running high because of early spring runoff, it wasn't hard to find a way across.  It turned out there were a couple of faint paths that seemed to work their way up the 30' or so of climb to get the to top of the falls.  Since most of the rock was wet, I carefully scrambled up what looked like the safest route and soon reached the top of the falls.  Well it really isn't the top of the falls, more like the middle.  From this vantage point it is clear why the falls are named Bridal Veil.

Now Bridal Veil makes sense

I wasn't sure what to expect Upper Bridal Veil Falls to be, but they were supposed to be about a quarter mile on upstream.  There was a decent path that I followed and after a bit a walking I think I found them.  Anyway these were the only decent falls above the main falls for a half mile.

Upper Bridal Veil Falls?

Another view

I decided to hike on a little further, because I've always had the philosophy of "when you think you gone far enough, go a little farther".  I continued on up Cow Creek, running out of trail and bushwhacking for a while, until break time.  I stopped for a quick break at a little clearing then headed down the hill.

Break Spot

When I returned to the lower falls, I got a nice view of what I term 'Cow Creek Canyon'.

Cow Creek Canyon

At the precipice of the lower falls

Another view of the lower falls

I headed back down toward the trailhead to start the second half of the hike.  On to West Creek Falls.

To get to West Creek Falls, you must use the North Boundary trail which follows the RMNP/Comanche Peak Wilderness boundary.  This is a steep climb of nearly a mile that then steeply descends to West Creek.  Let's just say I was pooped by the time I got to the descent and then was careful on the descent.

I was pleasantly surprised by the size of West Creek and how good a spot it would be to fish.

West Creek

Awesome holes for fish!

These were probably 8-10' deep.

I followed the trail to West Creek Falls.  In several places the trail had been rerouted because of flood damage.  West Creek Falls was pretty impressive, especially with early spring runoff.

West Creek Falls (1)

West Creek Falls (2)

West Creek Falls - up close

The weather was starting to get interesting and I knew I had a good climb to get back so after spending some time at the falls I headed back.

Time to head back

While hard, the hike back up was not as difficult as I had thought it would be.  I got back to the truck about 300p and was able to get home a bit before five.  Oh, by the way, the ticks were out in force.  I found two while on the trail and three more after I got home.  Yuck.

Overall Track Statistics for RMNP - UpperBVFalls,   1771 data points

 Length 11.975 miles  :  Garmin Length 13.026 miles

 Start Elevation - 7825.39 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 9042.65 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 7776.51 feet

 Date of Hike - Apr 24, 2017

 Start Time - 08:27 AM

 End Time - 02:53 PM

 Total Duration -     6:26 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 3279.33 feet

 Total Descent - 3328.22 feet

 Net Ascent - -48.88 feet

 Maximum Grade - 24.87%

 Average Speed -  1.86 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.02 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 733.23 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.26 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 12.00%

This week I found a cool website, called Hillmap.com, which will give you alot of information about the area in which you hike.  I found the slope shading pretty interesting.  Here you go, fyi.

Boulder - South Boulder Mountain - Bear Peak r2

About a month ago, I tried to get Green Mountain, Bear Peak, and South Boulder Mountain under my belt in one day.  I ran out of time that day and returned without Bear Peak and South Boulder Mountain completed.  Today, I started from a slightly closer trailhead and gave myself a bit more time.

I started my hike at the Green Mountain Trailhead.  This trailhead had limited parking on the side of the road, but I was early enough that I had no problem finding a spot.  However, when I returned there were vehicles everywhere along both sides of the road.  The trailhead is used mainly by people who want to tackle Green Mountain, but without the serious elevation gain of starting near the Chautauqua trailheads.

Required TH picture

About a mile into the hike there is a trail junction which you can take to descend into the Bear Creek Valley and then ascend to Bear Peak and South Boulder Mountain.  I quickly got to Bear Creek and began a steady ascent to the base of Bear Peak.  About a half mile from Bear Peak the trail steeply ascends a spine up to Bear Peak.

The climb to Bear Peak

The ascent is about 600ft in about 0.4mi (2000ft).  That is a steep climb, especially over rock and boulders.  I did plenty of three and four point hiking.  That is what I call it when I have to use one or both hands to stay stable and get up the hill.

About 150 ft from the summit of Bear Peak, the trail forks.  The south fork will take you down to the saddle between Bear Peak and South Boulder Mountain then back up to the summit of South Boulder.  This area has been burned so the scenery is not the best to look at.

South Boulder Mountain from saddle

However, once you summit South Boulder, the views to the south are nice.

South from South Boulder Mountain summit

Southwest from South Boulder Mountain summit

You can get a good view of Bear Peak too.

Bear Peak from South Boulder Mountain

I turned back to make the summit of Bear Peak and then head back to the truck.  I had a nice lunch in a small shaded nook on Bear Creek, then on to the truck.

Bear Creek lunch spot

All in all it was a great day.  After a couple of fits and starts, I finally got South Boulder Mountain under my belt.

Overall Track Statistics for Boulder - SBoulderBear r2,   1437 data points

 Length 9.500 miles  :  Garmin Length 10.301 miles

 Start Elevation - 7689.60 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 8501.84 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 7158.37 feet

 Date of Hike - Apr 14, 2017

 Start Time - 08:28 AM

 End Time - 01:33 PM

 Total Duration -     5:05 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 2889.04 feet

 Total Descent - 3104.92 feet

 Net Ascent - -215.88 feet

 Maximum Grade - 34.37%

 Average Speed -  1.87 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.02 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 1013.09 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  3.02 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 16.01%