Brainard Lake

Brainard Lake

It was an adventure to reach Brainard Lake, where I wanted to hike to Lake Isabelle, a two mile walk to a spectacular alpine lake.  My GPS routed me on the Boulder Canyon Road, which is a beautiful ride through the canyon.  Midway, all traffic stopped.  After 15 minutes, I got out of my car to talk to the driver ahead of me.  He told me heard that boulders fell into the road, so workers were removing the rocks. Great.  I waited a few more minutes and then turned around to try another route. Virtually back at where I started an hour later, I drove through Lefthand Canyon, with many cyclists on the winding, climbing canyon road.  

I arrived at Brainard Lake an hour later than I had hoped.  The parking lot for the Long Lake trail (which is the trail to Lake Isabelle) was full.  I tried the Mitchell Lake parking area and thankfully a car was pulling out!  So, that's where I hiked.  Through the pine forests for a mile into the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.  Even with other hikers, it's blissfully quiet.  Mitchell Lake is smaller than some of the others, but the scenery is still breathtaking: the lake, the pines, the Rockies.  I particularly like to notice the shift in landscape at the high elevations, since these lakes are at the timber line.  I continued on the trail another mile for a more "aerial" view of the lake and mountains.  It's tough climbing at 10,000 feet!

On the way out of the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, cars had pulled over on the left shoulder and everyone had a camera.  I found a spot and joined the group watching five large moose munching on bushes.  At first the moose were somewhat hidden except for their antlers.  Then, as if humoring us, a couple of moose moved into the clearing so we all could get better pictures!  A few large claps of thunder sent me to my car.  I drove down the mountain in the rainstorm, and onto the CO 72, the "peak-to-peak" highway to get to Nederland and back to Boulder.  (By then the Boulder Canyon Road was clear, but the indentations from the boulders were evident in the road!) Another lucky day here in the West. 

http://www.resourceanalysis.com/fishing/fish6/f6.html
http://www.coloradowilderness.com/wildpages/indian.html

Moose!

Mt. Sanitas

When I asked locals here in Boulder where to hike nearby, everyone mentioned Mt. Sanitas.  So, I chose that trail to hike with my colleague's cousin who lives in Boulder whom I was going to meet for the first time.  She's an art teacher, an athlete and is familiar with this trail.

There are two main ways to get to the top of Mt. Sanitas- the Sanitas Trail up which is vertical over rocks and dirt,  or the Ridge Trail which is a packed dirt path for most of the way.  We decided to make a loop, up the Sanitas Trail and down on the Ridge Trail.  

For a novice such as myself, the trail was challenging and invigorating!  I had to watch my footing most of the way, stopping periodically to admire the view, catch my breath, and take in some water. It took us about 45 minutes to reach the top, a climb of 1255 feet.  The view is spectacular and it certainly felt like an accomplishment for me.  The hike down starts over more rocks until the trail becomes an easy walk on packed dirt.  While I don't mind the uphill to reach a view, all of the scrambling over rocks is tough on the knees!

dayhikesneardenver.com/mt-sanitas-hike-near-boulder/ 

Boulder Creek Path

This morning I ran a different portion of the Boulder Creek Path, past E. Fine Park and into Boulder Canyon.  There were many fewer people since this part of the path heads away from downtown.  I learned a bit of Boulder history- more on that another time.

Since there were some clouds this morning,  I decided it would be a good day to hike the Royal Arch Trail.  The ranger said to allow at least 1.5 hours when I previously inquired.  So, I filled my new 32 ounce water bottle, applied sunscreen, and started out.  I began on the Chautauqua Trail, then connected with Bluebell-Baird, and on to Royal Arch. The sign for Royal Arch said 1.1 miles.  Piece of cake, I thought.  I'll be to the top and back in an hour.  Hah!

The path quickly changed from packed dirt to rocks, boulders, dirt steps with logs to hold the dirt, and more rocks.  It seemed that some of the rocks had been placed to form steps.  This was no longer easy going.  Each person on the way down said, "It's worth it!"  When I felt I had climbed enough to be near the top, a couple heading down said at least 30-40 minutes more before the top of the trail and the Royal Arch itself.  How could that be possible? I soldiered on, as the saying goes.  Along the way I met another fellow hiker, George, from the Bay Area.  We chatted, climbed together, and swapped cameras. Once we reached the top, we joined others, and a few people made jokes- no elevator?  no Starbucks?  Reluctantly, we each left the relaxing perch on the rocks and headed back.

I don't know which was better- the view from the top or the satisfaction of the climb.  I was further humbled when I was later walking through the garden at Chautauqua to get lunch.  An older guy was sitting with an ice pack on his knee.  I shouted that I needed that too, after the Royal Arch hike.  He agreed that it was steep, and that he made that hike all the time.  Sigh.  He did, however, give me credit for making the climb after only a week in Boulder.

Southern Wyoming

Today, this semi-adventurous Jersey Girl decided to leave Colorado for the day.  The southern part of Wyoming is too close to pass up the opportunity to see another state and explore.  So, I checked the directions and distances for Cheyenne and Laramie,  checked Tripadvisor for sightseeing and lunch recommendations, and even threw a change of clothes in my backpack in case I loved the area so much that I didn't want to leave after only a few hours.  

In Cheyenne, the annual rodeo event called Frontier Days was underway.  I missed the morning parade, but not the remaining horse droppings which were abundant on the street in front of the capital building.  Once inside the capital, a state trooper behind a desk greeted me, asked me to sign in, and said I was free to take a tour.  No metal detector.  No tour guides.  No closed off areas.  The trooper even suggested I could go into the governor's office and sign his visitor's book, too. I wandered at will through the three floors, admiring the large stuffed bison on the first floor, looking into the portrait gallery, the chambers for the senators and representatives, and other offices.  The trooper commented that this was a building "for the people" and because it didn't attract crowds, the building remained completely accessible.

I didn't walk around the blocks of restaurants and shops in Cheyenne, but instead got back in the car to head to Laramie.  It's a fairly short ride, with the Medicine Row Mountains in the foreground and the Snowy Range in the distance.  Even though Laramie is at an altitude of 7,000 feet, the historic area is flat with no visible mountain ranges.  There's a Union Pacific Railroad Line at one end of town and several blocks of shops, restaurants, banks, and several yarn stores.  I walked and noted the places that were mentioned in my guidebook.  Two great bookstores within two blocks.  An outdoor store.  A western wear store with serious belt buckles and racks of cowboy boots.  A microbrewery, of course, and a recommended coffee shop.

I chose the microbrewery for lunch- Altitude Microbrewery- and enjoyed a burger and Altitude Amber Ale.  When I asked the bartender if it was always this quiet in town, he said it was.  He said he thought about moving to a bigger city such as Denver, but he liked the "small town" feel of Laramie.  After lunch I checked out the Night Heron Used Books and picked out a book and a piece of blueberry coffeecake.  My last stop was the Coal Creek Coffee Co. for a decaf for the road.  After only two hours I was ready to head back to the liveliness and Flatirons of Boulder.  I know I missed some great things, such as the University of Wyoming, but Laramie was not for me.

Boulder Falls and Nederland

After a morning hike, I needed a plan for the afternoon.  When I called the front desk to ask for a suggestion, the young woman with whom I spoke suggested Nederland- a beautiful ride, less than 20 miles, and a great restaurant for lunch.  Perfect!

The drive to Nederland goes through Boulder Canyon on Rt. 119.  It's another breathtaking ride through the mountains, literally.  There are rocks and evergreens on either side, the Boulder Creek, and cyclists, of course.  A bit more than mid-way, I saw a pull-out filled with cars, and people peering over the edge on the opposite side of the ride.  Since I was going slowly enough and there was no traffic, I pulled over, too.  What the people were looking at was the bottom of the Boulder Falls.  I joined others climbing over rocks on the walkway to get closer in to the falls.  A young couple was next to me, and the guy stated that he often went fly-fishing at the falls, and last week the water was running brown due to mud churned up by rain.  "Imagine what that would look like," he said while shaking his head.  We both continued on our walks.

Within 10 minutes or so of leaving the falls I reached Nederland, a small town that seems to spring up in the hills while you're driving.  I continued past the village area (the recommended restaurant was closed today) and went to Sundance Lodge and Cafe, where "the food is as good as the view" according to comments on TripAdvisor.  The food was good enough, but the view was unbeatable-- the Rockies and the Continental Divide.  I lingered beyond by salad and pork green chili, then went into the village.  While the houses on the hillside were quite large, the ones in town were small and in need of repair.  There were a few shops, several restaurants, a visitor's center, the post office, a bakery.  I bought a pin, tee-shirt and a "hiker's cookie" filled with cranberries, oatmeal, orange rind, and dates. While I wouldn't choose to live in Nederland, I was mighty glad I went to visit. 

The Rockies and Continental Divide