Backpack Training: Week 10 - More Red Rocks, Snow & Mud
Right Buddy (RB) was able to get her back healed within ten days. She hiked the first short hike of the week with no backpack, but still had four pounds of camera gear on a waist belt. For the second short hike of the week, she increased her pack weight to 14 pounds and increased it again to 24 pounds for our long hike at Roxborough State Park. Our plan was to hike the Powerline and Carpenter’s Peak trails, but ended up only hiking the Carpenter’s Peak trail for a distance of only 6 miles but an elevation gain of 1200 feet.
Several factors led to our decision to shorten our hike in Roxborough State Park. Before we stared the hike, our conversation with the park ranger at the visitor center informed us that the snow was knee deep on the Powerline trail and we had left our snow shoes at home. However, we still thought we might give it a go and see for ourselves because eliminating the Powerline trail shortened our hike by a couple of miles and decreased our elevation gain by several hundred feet. When we got to the split in the trail where we had to make a decision, we realized how slow our pace was, how poor the trail conditions were and had passed several park signs warning us that the gates to the park are locked promptly at 7 pm. Time was an issue because we got a late start; which we want to blame on the time change. So we reluctantly stayed on the Carpenter’s Peak trail and skipped Powerline (which loops back around to Carpenter’s Peak at the other end).
Thank goodness we had our Yaktrax Diamond Grip All-Surface Traction Cleats for Walking on Ice and Snow (paid link) and trekking poles with us. The trail transitioned between slippery mud, slushy snow and solid ice depending on the elevation and whether we were in the sun or shade. The icy sections were the trickiest. In the shady sections of the trail, the snow and ice sloped sideways towards the edge of the narrow trail. Slipping off the side of the trail either meant falling into deep snow, down a steep rocky slope or into the tangle of scrub oak trees. None of those options seemed very appealing to us, so we took it pretty slow through those sections.
Despite the terrible trail conditions, it was a very enjoyable hike. The sun was out for most of it, the temperature was in the high forties and low fifties, and the views were gorgeous. The red rocks of the park glowed in the sunshine. When we got to the peak, there were great views of the mountains to the west. Eating our sack lunch on the boulders at the peak while basking in the sun, we gazed out over the red rock formations below. On our way back down, we spied an eagle soaring in the distance. It was a little too far away to identify, but we think it was a juvenile golden eagle. You can’t tell from this picture, but we could somewhat make out a band of white under its wings and near its feet at the base of its tail in some of RB’s other blurry pictures of the eagle.
As the deep, thick mud started to create a suction on our shoes, we were reminded of the last time we hiked in Roxborough State Park, around fifteen or more years ago. We fondly refer to that weekend as our Most Expensive Camping Weekend Ever. Our kids were young then, our son was in grade school and we don’t think our daughter was in school yet. Our original family plans for that autumn weekend were to go to Rocky Mountain National Park to camp and hike with another family during elk bugling season. As the weekend approached, the weather forecast called for a snow storm in the mountains so we canceled the trip. However, the kids were all excited about going camping, so we thought we’d drive down to Cherry Creek State Park in Denver to camp at the lower elevation, where the forecast was not as bad. We drove to Cherry Creek State Park in the pouring, cold rain, with hopes that it would let up by the time we got there. It did not, so we checked into a hotel with the expectation that we would camp on Saturday night after a hike in Roxborough State Park. It was still cold and drizzling rain on Saturday, but we hiked anyway. The mud on the three mile South Rim Trail was so deep that it was pulling the boots off of our feet. Every once in a while, one of the kids would fall over into the mud as they struggled along. At one point, one of our kids (we don’t remember which one) was totally stuck in the mud and couldn’t move. RB came to the rescue and pulled the kid out of their boots and carried them to safety while LB wrangled the boots loose from the grips of the mud. By the time we made it back to the parking lot, we were all covered in mud from head to foot. We took off our muddy rain gear and stuffed them into a large garbage bag and threw it in the back of our Suburban. While we warmed up by the fireplace inside the visitor center, another night in a warm hotel sounded like a much better option than camping. To make sure we totally blew our budget for the weekend, we went shopping in Park Meadows Mall on Sunday where RB made an impulse buy of an adult Tigger costume at the Disney Store before heading home. That’s how life goes sometimes, full of unexpected events, but we hope we taught our kids to embrace it. Was it a horrible experience? No, it is forever in our memories as a wonderful family adventure even if the details have become a little fuzzy. And the Tigger costume? RB wore it every year when she took the kids trick-or-treating and still has it in her closet. To quote Charles Schultz, “In life, it’s not where you go - it’s who you travel with.”
There is a video of the hike on our YouTube channel: Red Rocks, Snow & Sun.
(RB)