Backpack Training: Week 8 - Red Rocks, Snow & Sun
In search of more elevation gain for better conditioning, we tried some different trails but still did not travel very far from home. One of our hikes was a repeat to College Pond, but our second short hike started at College Pond and went to Mushroom Pond via Cotton Creek and Farmer's Highline Canal trails. For our long hike of the week, we drove to Morrison to Red Rocks Park. Just because the hikes were close to home does not mean that we didn't have some great scenery.
The first hike of the week was to College Pond which had only 167 feet in elevation change. The hike to Mushroom Pond was almost double that, 316 feet in elevation change. However, we finally found the elevation gain we were looking for with our Red Rocks hike, which was 1,853 feet.
The weather was not ideal for the first hike, but we did see some interesting things along the way. It is our style to notice the little things, because there is always beauty and wonder around us if we are willing to look hard enough. On the first hike we noticed the interesting ice formations in Big Dry Creek. It is hard to tell from the picture on the right, but underneath a sheet of surface ice, there were spikes of ice crystals that shot down further into the water, like tent spikes. One must have been close to two feet long. In College Pond, there were some ducks, all with their heads down in the water, spinning in circles as a group. We thought this was a rather strange behavior, but we did find some info on the internet that this is a known behavior of the Northern Shoveler (allaboutbirds.org). It is believed that they spin in circles to churn up the mud bottom of shallow ponds to bring their food closer to the surface of the water because Northern Shovelers do not dive below the surface. From the distance we were observing the ducks, we initially thought they were mallards. But looking closer at the poor video footage we got on Right Buddy's phone, it appears that the ducks we saw were indeed Northern Shovelers, their markings are very similar to mallards.
On the second hike, while Right Buddy was trying to capture a picture of some dried up berries along a wooden fence in the fading sunlight, Left Buddy noticed a bird in the tree overhead. Thank you, Left Buddy! It was a bird we have not seen before. It looked like a hawk, but was rather small for a hawk. Looking through our copy of "National Geographic Complete Birds of North America" book, we believe it was a Broad-winged Hawk, which is only about 16 inches tall.
Sometimes you do not have to look very hard to see the beauty and wonder around you. Our Red Rocks hike definitely was one of those times. Several inches of snow fell Friday night, but the Colorado sun came out in its full intensity on the day we hiked Red Rocks to bring the temperatures up close to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The snow that remained on Sunday provided a nice contrast to the red rocks and the intense sunshine meant that we could hike without a coat and still break a sweat. However, that also meant that we were getting our feet soaked in the deep slush and sloppy mud. In life, you usually have to take the bad with the good.
We started our Red Rocks hike from the Trading Post with its gift shop, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, and, most importantly, flush toilets. We walked the pavement of Trading Post Road, past the Amphitheater, to pick up the Red Rocks Trail. Following the Red Rocks Trail up into Matthew Winters Park, we took the Morrison Slide Trail to gain more elevation. The Morrison Slide Trail then rejoins Red Rocks Trail before becoming the Village Walk Trail which ends at the Matthew Winters Park trailhead at Mt. Vernon Creek. After having lunch at a peaceful picnic table along Mt. Vernon Creek under the trees (and taking advantage of the vault toilets at the trailhead), we crossed highway 93 to pick up the Dakota Ridge Trail. The Dakota Ridge Trail follows the hogback ridge of Dinosaur Ridge before descending back down to highway 93 at the south entrance of Red Rocks Park. Dinosaur Ridge is a National Natural Landmark, but we have been there several times before, so we did not walk over to view the dinosaur footprints in the rock along Alameda Parkway. Following the Red Rocks Park Road from highway 93 led us back to the Trading Post. Since that large loop was only about eight miles, we then took the mile and a half Trading Post Trail that loops through the red rock formations south of the Trading Post, just as the sun was starting to set over the mountains. The anticipation of what gorgeous views lay around the next bend, illuminated by the fading sunlight, gave us energy and kept away the fatigue of the hike.
It is hard to believe that Red Rocks Park is part of the Denver Mountain Parks system and not a state park. It is so close to Denver, but it doesn't feel like it is; the Green Mountain sits in between to block the views of the city from the park. However, we did notice the traffic noise while we were on the Dakota Ridge Trail, as I-70 is at one end of the trail and C470 runs between Dinosaur Ridge and Green Mountain along the whole length of the trail. The parking lot in the picture is the Matthews Winters trailhead; the trees to the left of the parking lot line Mt. Vernon Creek where we had lunch and the busy highway cutting through the mountain pass in the upper right is I-70.
Our hiking pace was much slower than normal. It took us six hours to complete the nine and a half miles. The slow pace was due to a combination of factors: the icy and muddy sections of the trail where we slowed down for safety, the steep sections that got our hearts pumping on the way up, the steep and rocky sections on the way down where we needed to watch our step, and stopping to take lots of pictures of the stunning scenery. On the Dakota Ridge Trail, instead of building steps into the trail for some of the steep sections, there were ramps of four-inch diameter logs stacked lengthwise across the trail. We assume these were to make the trail friendlier for mountain bikes, but, as hikers, we did not appreciate them. They may not be a problem for hikers when they are dry, but they were a little tricky when covered with ice, snow or mud. Our Yaktrax Diamond Grip All-Surface Traction Cleats for Walking on Ice and Snow (paid link) seemed to give us enough traction to navigate these log ramps, but we felt better when we could find foot holds off to the side to avoid the ramps.
We saw some wildlife and saw evidence of more wildlife. Mountain bluebirds were darting among the juniper and pine trees. A red-tailed hawk flew directly over us on the Dakota Ridge Trail. The snow provided evidence of other wildlife in the area with deer tracks and raccoon tracks. Then there were large paw prints along the trail. Was that from a large dog or a mountain lion? We've ruled out a small bear, because they have five toes instead of four. What do you think it is?
Right Buddy put some pictures in a video with music for your enjoyment: Red Rocks, Snow & Sun.