In-Class Hike 11/4/10

Today, we hiked down to Clear Creek and back to campus along side Highway 6.

Genesee Park Hike

On October 14th, we hiked Genesee Park.   We started off on a path that I don't recall the name of.  It later turned out to be an "experimental trail" that we probably weren't supposed to be on.  There was a lot of debris in a ditch alongside the trail.  Here's a picture of the debris.

The trail was very pretty regardless.  It was a little close to the highway, however.  You could hear the vehicles quite easily.  Here's another random image taken on the trail.

We walked back to the parking lot and set off on the proper trail.  This one was perpendicular to the highway - no more noises.  The entire trail was lined with a hand rope.  It had an usual texture.  It also had many plaques containing factoids.  We went past the main loop and ended up on the wrong path again.  It was quite beautiful, however.  The sun was completely blocked out by trees and brush.  There was plenty of moss growing on rocks all along the trail.  It was obviously moist and cool under the trees.

...probably an animal path.  We didn't go far, it was definitely the wrong path.  We ended up turning around and going down the correct path.  It was a nice hike.

We spent about an hour hiking, it was a bunch of random trails, so I'm not sure how long the hike was distance-wise.

I've attached one additional picture.  It is a panorama I made on the top of Lookout Mountain.  We drove back the long way and ended up on top of Lookout Mountain, so I got a chance to take this series of images.

In-Class Hike 10/7/10

Today, we just hiked to Clear Creek again.

In-Class Hike 9/30/10

Sept 30, we hiked the Lubahn Trail.  We got to the top of Castle Rock and turned around, back the way we came.  I hiked this one out of class prior to this, pictures are below.

In-Class Hike 9/23/10

Today, we met at Red Rocks and did a short, 30 minute hike.  It was a pretty neat trail; if you've never been to Red Rocks you've really got to check it out.  The rocks formations are amazing.  The trail was enjoyable and there are a lot of interesting plants.  Lots of sagebrush, scrub oak and pear cacti but no conifers as there would be in a pinyon juniper woodland.  Very strange.

In-Class Hike 9/16/10

Today, we hiked the Chimney Gulch Trail up to Mount Zion Dr.  We took the Clear Creek Trail and crossed over just before it goes under Highway 6.  We went right onto the Chimney Gulch Trail and took it under 6.  We then hiked up to Mount Zion Drive through the valley along the trail.  It was a little hot, but the hike was enjoyable.  The hike was about 1.6 miles long.

In-Class Hike 9/9/10

Today, the class hiked to Clear Creek.  We used the new bridge that crosses the river going south just before the Clear Creek Trail goes under Highway six.  We took that all the way back up to the geology trail by the sorority houses.  I honestly didn't know that trial continued on that way; one night when I was running that direction in the summer, it looked to me as though the trail abruptly ended.

Under Highway 6

Trail Name: Chimney Gulch Trail/ Clear Creek Trail
Distance:  ~4.5 miles, ~2 miles to get there and backtracking
Date: 9/4/10
Length: 2 hr 10 min

Alright, this hike was a mess.  We set off near the small path that inserts into the Chimney Gulch Trail from the neighborhoods.  We walked over to the "aqueduct" area.  I figured there was an easier way to get back to the Clear Creek Trail, but there really isn't to my knowledge.  We ended up taking the "aqueduct" trail down to Clear Creek to the bridge and back under Highway 6.  Instead of going back to the Mines campus and home that direction, we decided to explore the Chimney Gulch Trail as it starts from the Clear Creek Trail.

We crossed that new bridge that goes over Clear Creek just before it goes under Highway 6 and took the Chimney Gulch Trail.  It is a nice little dirt path that ends in a tunnel that goes under Highway 6!  We honestly didn't know you could go under 6 that way, so it was pretty exciting to find.  It would have been a very short hike if there was no back-tracking involved.  Clear Creek was incredibly busy (Labor Day Weekend).  I didn't snap any pictures.

EDIT:  Actually, it turns out I did end up taking a few pictures.  I just don't remember what they were of.  I'm pretty sure this picture is looking up at Mount Zion from the "aqueducts".  Watch out, the image is huge.

Lubahn Trail, Late Summer

Trail Name: Lubahn Trail
Distance:  2.51 mi (~1 mile of trail, 1.5 mi to get there)
Date: 8/26/10
Length: 1 hr 10 min


The Lubahn Trail is a fairly short but interesting jaunt up South Table Mountain.  It is a quick way to get to the very top, to Table Rock.


Here's a simple trail map, from Golden Trails.

Here's picture of the trailhead, with the obligatory mountain lion warning.

Here's picture of Castle Rock as you're coming up the trail.

The top provides a great view of the Golden valley.  I got a few pictures, but they really can't do the scene justice (so they're not included).

Here's an image of Lookout Mountain from the top.

You can tell it's getting dark.  This image was taken at 6:30ish, so the sun was setting (or was going to set soon).

Alright, I have one more.  I took a picture of soldier beetles in some rabbitbrush.  This was on top of south table, just along the trail.  There is some tall rabbitbrush up there.  These guys are related to lightning bugs, but sadly they are incapable of lighting up.  You often see them in August and into September.

Okay, that's it for this hike.  I really like this trail, especially in the late afternoon.  During the day it can get hot, but it will still be an enjoyable trail.  Short, easy and pretty.

Abandoned Church Hike

Trail Name: CR530
Distance:  5.92 mi
Date: 8/14/10
Length: ?

Alright, this wasn't a Golden trail, but it was a fairly interesting hike.  It started in the middle of nowhere, out in the Wet Mountain Valley (which is between Alamosa and Walsenburg, southern Colorado).

There isn't much to write about; the journey was mostly uneventful.  The area is completely covered in Pinyon Juniper woodlands.  (Pinus edulis and Juniperus osteosperma).  The trail itself is a county road that gets little traffic.  We saw three motor vehicles over the course of 6 miles; a truck, an ATV and a motor home.  It was very hot, but there was a nice breeze.  Not a cloud in the sky, except over the Wet Mountains to the north.  (caused by air rising over them, see Orographic Lifting).

There is a large ridge formation that appears around two miles in.  It was a really handy landmark.

At three miles in, there is an old abandoned church.  This was pretty much the objective of the hike.

We really couldn't ascertain much about the nature of this old structure.  There wasn't really anything that stood out.  No denomination, date, name, etc.  Just a bunch of decaying wood and rusty nails.

From inside, the story was the same.  No clues about the its age... we estimated 20 years, based on the level of decay.  Light coming through the roof; it doesn't provide much structure anymore.

That's pretty much it; the hike wasn't a loop, just back the way we came.  Not a lot of altitude gain, but it was pretty hot.  Bring lots of water if you're going to be walking around southern Colorado at noon.

Hiking 210A at the Colorado School of Mines

I read the syllabus for Hiking 210 and it said you could submit your "Hiking Log" as a website.  This sounded like fun, so this semester I'll be documenting my hikes and runs here in Golden Colorado with my point and shoot camera and posting them here.  I'll start by posting some of my past hikes in the Golden area and elsewhere.