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.