Monday 101308

I thought of venturing up Bear or South Boulder Peak today.  From my desk I could see, once the morning haze burned off, snow on the peaks and I was itching to crunch around in that.

En route, I changed my mind and decided to explore a set of trails that I don't really know - those that fork around and through the Eldorado Canyon State Park.  I parked "in town" and took the "forgotten trail" up to the Fowler trail.  I love this little connector, mostly because I spent the better half of an hour looking for it about three years ago at the Basic Boulder.  And within ten steps, I got to see the snow I had only expected to see on the top of Bear.  There was snow in all the shadows of north facing slopes today.

Once up on the Fowler, and into the Park, I decided to take the Eldorado Canyon trail.  I had never been on this trail, and that is a shame.  The trail is absolutely beautiful.  If someone came in from out of town and wanted to go on a "rave run" it would either be this trail or the run up Green.  The views from this thing are spectacular as you climb and roll over to Walker Ranch (Map).  I will certainly come back again - I need to bring my camera to get some of my own shots!  If you live in the Boulder - Denver area, and have not done this run, it is not one to miss.

It is easy for me to say this of course, as I have now done this run.  I want to do the whole loop some time (looping out and back through Walker).  I am a bit ashamed to say that in my first ten years in Boulder County I had made it up Green maybe once.  It was not until the summer after Pikes 05 that JV started effectively dragging me up Bear, Green, SBP and a slew of other trails.  It is a great playground.

Kept the run easy.  95 minutes, 10 miles.  Not a peak but I will count this as my weekly mountain run requirement as there was a fair amount of vertical in it.