Trip Report Hike # 1: Guardians of the Flatirons
No, those aren't my modeling shots (thank God!) Those are the three summits of hike #1, the triple link of Green Mountain, Bear Peak, and South Boulder Peak! Situated right here in Boulder, this hike covered 11.6 miles and had a calf-wrenching 5,200 ft. of elevation gain (perhaps the most of any hike in my book!)
I went for the anti-alpine start, beginning the trek at 10:24 AM (Doh!) I didn't see many people on the trail--4 or 5 total. I must look like a bit of a spaz with all my gear, as I got lots of encouragement in a "you can do it, newbie" kind of way! People looked at me the way I look at birdwatchers, with a kind of awe and surpressed, tittering mockery. With my gear hanging all over me, my tripod and cameras, I do look like I'm trying to spot a yellow-thrusted bush warbling gnat crushing swallow (Sadly, I only saw a red fingered bush warbling grub pinching sparrow).
The hike itself was good but hot, despite the cloudy sky that moved in late afternoon (as you can see by the sequence of summit shots). Highlights included birds (see, I'm a birder!) zipping by my head on the summits, so close you could hear them zinging through the air! I had to give them a round of applause for their aeronautic prowess!
The pale shadows in the aptly named "Shadow Canyon" on the decent provided a spooky atmosphere to the rocky trail, as if legions of phantom mountain lions were watching my every move. I'm sure some non-phantom, flesh-and-blood lions saw me, but as usual I didn't see them. There are countless nooks in the rock piles with dark recesses, plaguing the imagination to query what devilish creature would inhabit such a fearful place. Thunder cracked over head and the birds grew silent. Distracted by the stillness, I slipped at one point and gave myself a nice flapper on my wrist (medically inclined folks would call this an avulsion). Oh yeah, did I mention that hulking over the trail is a huge rock feature known as the Devil's Thumb? Its stony presence looked primed to smite, thus its satanic moniker, I guess. You couldn't really call it "Jolly Green Giant Thumb" and expect it to inspire awe. Plus it's on South Boulder Peak, not Green Mountain!
Luckily, nothing ate/smote/possessed me and the sun returned for the long trudge back to the car under the watch of the flatirons. Total hike time was 6 hours and 36 minutes, though included in that time was my photography and GPS stuff. All in all a good hike, tomorrow I have the day off from hiking and Sunday it's James Peak--Monday is Navajo Peak!
