A quick recap of some past events:
Wednesday, October 12: Deer Mountain Hike
Deer Mountain is a prominent mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park located close to both Estes Park entrance stations. Its summit is fairly flat, making something of a forested mesa. There are several granite outcroppings, the highest of which lies at 10,013 feet on the south side. Comparatively, it is not a high summit, but it is in a great location that offers incredible views of the higher peaks, and the surrounding low areas.
 |
| Deer Mtn is located near both the park entrances. |
The trail starts at the Deer Ridge Junction trailhead, where US 34 and US 36 meet. The trail system includes trails that lead to the summit from the east and west and other trails that nearly circumnavigate the entire base of the mountain. Deer Mtn is very popular and the parking along the street at the trailhead is usually pretty crowded and nearly always full in summer. It was definitely the most popular hike I hadn't done yet, so on a quiet Wednesday I decided to check it off my list, hitting the summit plus a loop around the north side to add some miles.
 |
| The assent begins with freshly snow-capped mountain views. |
My route took me from Deer Ridge Junction on the west side, up to the summit, down the east side, and around the northern base back to the start point. This made a nice loop up, over, and around the northern half of the mountain. The main western summit trail is 3 miles from the junction. From there I would drop down the east side 3.3 more miles and hook up with the North Deer Mountain Trail that would wrap around the northern base another 4.1 miles back to my car.
 |
| There was still snow from the winter system that went through a few days before in the shady areas. |
The trail immediately started up the west side of the mountain, switching back and going into the trees for about a mile and a half before leveling out, offering views to the north, west, and south through the trees along the way.
 |
| Looking west at Horseshoe Park and the Mummy Range. |
The views were extraordinary in the morning light, and forced me to stop several times in order to take it all in. The snow from a few days before was still covering the mountain tops in the distance, and it was good to see fresh white snow after months of watching the snowfields turn gray.
 |
| Along the flat top of Deer Mtn. |
The trail actually drops in elevation before the actual summit, and I struck off trail to explore some of the rocky outcroppings. I didn't stick around long though, the cold wind drove me back into the shelter of the tree-covered trail.
 |
| Last 0.2 miles to summit. |
The short spur trail to the high point was actually pretty icy. I slipped and slid my way up the steps to the rocky summit, where the trees opened up and showed off the surrounding mountains.
 |
| Deer Mtn summit, 10,013' |
The summit is on the south side of the mountain, and overlooks the Beaver Meadows entrance station and the town of Estes Park. I was lucky enough to have the summit to myself and found a good spot out of the wind to sit back and eat some trail mix as I stared at the Continental Divide.
 |
| Going down the east side. |
Going down the east side I discovered that, despite being one of the least remote trails in the park, the eastern half of Deer Mountain Trail is virtually unused. It is also really cool. The east side is more open with fewer pine trees and several aspen stands, there are also lots of rock outcroppings right next to the trail. The more exposed, sunny trail was in the lee of the wind, so I quickly warmed up and was able to shed some layers. Along the way I startled groups of mule deer and cow elk.
 |
| Last leg along the north side. |
The junction at the base of the east side connects with a trail into the town of Estes Park and a short spur to the North Deer Mountain Trail. The trail from town was much more traveled, but two left turns later I was on North Deer Mtn, which, again, was not well-traveled. As I skirted the base of the mountain I ended up back in the trees and the wind picked back up.
I'll admit it, I started to get pretty tired while hiking North Deer Mtn Trail. And I my surroundings were not helping. The trail was cold and windy, not very scenic, and since it was surrounded by thick pines, it was actually pretty dark. Eventually, after a few miles of walking headlong into the wind, on a far hillside I could see a trail that I knew was from Aspenglen Campground and intersected my trail. I kept waiting for that junction, where I knew I would see a sign telling me I had only 1 mile to my car. Finally it came, I turned left, and headed uphill to Deer Ridge Junction.
As I was straggling along the last mile, my spirits were lifted by the sounds of elk bugling in the glens downhill from the trail. I never saw them, but it sounded like two different males were going back and forth. Animals can make some crazy noises.
Eventually, I was back to the main western summit trail where I had started four and a half hours earlier. As I walked the last 50 yards, there were several people walking the trail too. Some were headed to or from the summit, but many were only walking a few hundred feet up the trail from their parked cars to check out the view, before turning back. I'm sure I looked strange, sweaty and obviously worn out, with a full daypack on, compared to everyone else who was milling around the trailhead now that it was afternoon.
I took off my boots, drove to Smoking Dave's, and ordered the burger that I had been craving since mile 5. I ate it so fast the waitress asked if I wanted a second one. Good day.
-----
Sunday, October 16: Volunteer Day at Forsberg
This was my second time volunteering with Boulder County Parks and Open Space. This time we were taken to a small parcel of land owned by POS called the Forsberg Property. I was excited about this work day because the land is not open to the public, so this would likely be the only way I would ever get to explore it.
Our task was to remove the old metal t-posts from fences that had been put up by ranchers way back when. The barbed wire fences create hazards for animals like coyotes, deer, and migrating elk. Luckily for us, the wire had already been cut and coiled up, so our main responsibility was pulling out the posts and getting all the materials back to the truck to be hauled away.
I found I really enjoyed using the post pullers; it is very satisfying when a post finally breaks free from the earth. We encountered many very stubborn posts, but with enough manpower and a few cheater bars (which were well bent by the end of the day) we got almost every one out. After pulling all the posts we made a fire line to pass them down, two at a time, to the edge of the property at the road, where they were then loaded into the pickup.
I really enjoyed working up a hard sweat outdoors, especially in a beautiful, relatively untouched piece of land. The fencing was really the only evidence of man beside occasional litter by the road. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the golden eagles that nest on the site, but no luck there.
Our task was to remove the old metal t-posts from fences that had been put up by ranchers way back when. The barbed wire fences create hazards for animals like coyotes, deer, and migrating elk. Luckily for us, the wire had already been cut and coiled up, so our main responsibility was pulling out the posts and getting all the materials back to the truck to be hauled away.
I found I really enjoyed using the post pullers; it is very satisfying when a post finally breaks free from the earth. We encountered many very stubborn posts, but with enough manpower and a few cheater bars (which were well bent by the end of the day) we got almost every one out. After pulling all the posts we made a fire line to pass them down, two at a time, to the edge of the property at the road, where they were then loaded into the pickup.
I really enjoyed working up a hard sweat outdoors, especially in a beautiful, relatively untouched piece of land. The fencing was really the only evidence of man beside occasional litter by the road. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the golden eagles that nest on the site, but no luck there.
-----
Wednesday October 19: Heil Valley Ranch MTB
I have started doing some volunteer work for the planning department in Longmont, a town about half an hour north of Boulder. They've got me working on a river corridor reinvestment project through downtown which should be really interesting. Anyways, on to the fun stuff..
When I went in on Wednesday I brought my bike and afterwards headed over to the last nearby mountain biking destination I had to check out. Heil Valley Ranch is a Boulder County Open Space along the foothills, north of Boulder and west of Longmont. It's over 5,000 acres and has five trails totaling 14.5 miles (4/13.2 of which is open to bikes). The area was settled in 1888 and there are remains of some of the historic buildings visible along the trails.
I took off from the parking lot along the Wapiti Trail, which gains elevation and meets Ponderosa Loop. Wild Turkey branches off Ponderosa, and Picture Rock Trail off Wild Turkey. The trails at Heil are very rocky, especially Ponderosa. Since Wild Turkey is a little smoother and was purportedly funner on a bike, I decided to ride it in each direction and pretty much skip out on the extremely rocky Ponderosa Loop (and Picture Rock which is a one-way decent to the town of Lyons). However, I made a little slip up and missed the junction that should have signaled I was done with Wild Turkey and it was time to turn around, so I continued on the west side of Ponderosa Loop back down to Wapiti. Guess I was just going too fast to notice!
Even though I didn't follow the plan, I still got a great ride in. Ponderosa wasn't nearly as teeth-rattling and bike-unfriendly as it was made out to be, and I had a blast negotiating all the rocks. Wild Turkey was smoother and more 'flowy' for sure, but I enjoyed more technical Ponderosa just as much.
Once I was back at the Wapiti junction it took me awhile to figure out what happened and where I was. I thought about heading back up and riding Wild Turkey again, since I was feeling really good and wanted more stoke, but the sun was setting and I needed to get back to my car. So I dropped back down Wapiti, meeting several hikers who seemed surprised a radical mountain biker would actually slow down and yield to them (most people seem to get all their impressions about bikers from the X Games). I rode just over 10 miles in an hour and a half, gaining over 2,000 feet, with a little bloodshed.
-----
Saturday, October 22: Volunteer Day at Rabbit Mtn
Another volunteer day with Boulder County Parks and Open Space. They are winding these down as winter approaches, so the agenda for the day was not known beforehand, as the last several are kind of wild cards, used to finish up whatever wasn't done already. So I arrived at the BCPOS hq to learn that I would again be pulling fence posts. But this time, with the wire still around to deal with too.
After meeting everyone over breakfast burritos, we loaded into the van and drove out to Rabbit Mountain Open Space. Rabbit Mountain used to be called Rattlesnake Mountain, and I had heard that there are plenty of rattlers there; one of the POS employees had actually told me on a previous work day that they don't like to take volunteers there until it starts to get colder because of all the snakes.
Our main goal was to take out the fences at a spring in the back of the property. Apparently several ranchers in the area all had their fences converging at the spring since they all wanted a slice of the water, creating an asterisk of fences, which was causing all kinds of trouble for animals trying to get a drink. Unlike last time, these fences still had the wire, so we had to cut the wire at the posts, coil it, pull the posts, and get it all back to the truck. I was happy to be on post pulling duty again. I pitched in on the coiling too since there weren't always wire-less posts to pull, and I quickly found that I wasn't very good at it. My coils were always misshapen ovals, and I seemed to always have really rusty wire that would break when bent.
After we cleared out all the wire and posts we could at the spring, we moved back to the entrance to take down a fence along the road. This fence was on much easier terrain, flat former pasture, than the steep and brambly terrain around the spring, but the posts were a lot harder to get out because they did not have the little knobs that the pullers grip against. We got all the wire, but left plenty of posts. Might not look great, but now the deer will have an easier time getting off the road quickly.
Rabbit Mountain is a pretty neat area, especially since it is actually open space and you're allowed to roam anywhere you want, unlike most BoCo property. I'd like to go back and snowshoe through the ravines. (When the snakes are all hunkered down.)
I have started doing some volunteer work for the planning department in Longmont, a town about half an hour north of Boulder. They've got me working on a river corridor reinvestment project through downtown which should be really interesting. Anyways, on to the fun stuff..
When I went in on Wednesday I brought my bike and afterwards headed over to the last nearby mountain biking destination I had to check out. Heil Valley Ranch is a Boulder County Open Space along the foothills, north of Boulder and west of Longmont. It's over 5,000 acres and has five trails totaling 14.5 miles (4/13.2 of which is open to bikes). The area was settled in 1888 and there are remains of some of the historic buildings visible along the trails.
 |
| Brief breather along the north end of Wild Turkey. |
I took off from the parking lot along the Wapiti Trail, which gains elevation and meets Ponderosa Loop. Wild Turkey branches off Ponderosa, and Picture Rock Trail off Wild Turkey. The trails at Heil are very rocky, especially Ponderosa. Since Wild Turkey is a little smoother and was purportedly funner on a bike, I decided to ride it in each direction and pretty much skip out on the extremely rocky Ponderosa Loop (and Picture Rock which is a one-way decent to the town of Lyons). However, I made a little slip up and missed the junction that should have signaled I was done with Wild Turkey and it was time to turn around, so I continued on the west side of Ponderosa Loop back down to Wapiti. Guess I was just going too fast to notice!
Even though I didn't follow the plan, I still got a great ride in. Ponderosa wasn't nearly as teeth-rattling and bike-unfriendly as it was made out to be, and I had a blast negotiating all the rocks. Wild Turkey was smoother and more 'flowy' for sure, but I enjoyed more technical Ponderosa just as much.
 |
| 10 miles, 1h 25m, 2k+ elevation gain |
Once I was back at the Wapiti junction it took me awhile to figure out what happened and where I was. I thought about heading back up and riding Wild Turkey again, since I was feeling really good and wanted more stoke, but the sun was setting and I needed to get back to my car. So I dropped back down Wapiti, meeting several hikers who seemed surprised a radical mountain biker would actually slow down and yield to them (most people seem to get all their impressions about bikers from the X Games). I rode just over 10 miles in an hour and a half, gaining over 2,000 feet, with a little bloodshed.
-----
Saturday, October 22: Volunteer Day at Rabbit Mtn
Another volunteer day with Boulder County Parks and Open Space. They are winding these down as winter approaches, so the agenda for the day was not known beforehand, as the last several are kind of wild cards, used to finish up whatever wasn't done already. So I arrived at the BCPOS hq to learn that I would again be pulling fence posts. But this time, with the wire still around to deal with too.
After meeting everyone over breakfast burritos, we loaded into the van and drove out to Rabbit Mountain Open Space. Rabbit Mountain used to be called Rattlesnake Mountain, and I had heard that there are plenty of rattlers there; one of the POS employees had actually told me on a previous work day that they don't like to take volunteers there until it starts to get colder because of all the snakes.
Our main goal was to take out the fences at a spring in the back of the property. Apparently several ranchers in the area all had their fences converging at the spring since they all wanted a slice of the water, creating an asterisk of fences, which was causing all kinds of trouble for animals trying to get a drink. Unlike last time, these fences still had the wire, so we had to cut the wire at the posts, coil it, pull the posts, and get it all back to the truck. I was happy to be on post pulling duty again. I pitched in on the coiling too since there weren't always wire-less posts to pull, and I quickly found that I wasn't very good at it. My coils were always misshapen ovals, and I seemed to always have really rusty wire that would break when bent.
After we cleared out all the wire and posts we could at the spring, we moved back to the entrance to take down a fence along the road. This fence was on much easier terrain, flat former pasture, than the steep and brambly terrain around the spring, but the posts were a lot harder to get out because they did not have the little knobs that the pullers grip against. We got all the wire, but left plenty of posts. Might not look great, but now the deer will have an easier time getting off the road quickly.
Rabbit Mountain is a pretty neat area, especially since it is actually open space and you're allowed to roam anywhere you want, unlike most BoCo property. I'd like to go back and snowshoe through the ravines. (When the snakes are all hunkered down.)
No comments:
Post a Comment