Parking lot experience rating

The parking lot was completely full and I only had to circle around three times, then wait for people who looked like they were leaving but weren’t actually leaving before I eventually found a spot. Then I parked like shit, and when I asked the man getting into the car next to me if it was shit, he was like “oh no you’re perfect” even though it was shit.

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The view’s alright /s

It smelled like fricken Crayola® crayons at the beginning of this trail for some complete mystery.

Now for the rock closeups I have to do every time.

I’ve come to this trailhead a few times before, but it’s my first time on this particular trail. All routes begin in this large prairie with the spectacular view looking ahead, but really, it’s a 360 degree view paradise.

Continuing forwards, there’s more trail maintenance going on. Luckily my route’s still open. If you like photos with a pine tree on the right side, you’re gonna love this.

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I’m sorry but I love conifers (evergreens) and you are about to witness that fact.

From here, the trail gets a little bushy. That’s good because in open country, the sun tries to murder you in this state.

And here come the rocks… A lot of these foothills trails involve tons of big rocky steps as you make your way up the mountain. You would think climbing uphill would be the worst of it, but actually, the return path downhill is arguably more punishment on the legs and knees. I’d reckon the only way for that not to be the case is if you flew down the steps.

This trail has a number of natural “green tunnels”, which I find kind of magical.

This following section is scary. The path is sandy and narrow, and also happens to be right on the edge of a mountainside… I usually crawl up these parts on all fours provided nobody’s looking.

I had to put my phone away temporarily in case I fell and died or something goofy like that. I mean I probably wouldn’t die if I fell. Probably.

Views are damn good, though.

I also love the look of the flora (plant life) up here.

This cloud kind of looks like a horse. Kind of.

Now for a beloved forest section.

Ascending further, we’ve come up to the iconic red rock formations. They are truly incredible.

At this point the path disappears and I realize I am definitely not following the trail anymore.

I backtracked, found the trail again, and chose a nice mossy boulder to take a quick Bar Break.

Afterwards, I continue on the trail, and immediately hit a steep and sandy and tree-rooty hill. The path doesn’t really seem to go anywhere as there is a wall of cliffs and boulders up ahead.

I’m awkwardly struggling to get up the steep section when I glance to my left and see a rock climber looking at me, who has just come down from the cliffside. I comically say hi and ask if this trail goes through. He thinks it does, but isn’t sure. He seems nice and asks me what trail I’m following and what I’m looking to get out of my hike. I explain that I’m not a climber or anything, just a hiker who is trying to find the return half of this loop. He mentions there are some good lookout points up ahead, so I decide to keep going.

I feel like my experience of Colorado has been nice mountains and nice people who help me when I’m feeling dumb and lost.

Well, clearly the guy was not mistaken.

After that, I resume being confused by the trail, and am walking back and forth while looking at my AllTrails navigation. I feel embarrassed, as the climber can probably hear me shuffling about like a video game NPC with poor AI.

Eventually, I notice that there is a gap between some boulders, and the trail continues on the other side. Ok then.

I could technically backtrack, but I really don’t want to. I see on the map the loop is supposed to connect back up to the main trail somewhere just down this hill. I end up crudely making my way down, climbing over branches, rocks, mounds, tree roots, and the like, while making sure that wherever I descend, I can climb back up if necessary. Thoughts of getting stuck on the hillside somewhere and having to be rescued seep into my mind, which make me cringe.

About 20 or so feet down the hill, I see that the trail had been on the left side by the rocky cliffside the whole time, after all. I had to climb over a pile of logs to get over to it.

Now that my hands are leaving sap stains on my phone from all the bracing against pine trees, we are good to keep going ! ! !

So that explains it, that was a rock climbing access trail. Wtf.

The path, now back to its senses, goes into the forest again. There’s a bunch more uphill climbing, but at least there are some semblance of stairs.

This has been a fucking workout. Now we’re at the highest point on the route.

Fortunately, the clouds have rolled in, and the temperature is dropping. Now it’s just a descent back through the forest.

My hamstrings (back of thighs) are sore from a workout yesterday, and now my quads (front of thighs) are sore from this hike. We love inclusive muscle pain.

I stopped in this fine little clearing, in which I hear a lot of bird chatter. There’s about five or six steller jays flying around in the trees, and one of them is giving a robin a hard time.

Oh look, a little hitchhiker!

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You can tell when you get back down to a lower elevation, because trees start being deciduous (the normal kind) again.

That completes the loop portion of this hike, and I opt to take a different route on the way back to the trailhead to avoid that weird scary cliff.

And here are a couple cute houses near the trailhead to conclude this hike.

Thanks for reading another long ass post!