AUG 3, 2024 SAT 9:55 am

28C/82F | Sunny | 24% humidity | 6,188ft highest point

Luckily, the smoke has waned quite significantly since my last hike on Thursday, but there is still some lingering smogginess. It’s tough to choose a trail on Saturdays due to all the good ones being packed, typically, which is why I normally go somewhere further from the mountains and less popular. However, I wouldn’t really have gotten a good view today because the air still isn’t entirely clear. I went with Flatirons Vista, as it’s pretty near the mountains, but its parking lot tends not to be completely full as it’s further south than Boulder proper.

Although I got there before the worst heat of the day (35C/95F high), it was still pretty hot and the sun pretty strong. This trail is relatively flat overall, which is good for these conditions, but the beginning section has several hills that I really did not want to experience today. I hiked the trail in reverse, so I didn’t have to.

Most trails around here do not have much shade or water, but this one has both. A herd of cattle usually hangs around this pond, but they were nowhere to be seen today (only smelled).

Click/tap on photos to enlarge! Use the 🗩 icon in the bottom right to add a comment. On mobile, tap ⓘ to show the caption.

I just love the texture of the rock faces.

I mentally call this dip in this mountaintop “the armpit” for some reason.

I mentioned the KBCO building in the last post, and here we see it again, but closer. I’ve noticed this little building on top of Eldorado mountain for months, and can even see its little silhouette from my current room. I didn’t, however, find out that it is actually the broadcasting site of the radio station I’ve been playing for Kiwi since we moved to the state. What a weird coincidence, and on odd feeling: being able to see the source of the transmissions of a radio station you’re currently listening to.

Anyway, there’s something about a fallen dead tree that gives a certain vibe to the scenery…

One of the peculiar things about this trail is this mining site of some kind near it. At one point, you can see quite clearly that it has a pretty sizable quarry. I’ve tried looking up what it is, but couldn’t find any good information online. Very frustrating.

Bird time. I only got a picture of two today, a chickadee (if you can even see it), and something else I didn’t recognize. I also ID’d two birdsongs with Merlin. Western meadowlarks are a common and very beautiful ear-sight anywhere in the flat grasslands around the mountains, but I’ve never heard a “bobolink” before, so that was interesting.

Listen to the recording (not sure why the volume is super low) – the pretty song is the is the meadowlark, while the periodic “twit twit” is the bobolink.

The far half of the trail goes through a nice forested section, which provides some much needed shade. I tried about 10 times to get a good photo of this area that really captured its atmosphere, but they mostly kept turning out kind of mediocre.

Here we come upon a clearing and a nice lookout point.

You can see the neighboring Doudy Draw trail cutting through the valley down below. It really feels like standing at the beginning area of Bianco Hills in Super Mario Sunshine, and looking over the cliff to see Ricco Harbor.

These rocks threaten to break my ankles every time. They also totally don’t deserve to be displayed full size.

It’s plant hours. Nothing really super interesting, but they all happen to be vertical photos, so they play nice in the formatting.

About three quarters into the hike, I crossed paths with an older man in a motorized scooter. He asked me to take a photo of him, “to show people I get out”. After reframing a couple times to avoid massive utility poles ruining the shot, I took the picture using the same ass rule of thirds technique I always use. I wasn’t sure what he would think of it as I handed his phone back to him, but he was delighted with the photo. I told him to “have a good rest of your hike” (awkward), but he didn’t seem to care – he immediately responded with a cheerful “you too!” before I could even finish my sentence. I’m okay with that…

I stopped to take these shots for myself before continuing.

And to finish things off, here is a nice view of the Flatirons with the blue of the sky and the trees complemented perfectly by the yellow patch of prairie.

This post turned out way longer than expected! What the hell