Trail Through Time

Distance: 1.5 mile loop
Elevation: 4,514 ft
Elevation Gain: 200 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs: Off leash
Tags: #coloradooutdoors, #dinosaurs, #westernslope, #wildflowers, #lizards
Other Trails in the area: Rabbit Ear's Trail, Utah Juniper

Dinosaur bones are visible on the Trail Through Time

Wander in the footsteps of Camarasaurus and Diplodocus on the "Trail through Time" near Fruita, CO. This is short paleontological trail contains visible dinosaur bones and fossilized plants along with modern day lizards and flowering cacti. 

Heading up the hillside

The Dakota Formation

150 million years ago this area was a swamp filled with bus-sized sauropods. Now those swamps are entombed as the Dakota formation, a conglomerate layer of rocks and sand. The trail describes this formation and through a series of interpretive signs, describes the Jurassic landscape.

A lizard basks in the sun

Looking south over the Rabbit Valley. The trail can be seen several hundred feet below.  

Views of the desert abound from the trail, which switchbacks up a small hillside. To the south is the La Sal mountains, which rise sharply out of the desert floor. These mountains are the remains of a "bubble" of hot molten lava that intruded into the thick sediments of the Colorado plateau 29 million years ago. Over the millennia, the surrounding sediments have eroded away, leaving these 12K ft peaks. That is a lot of erosion!

You get to this trail off of I-70 at exit 2. It is a short one mile drive to the trailhead. Brown tourist signs mark the way. This is the same exit as the Rabbit's Ear Trail with its stunning views of the Colorado River.

Claret Cup Cactus and other plants bloom in spring on the Trail Through Time  

Don't linger too long on this trail, however, or you may just join the dinosuars...preserved in rock for all time.

Heading back down

Shrine Mountain East

Distance: 5 miles round trip
Elevation: 11,100 ft - 11,888 ft
Elevation Gain: 788 ft (net), 1,135 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: Off leash
Bathroom at the Trailhead: Yes
Date Hiked: 16 June 2012
Tags: #coloradooutdoors, #vail, #travel, #hiking, #tundra, #wildflowers
Nearby Trails: Shrine Mountain, Wilder Gulch, Ptarmigan Pass

A hiker lounges on Shrine Ridge.  Just another ghastly day in paradise!

Shrine Mountain near Vail, Colorado is perhaps one of the most scenic hikes in the whole state. This area has eye-popping views of two mountain ranges plus carpets of wildflowers in late summer. Shrine Mountain exist on a long east/west ridge. To the west is Shrine Mountain proper. This post covers a hike to the east.

Mt. Holy Cross from the saddle

Looking at our destination,  the green hill in the distance,  from the saddle.  You can't quite tell from this picture, but there are two approaches.  This trail will lead you along the right hand side of the ridge.  On the return, we came back over the middle.  Both are nice. 

Part of the route passes by crumbling rocks 

Green meadows and blue skies...how miserable! 

Alpine Sunflowers

I won't repeat my earlier discussion on how to get to the trailhead or how to get the ridge.  Please review my previous post on Shrine Mountain for those details and return here.

Destination in sight

Looking east from a perch on the ridge

Large cairn on the summit ridge

Looking at the trail as it continues on to Wilder Gulch

Once you cross the snowfield and reach the ridge, you can go right to Shrine Mountain and "Aircraft Carrier Rock" or go left and up along the ridge itself.  This latter route is all in the tundra and the views just keep getting better.  If you are a flatlander,  you should be able to do this hike unless your idea of fitness is a vigorous game of bingo.  Just remember that breathing is not optional.  Stop and suck wind  as required.  

Chipmunk

Heading back along an upper route which will take us to that small promitory

Interesting rock formations and stunted Sub-alpine Firs 

Heading back to the saddle

So what do you do when you reach the apex of the ridge?  Well, you can continue on until the intersection with Wilder Gulch and make day of it or like me you can lounge about thinking of all the poor slobs in the world who have had to pay big bucks to travel to Colorado.

Looking at Shrine Mountain.  If the weather is nice, don't hesitate to head in that direction.  It will only add a mile to your trip. 

Ptarmigan Pass (Sawatch Range)

Distance: 7.8 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,662 ft - 11,765 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,142 ft (net) 1,408 ft (cum)
Date Hiked: 2 July 2015
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs: Off leash
Tags: #coloradooutdoors #mountainpass #tundra #nature #hiking, #gearguide
Nearby Trails: Shrine Mountain, Shrine Mountain East

Looking southwest from Ptarmigan Pass near Vail

 A hike to scenic Ptarmigan Pass (the one near Vail) is an easy add on to the Wilder Gulch Trail (view post for all the details). Wilder Gulch travels three miles up a lush, open valley, and dead ends into Forest Service Road 747. From this point it is a short 0.9 miles (~500 ft gain) up (to the left) the road to the top of the pass. The only downside is the volume of 4x4 vehicles that can sometimes mare the otherwise serene experience.

Heading up the road to the false summit

Looking up at Ptarmigan Hill from the road

Looking down on the pass from off to the right. Several 4x4's are visible

The road itself curves sharply in several places, is unsurprising very rocky and wet, and has at least one false summit. But don't let that deter you. The views are worth it.

The right side of the pass is strewn with rocks that make for a great lunch spot.

Looking back down the road towards Wilder Gulch

Once on the pass, travel to the right and lounge amongst the rocks for a vehicle free view of the Holy Cross Wilderness. You can also "pop" (0.5 miles) up to the top of Ptarmigan Hill at 12,143 ft. Unfortunately, on this trip a large, ominous cloud was building over the peak, so we did not ascend further and did not linger on the pass for too long.

Tenderfoot

Distance: 2.5 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,256 ft - 9,821 ft
Elevation Gain: 565 ft
Dogs: Off Leash
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Tags: #dillon, #lakedillon, #summitcounty, #hiking, #coloradooutdoors

The easy Tenderfoot trail offers stunning views of Lake Dillon

The Tenderfoot Trail near Dillon Colorado is a short but scenic outing up a west-facing hillside with "living the dream" views of both Lake Dillon and the Tensile Range. It is great as an after work doggie outing or an early morning stroll before the heat of the day.

The water treatment facility entrance near the parking lot

The road just as it exits the Water Treatment Facility

A first glimpse of Lake Dillon and Peak One in the Tenmile Range

A sure sign of fall in Summit County are the Rose Hips. 

Approaching the official trailhead

To get to the trail, head up highway 6 going to Dillon from Silverthorne. At the last stop light on the top of the hill (Lutheran Church on the left) take a left and then an IMMEDIATE right onto Road 51. A short distance up this road is a large, fenced complex for construction vehicles. On the right, as the road begins to climb, is a small parking area. There is a small sign pointing out the spot. Above the parking area is the Dillon Water Treatment Facility. The route actually starts on that property, so don't be confused.

Close up of the trailhead

Looking south along the rolling hills

Heading upwards

A dirt road exits the facility and heads southward along a now clear cut hillside. Around 0.25 miles is the official trailhead with an obvious U.S. Forest Service sign. From this point the trail heads upwards along the dry slopes of Tenderfoot Mountain.

Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) is a late blooming plant that often grows near Sagebrush

A trail segment near a clear cut area

Looking north at the Gore Range

Sagebrush, and Yellow Rabbitbrush dominate the flora for most of the route. Lodgepole pine and Aspen make a showing as well as Lupine in the summer.

Views of Lake Dillon abound on this trail

A Lodgepole segment

Grasshopper identification is not easy. 

An Aspen segment with Lake Dillon in the distance

Looking north from the final bench at 1.25 miles

The end of the trail sign at 1.35 miles

Close up of some Yellow Rabbitbrush

Here are some milestones: 0.69 miles to the first bench, 0.90 miles to a power line tower on the left, 1.25 miles to a final bench, and 1.35 miles to an official "end of the trail" sign.

South Boulder Peak via Shadow Canyon

Trail Length: 6.7 miles round trip
Elevation: 5,645 ft - 8,549 ft
Elevation Gain: 3,039 ft
Critters: Mountain Blue Birds

Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes

Dogs: Off leash with OSMP voice and sight tag

Date Hiked: March 2008
Tags: #boulder, #osmp, #peak, #hiking, #coloradooutdoors

Looking north towards Green Mountain from the summit of South Boulder Peak 

Climbing to the summit of South Boulder Peak in Boulder, Colorado is an arduous adventure that is like climbing a 14er without the altitude. The lower part of the route is on dirt trails, but the last half is up the slopes of Shadow Canyon, a rock filled gorge that will require some route finding and rock scrambling skills.

Note in 2013, a small fire on the top of the peak burnt most of the trees on the summit as well as the saddle below. 

Heading up the Homestead Trail

The ascent via Shadow Canyon begins at the Eldorado Canyon/Mesa Trail trailhead. The hiker can ascend the Homestead, Towee, or Mesa Trails to the base of Shadow Canyon. This trip we chose the Homestead trail because it was a bit steeper (for maximum pain) and dogs are allowed on it off leash.

The Homestead Trail briefly intersects the Towee trail before it runs into the fire road, near the ruins of the Debacker cabin that leads Shadow Canyon. The road switch backs upwards and in its final curve to the north, dead-ends at the base of the canyon itself near the ruins of the Stockton Cabin with its large section of water pipe. This is where the trail gets interesting.

A typical trail segment in Shadow Canyon.  Narrow, rocky,  and straight up. 

From this point on, the route ascends upwards 1,620 ft in one roughly one mile. The trail is dark with pine, encrusted with boulders and scree, and poorly defined. In early spring, the trail can be covered in a mix of snow and black ice. 

There are no views per say in the canyon itself except for glimpse of the Devil’s Thumb along the right wall about a third of the way up, and of valley below from the switch backs that start about two thirds of the way up. The saddle itself is flat and covered in more Ponderosa and Lodgepole pine. 

One of the only viewpoints on the trail

From the saddle, you can go to the east and ascend and additional 281 ft in 0.3 miles to Bear Peak or head to the west and ascend an additional 369 ft in 0.2 miles to South Boulder Peak. The summit is a small scree field with lots of nooks and crannies. The views from the peak are expansive but watch out for storm clouds, which have a habit of building on top of these peaks.