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.