Hike #12; Social distancing at it's best. Betasso Preserve

Date: March 14th, 2020
Hike Distance: 7.8 Miles
Location: Boulder, Colorado. Betasso Preserve
Hike Start Time: 8:30 AM

Condition: Cool, Foggy

Total Miles: 59.58

Earworms of the Day
Oddly, None that I can remember

The world is getting crazy right now.  There might be a time very soon where we're not allowed to go outside, so I knew I needed to get outdoors and enjoy a hike while I still could.  I decided to invite people with me on this one, because of all the stress and anxiety people have been experiencing.  I chose Betasso Preserve for a few reasons.  In the summer, this trail is super busy, and is a very popular mountain Biking trail.  I figured by getting out here early in the season I could avoid crowds, which is super important right now.  Also, Saturday Mornings are closed to Mountain bikes, so I wouldn't have that to contend with.

A couple friends that wanted to come with me, convinced me to start the hike a little later, and we were good to go.  On the way up Boulder Canyon the weather kept getting a little snowier and foggier.  It wasn't too cold though, so I was getting excited.

Hike #11: Foxes, and Turkeys, and Deer. Oh My! Heil Valley Ranch

Date: March 7th, 2020
Hike Distance: 10.0 Miles
Location: Boulder, Colorado. Heil Valley Ranch Park
Hike Start Time: 7:00 AM

Condition: Warm, Cloudy, NICE!

Total Miles: 51.78

Earworms of the Day
Black Dog-Led Zepplin
Proud Mary- CCR
Seasons of Love- Rent Soundtrack

I've been working hard at hiking every weekend, and my distances have been slowly ramping up, so I decided that I was going to find a longer distance one to tackle this weekend.  The weather said it was going to be almost 70 degrees out and I had nothing planned until the afternoon, so I started to research longer hikes around Boulder.

There are a ton of really good 3-5 mile hikes and I could probably have strung them together to make a longer hike, but I was really looking for a bigger out and back or loop to do in one go.  As I have a bunch of people joining me sometimes, it's good to have a bunch of smaller hikes ready to go.  Also, it allows those for occasions that I don't have as much time to hike.  So I looked for longer treks.  There were a lot of them, but considering how early in the season I'm getting out, most of them were closed because of mud conditions, or they had a bunch of ice and I haven't gotten around to getting any spikes yet.

Hike #10: Ice Ice Baby, Mesa Trail, upper Bluestem, Towhee Trails

Date: March 1st, 2020
Hike Distance: 4.8 Miles
Location: Boulder, Colorado. Mesa, Upper Bluestem, Towhee Trails
Hike Start Time: 6:50 AM

Condition: Cold, Overcast, light wind.

Total Miles: 41.78

"To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold."
- Aristotle

I stayed up WAY too late the night before this hike.  I had a lot of my projects that I usually do in the evenings that I procrastinated and so I was up pretty late.  To compound that, I had my Dungeons & Dragons group coming over at 10:00AM to play.  Part of my late night cram session was preparing the next section of their adventure for them.  Coincidentally, they were storming a Frost Giant Lair.

We have had some snow in the last couple weeks and the temperatures hadn't really warmed up afterwards so I knew I couldn't do anything too steep or anything up in the mountains, so I settled upon some of the trails that hug the front of the flatirons in Boulder.  My alarm didn't go off, so luckily my wife woke me up and asked if I was still going.  I got dressed super quick, filled a bottle with some apple juice and grabbed a couple donuts to eat on the way to the Trail

HIke #9 with an asterisk. When does a walk become a hike?: Pella Crossing

Date: February 29th, 2020
Hike Distance: 3.2 Miles
Location: Hygiene, Colorado. Pella Crossing, and Mill Ditch Loop
Hike Start Time:3:00PM

Condition: Cool, Clear

Total Miles: 36.98

" It’s your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” – Rumi

 

I feel a little like I'm deceiving my adoring fans by labeling this entry as a "hike"  It was an enjoyable walk, but I don't think hike can be applied to the excursion.  Hiking is generally defined as gaining in elevation during the journey, and walking stays on a relatively flat surface.  This one was definitely flat.

It was a bonus trip though this week because I got done with my morning obligations earlier than I expected, so I thought I'd get in an extra outdoor hike with the girls.  I got home and convinced them to get out of their pajamas and come with me.  I looked on All Trails and in my book for some places to go.  A lot of the ones I thought would be a good distance for the time of day, were reported to be icy, so My wife found a  location that circled some old quarry lakes and looked to be easy enough to complete before sundown.