Like good Americans, Sarah and I each received our check from Uncle Sam and promptly did our part to stimulate the economy by buying snowshoes and crampons. Unlike most Americans though, we didn't blow the whole thing, and what we bought was actually made in America, a double win.
On Saturday, after doing our chores, Sarah, Bella and I headed over to Boulder Mountain Park. This time we went to the southern trail head which we decided was way better than the one at Chatauqua. There we less people and the scenery is way better.
The first part of our hike took us up a gradually climbing trail through the open space to the base of South Boulder Peak. From there we jumped on the next trail which started switch-backing it's way up the mountain.
There were quite a few people at the peak, lounging on the rock outcropping and enjoying the views of the mountains.
After eating our lunch, we traversed across the ridge to Bear Mountain. The peak of Bear Mountain is very narrow and requires handholds to get to, so Bella only made it halfway before getting scared and lying down.
Sarah and I took turns babysitting her while the other person made the peak.
All said we did around 8.5 miles on Saturday with about 3000 ft of elevation gain.
Which leads to a very tired puppy...
On Sunday we decided to give our snowshoes a try, so we headed back to Rocky Mountain National Park where we had hike the last weekend.
This time we headed up the Flattop Mountain Trail to see if we could reach the summit. The park was pretty busy but as we gained in elevation we saw less and less people.
The great thing about spring hiking in Colorado is even if there is snow, it's usually warm enough to just hike in a t-shirt which is awesome.
Once we got above treeline though, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. As we got close to the top we had to drop our snowshoes and continue on foot. The spot where we stopped overlooked the Dream Lake valley with a beautiful view of Hallet Peak.
Where we were sitting had a 1000ft sheer drop to the valley below and provide a fantastic view of the surrounding area.
The trip down went very quickly due to the amount of sliding that we did in the snowshoes. At one point Sarah decided that the fastest way down the hill was on her butt, and she was correct...
The Flattop Mountain hike was around 8 miles and about 4000ft of elevation gain.
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