Natural wall of the famous (c.1928) Red Rocks amphitheater, two miles north of the Mount Falcon (Castle) trailhead.

Was able to get in the first decent spring hike late Tuesday afternoon, a fast hike to Mount Falcon (map) in the foothills west of Denver. The hike was sponsored by the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC), and it was one of seven hikes/events scheduled for a Tuesday in early May. The hike was about 9 miles with the different detours to gawk and a little over 2K in elevation gain.

The hike started a bit past 4:30p and we were back at the trailhead by 8:30p, just as it got dark. It was clear but the west winds were fierce -- they had an 86mph gust in the foothills above Boulder to the north yesterday.

I got to use my new GoLite trail running shoes for the hike, finally ditching the heavy Columbia boots in an effort to go lighter. They were great, and I really liked the stitched-in elastic bands around the top to keep debris out. Plus I was able to wear all those UL layers of gear that I bought at the "Rodeo Drive" Goodwill (in ritzy Highlands Ranch) over the winter.


Ruins of Walker's Castle near the top of Mount Falcon.

Great part of this hike was the historic structures in the park that included the stonehouse ruins of John Walker, who built a castle near Mt. Falcon that burned in 1918. His dream was to build a Summer White House near his place, and Colorado schoolkids all donated a dime at the turn of the century to help him build it. Only a cornerstone and a bit of the foundation were built. (Man, was he ahead of his time or what?)

It's great to be able to go on a scenic hike with a little history thrown in -- and there's a lot of these historic hikes in CO.

The link to the slideshow with the 20 images is HERE.
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- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)