Bear Creek Park

Yesterday was just a quick 4/miler from the house to GCR. I snapped a few quick picks of some of the Birds that I came across. Only the two photos below came out well enough to publish.

I am taking a break today as tomorrow I will starting a new work out schedule! :-)

Paint Mines

Today’s journey took us to the Paint Mines located southeast of Calhan, Co. This is not a long hike but the gullies and clay and stone formations are very cool, like being on another planet. The mines have evidence of human life as far back as 9,000 years ago. The colorful clays were used by American Indians for making pottery and ceremonial paints.

I have done this hike in the summer several times and this is the first time that I have done in it winter with snow on the ground. This is a great hike for beginners, with great views and 45 minutes travel time from Colorado Springs.

All pics can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20091229#slideshow/5420845102186634370

Beaver Creek WSA

I headed out this morning to Beaver Creek WSA (Wild Life Study Area). This was a new trip for me and I am ready to go again in the spring and summer. It can be a little tricky to get to if you don’t have a map, but I didn’t have any problems.

I parked at the trail head and away I went. The snow on the trail was still 5 to 6 inches deep and no need for the snowshoes. I followed the previous hikers before me until I lost the trail and then ended up making my own.

Today’s distance was about 5 miles and not tough but the views were excellent! I need to do this in the summer so that I can do the roundtrip on this one.

I did see a sign that said you can take this trail from the Beaver Creek WSA all the way up to Skagway reservoir. The distance is about 12 miles with a 3500 feet incline. The notice on the board said to plan on three days to make the hike. So I have something to shoot for in the summer.

A few pics below and the rest can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20091228#

Mt. Rosa

Today I headed out to do Mt. Rosa. A friend picked me up at the house at 9:30am and we drove up Old Stage and then to F.S Road 379. We were only able to drive up 379 a short distance, where we found the road washed out. So we parked and loaded on the gear.

This was the first time that I had gone up this side to the summit. I have been up Mt. Rosa two other times but came up from the Gold Camp TH and St. Mary’s Falls and then back down Pipeline and Seven Bridges This way makes for a 16/mile round trip hike.

There was a lot of snow, a lot more than I had expected. In some places it was at least 3ft deep. The trail was covered and we followed the tracks of hiker who had gotten an earlier start. With the snow and route, I think today was one of the toughest hikes I have done. Each step in the deep snow, you would either be able to stay up or sink to you waist. It made for long hike. But we pushed through and made it to the summit.

In the summer and even coming up the other side with the distance seemed easier than today’s hike. The total distance was only 7.2/miles round trip today, but felt a lot longer.

Below are a few pictures that we snapped:

From the Summit of Mt. Rosa

Downtown Colorado Springs from the

Summit of Mt. Rosa

2009-1219

Nik Nelson at the Summit of Mt. Rosa with
Pikes Peak in the Background
2009-1219

Dennis Robinson at the Summit of Mt. Rosa with
Pikes Peak in the background
2009-1219

Nik Nelson and Princess taking a breather
2009-1219

Home again, home again, jiggety-jog

I have been traveling for the last couple of weeks. The end of the year push to see what we can get done before closing for the Holidays. So travel is done until January and I am back into the groove of things.

Downloaded some new tunes last night for the IPod for today’s outing. I mostly listen to Rock and Alternative. The following links are just a few that I picked up. Probably not for everyone!

Against Me! "Stop"
She Wants Revenge - Tear You Apart
CROOKED X!!! Rock and Roll Dream
Morningwood – Nth Degree
Burn Halo - Saloon Song

I left the house when Candy got home from work, so it was about 7am. I drove up to the parking lot at Gold Camp Road and loaded up the gear and headed out. I debated which route to take and finally decided on Seven Bridges Trail. It was a beautiful morning and a little cold. I had the snowshoes with me but didn’t get a chance to use them today. The trail was already used by other hikers since the last snow, but the further I went the fewer the tracks became.

The trail was snow packed and even with my stableicers on I had a hard time on some of the steep downhills. The going up is easy it’s always the coming down that you will find yourself on your ass if you are not careful.

Now that I am home for a few weeks and am going to have some off time I hope to have a few new hiking stories for you.

I had forgotten my 35mm camera but did have my little casio with me and snapped up the pictures below.

Slow going this month!

This month has just been so busy that I haven’t been able to get my miles in like I need to. Had co-workers in from NJ and NY plus several client meetings. For this month I am only up to 40/miles and am coming up short by about 60. I will be traveling next week so that is not going to help.

I did manage to get Palmer Loop Trail, Mt. Cutler and a few trips back & forth to work in. On Sunday, Candy I walked from the house to Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby. Took an empty backpack with me so I could carry back the groceries. Turned out to be about 7/miles round trip and had a great time. Find you don’t overspend when you have to carry it 3/miles.

The Wood Spider

This is pretty funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc

Mt. Elbert Trip

I left the house about 10am on Wednesday and headed towards Leadville. It was snowing as I was going through Woodland Park, but once past the pass the snow cleared and it was just overcast. Found a decent campsite, unloaded and setup camp. Built a fire and checked out the surroundings.

Made it up to Mt. Elbert and had a great time. It was cold, damn cold. I about froze to death at the top of the Peak and couldn’t wait to get down. The wind was blowing and a couple of time it just about pushed me over. The snow was fairly deep in area’s that had drifted over. Didn’t have a need for the snow shoes

I made my first attempt of doing a video documentary of my trip. Unfortunately I still have some bugs to work out as the camera I was using didn’t pick up the sound to well. I will try again in the next couple of weeks.



After doing Mt. Elbert and being in the cold, I decided to put a hold on Mt. Massive until summer or at least a day with sunshine.

Going Camping

I have scheduled time off work for this Wed, Thu and Friday. I have already gotten everything together and will just need to hit the store to pick up some food and get some firewood. So the plan is to head out early AM on Wednesday up to Half-moon Creek by Leadville and hike Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive.

Of course it will be fun to see if the weather is going to cooperate for this. It looks like we may have some snow dustings Monday and Tuesday up where I’m headed. I doubt that there will be much, but may prove interesting once I get up on the peaks.

Rocky Mountain High

My travel schedule is about to pick up for the next few weeks. I have been trying to figure out if I can get one last big hike in before the summer is over. But I may be too late as summer is over or at least that’s how it feels with the rain and cool temperatures we have been having.

Once I figure out the schedule I am thinking about doing Mt. Elbert (14,433 ft) and Mt. Massive (14,421 feet) outside of Leadville, CO. These are the two highest Peaks in Colorado with Mt. Elbert being the highest point in Colorado and the second highest in the lower 48. A few stats on both Peaks are as follows:

Mt. Elbert
Length: Approx. 8.75 miles roundtrip
Highlights: Highest Peak in Colorado, Great views of Leadville, Twin lakes, Mt. Massive and the intrinsic satisfaction derived from standing on the second highest point in the continental U.S.!
Difficulty Rating: Advanced
Elevation Gain: Approx. 4,700 ft.

Mt. Massive
Length: Approx. 14.5 miles roundtrip
Highlights: Second highest Peak in Colorado, Great view of Mt. Elbert and the intrinsic satisfaction derived from standing on the second highest point in Colorado!
Difficulty Rating: Advanced
Elevation Gain: Approx. 4,410 ft.

To get both Peaks done will require a day for each. I am going to camp out for three to four nights up along Halfmoon Creek. I figure the first day I will setup camp and do some fishing in the creek and Turquoise Lake. Day #2 will be up Mt. Elbert, Day #3 up Mt. Massive and on day four will be a little more fishing and then break camp and head home.

At this point this is all just big talk. Will keep you posted on how this trip comes together.

I took the picture above from the backyard this afternoon. I worked from home today as we were having some work done. I was working on the back porch when this Eastern Black Swallowtail flew by and landed on a potted plant.

Eastern Black Swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes

The Eastern Black Swallowtail is found throughout the Midwest and Eastern North America. The wings are a beautiful combination of black and blue, with orange and white spots. This swallowtail is smaller than most, with an average wingspan of 3”.

My IPod Hot pick for today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo2cSq3s4NM

North Catamount Reservoir

This morning I drove up to the North Slope Recreation Area (NSRA), located on the north side of Pikes Peak. When I got to the toll gate for the Pikes Peak Highway I was about the 10th car in line waiting for it to open and was through the gate at 7:20am.

The night before I dug out my small tackle box and loaded it with a few lures. Broke down a rod and reel and loaded them into the pack. I also created a new playlist and downloaded a few new tunes.

North Slope Recreation Area has three lakes, Crystal and North and South Catamount. I decided to go to the North reservoir. I was the third car in the parking area. Threw on the pack, hit play on the IPod and headed across the damn. I then hopped on the Mackinaw trail and followed the shoreline stopping and throwing a few lures along the way. Sadly to report I didn’t have any luck with the fishing today.

I hiked out about 3.5/miles and then worked my way back. Totaled up 7.38/miles when I returned to the truck. I am thinking that next weekend I will go back and just hike around the lake.

Support search and rescue: GET LOST

Great news but you better hurry. I have been looking to get my hands on one of these maps for over a year now. Checked eBay, Craigslist and all the local stores and no luck. Today I ordered three of them to have on hand.

What makes this map so great from the one that I have seen is that it has numerous hidden trails that you won’t find on the newer maps, mostly because they cut across private property.

Have fun!

http://www.gazette.com/articles/local-61216-atlas-peak.html

End of Month

We just got back from Durango, Colorado; we took the big boy and got him all setup in the dorms at Ft. Lewis College. The room is an ok size and he has a roommate. We never did get to meet the roommate but they will make friends quickly. I was pretty excited for him, looks like he is going to have a blast. We have no doubts that he will do great!

So for the month I only got 99.91/Miles in. I came up about 20 short from August of last year. I am going to have to really step it up this month as I need 155/Miles just to be on track with last year.

Miles Update

For the month of August I am up to 85/Miles and 504/Miles from March 1st. Currently I am 59/miles behind where I was last year at this same time. Going to have to step it up!

You can do it!

Saturday I took a couple hiking in Cheyenne Canyon. We started on trail 666, which for most of you know that it is a gradual incline for three miles. We then took trail 667 up and around and then trail 665 aka Captain Jacks and then took a side trail which will take you down Sesame Canyon back to High Drive and the parking lot.

I felt bad as it ended up being a little over 8.5/Miles and I had said that it was about 6.5/Miles when we started. Everyone made it though but I am sure that the lady that was in the group will have some blisters. I don’t think it would have been so bad if we had gotten an earlier start. We left the trail head at 9:30am and it was already hot. I went through two bottles of water which is rare for me. It might have been because we had to make a few stops and let everyone catch their breath.

I took some pictures but didn’t get them loaded over the weekend, will work on that tonight.

I am working on my route for the Ring the Peak Trail. It will be a little over 60/Miles if I leave from my house. I may take a Llama with me on this one to help me haul the gear I need. If nothing else it will be a hell of sight if you come across me. And yes you can actually rent a Llama for just this purpose.

http://wildflowerridgellamas.com/

Starting to plan our moonlight hike

Oct. 4, 2:10 a.m. EDT -- Full Harvest Moon. Traditionally, this designation goes to the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (fall) Equinox. The Harvest Moon usually comes in September, but sometimes it will fall in early October as is the case in 2009; the next time won't come until 2017. At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon. Usually the full moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice -- the chief Indian staples -- are now ready for gathering.

More updates to come, stay tuned!

From the garden

I picked a few peppers off the plants tonight. Lot's of blooms and more to come.

Good Guys Car Show

On Sunday we did a little urban hiking. We left our house at about 10am and headed down to Old Colorado City to check out the Good Guys Car Show. It’s about 2.5 miles from our house. Walking down 21st was exciting as well as trying to cross Highway 24. Was almost like playing Frogger for real.

We walked up and down and checked out all the cool looking cars. Lot’s of money sitting on street and folks who have invested a lot of time. We had lunch at Thunder and Buttons, it was OK. We then checked out the rest of the cars and then hit the chocolate shop and got a few chocolate cover strawberries and jalapeño’s.

Candy had gotten a blister from her flip/flops so she called a friend who picked us up on our way home. Total miles for the day was 4.5.

See all the classic car pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20080816#

The Horns

Today’s hike to us back to the Horns. Candy and I met up with a coworker at our office. And then we headed out. We had our dog Mable with us and Nik had his dog Princess. We drove up Old Stage to the parking area. We were not the first as a gray Toyota Tacoma was parked.

We loaded up and headed up the trail. The dogs dig great and stayed with us all the way. For the most part they were off the leash. We moved pretty quick today up the trail. Early in we passed the owners of the gray Toyota. Nik and I ventured off the trail at the top and climbed up the rocks the rest of the way to the peak. The up portion was easy; the coming down was a little intense. There were a couple of places that if you slipped or the rock gave way; you would be going home on a helicopter. Everyone did great and we even found a trail that we may have to go back and try next week.

All pics can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090815#

Nik at the top of the Horns

Picket Wire Canyon Lands

This last Sunday, Candy and I hiked down in the Picket Wire Canyon lands. This was the second time for me and the first for her. We got lucky as it was overcast cool in the morning. We had great weather all the way out to the track site. On the way back the clouds had broken and it heated up quick. There is no shade to speak of so hard to cool down. Total miles came in at 11.4 and total time out was six hours.

I was on the look out for snakes, scorpions and tarantulas but didn’t manage to find any. Of course I didn’t venture to far off the trail to look for them. We did see lot’s of birds, grasshoppers and beetles. I think it was mating season for the beetles or maybe they are just at it all the time. We came across a box turtle and one grasshopper that I had never seen before. Most of them were grey, black or green. But this one had orange, yellow, blue, black and white colors. Looked it up and it is called a Painted Grasshopper (Dactylotum Bicolor).

The river wasn’t running to high, we took off the shoes and socks and made our way across. Took a break had a peach and some almonds. Checked out the dinosaur tracks for a while and then headed back. For more info on the track site visit: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/coma/palo/index.shtml

We headed back to town and grabbed lunch and then stopped at a couple of farm markets and got some peaches, corn, tomatoes, etc. all good stuff. Then we headed home, the drive back was just about 90 minutes.

All pictures can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090809#

On my way to work

This week I took the camera with me and snapped a few pictures from my route to and from work. The direct route is 5/miles round trip. I try to mix it up and go different ways. The longest this week was 7.5/miles.

These pictures are from Bear Creek Park. This is the scenic route, maybe next week I will take pictures from the Urban Route. Which can at times be a very interesting, but that’s another story. I have been trying to get pictures of Coyotes. I came across one this week, but by the time I could get my camera out he/she was gone. In the spring I had come across two pups, but once again to slow with the camera. This year I have probably seen seven of them. Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090805#

Tomorrow I am headed out early to drive down to La Junta, Co. The plan is to do the Palmer Loop Trail before I go to work and then head out early to drive down. I am going down to meet my parents and go to an auction. I am staying an extra day and will be hiking the Picket Wire Canyon Lands again. The following link has a picture and gives a great description of the attractions and how the canyon got its name: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/coma/main/picketwireguide.shtml

I did this hike back in November out to the Dinosaur track site. You have to cross the Purgatory River, which is fun. So take extra sock if you go.

Birds from the Pikes Peak Region

These are pics of birds that I have taken around the house and on the trails:

Gray Back Peak

We headed out today to hit a new trail. Today it was Gray Back Peak off of Old Stage Road. Look for the sign for Emerald Valley Ranch aka FR 371. Go about a half mile and park at the top of the pass on the left. You will see two trail heads and you will want the one going up.

A little over a mile in you will come to a junction in the trail. Today we stayed to the right on the trail. It was marked with a stack of rocks and a horse shoe hanging from the tree. All together the GPS records 3.9/miles round trip. I would rate this as a medium trail with several spots with a few good inclines.

We took Max with us today and he was smiling all the way. He was a little slow on the way down but managed to keep up. It worked out nice as we did not come across anyone on the trails today. Had it all to ourselves!!! I don’t think this trail sees much foot action. You could tell it was used by horses as we found several dried piles.

We had some great views from the top of the peak. You could see out to the foot hills and view into Emerald Valley. Once again we came across thousands of ladybugs. I think today we saw more that we did yesterday on St. Peters. Pretty Awesome!

You can find all the pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090802#

Happy Anniversary and St. Peters Dome

Well today the wife and I are celebrating out 22nd wedding anniversary. What better way to celebrate then to go climb a mountain! We did get a late start, but drove up Old Stage Road to Saint Peters Dome Trail. We had a blast and did some serious climbing today.

We found were ladybugs come from, who new they came from the top of the mountain. There were thousands of them, they covered the rocks and were buzzing around. It was very cool to see. When we finished we headed to Cripple Creek and had lunch and walk around the casino’s and looked in a couple of gift shops.

Made our way back home on Hwy 67 through Divide and Woodland Park. They were having an Art and Crafts show so we stopped and looked around. Didn’t see anything we needed.

Stanley Canyon

Starting to kick things back into high gear this month and rack up some miles. Took the wife with me today and we did Stanley Canyon. Interesting fact, if you are not on the list at the Air Force Academy you can’t get in until 8am. Wasn’t too bad we only had to wait about 15 minutes.

I think is one of my favorite trails. It is very steep and technical and not sure why I don’t do it more often. I took my full overnight hiking pack today so that adds about 35 pounds. We hiked up to the lake or what I would call a pond. Worked our way around the lake and took a break and had an apple and a lemon izzie.

I am not sure if fishing is allowed or not. I did see a guy fishing and didn’t see any NO Fishing signs.

Headed out tomorrow to walk up High Drive and then down Captain Jacks.

Seven Bridges Loop

My legs are a little sore this afternoon. This morning I did the Seven Bridges loop trail. My route was 15/Miles. I started at 6:30AM and was back at the truck at 12:30PM. Had just about one hour of stop time for water breaks and a bite to eat. The flowers were in bloom and I was able to use two new trails that I had not been on before. My route was as follows:

Gold Camp Road to Trail 622 (aka Seven Bridges), to Trail 668 (aka Pipeline Trail), down Trail 701 (aka Foresters Trail), to trail 720 to 667 (aka Jones Park) then looped back down to Gold Camp Road.

I didn’t come across anyone until I was heading back down to the parking lot.

A few photos are below and all photos can be found out: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090628#