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#

New Life in the Hood!

So today I got out of bed at 5:30AM. I had the alarm set for 6:30AM so that we could get out and get a hike in. We had slept with the door in our bedroom open. At 5:30AM there was a high pitched scream coming from the backyard. I knew the sound and had heard it before, it was a deer. I put on some shorts and went out to look. The sound was coming from the yard behind us. Since we put in the fence we don’t have deer in the yard anymore. At least now we can grow some plants.

I headed up the path to the direction of the sound. A Doe had just given birth to a baby. It was on the ground trying to stand. I wanted to stay longer and look, but could tell the mother was not at all happy about me being there.

This mother deer had been tagged. We have several in the neighborhood and this one had a collar with the number 6 on it.

I went back and looked about two hours later and saw that there were two fawns. I didn't stay long as the mother was starting to move towards me. I went back a little later with the camera but couldn't see them. I am sure that I will and will snap a few photos.

I did however find a baby blue jay. I snapped a few pics’s and have included them below. Funny, I will have to remember this date as this is the time for babies! Last year on June 25th I had found a Robins nest. It had three babies in it. Only to be eaten by a big Hawk who swooped in and ate them.

I filled the Squirrel Feeder today and it looks as though they were happy. Love the squirrels and so do the dogs!

Between the deer and bird watching, I did fire up the smoker and get the brisket on. We ate around 5PM and I think this was one of my best. I had made a tinfoil boat and laid the brisket in. Kept the fire just around 250 degrees and added soaked hickory chunks. After 4 hours I flipped it and added charcoal and more hickory.

I cooked up corn on the cob, grilled asparagus, dinner rolls and a big pitcher of sangria. Everything was excellent and spent the time with family and a few friends. They did the dishes, so what more could you ask for!

The Horns

Our original plan was to do Williams Canyon today. Candy mentioned that on the news last night she saw that there was a wine festival in Manitou today. The parking area for Williams Canyon is on the west end of Manitou. So instead of dealing with trying to find parking and all of the people we decided to try something else.

On my map I had seen a trail that would take you up to the Horns. Did a little research and was able to find the location and where to start. We drove up Old Stage Road to the horse stables, about 5 miles on the dirt road. You will see parking on the right, might fit about 5 cars total. Walk across the road to the dirt hill and you will see the trail head.

You are basically hiking up the backside of Cheyenne Mountain. The trail is very narrow and you can tell that it does not see much action. As a matter of fact, we did not come across anyone today. As you hike you will come to a section where you can go left or right. To get to the Horns keep to your left. You have some wonderful views of Pikes Peak, Cheyenne Canyon and some tremendous rock formations. The trail has just about everything from soft dirt to very rocky sections. There were probably 5 fallen trees that we had to climb over. When you reach the summit you will be surprised how close you are to the antenna farm.

Lots of wildflowers in bloom and some wonderful smells as you move up/down the path. We crossed several small streams and even found an old pump and pipeline that supplied water to where/who I am not sure.

All pics can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090607TheHorns

St. Mary’s Falls Trail (624)

This morning the wife and I drove up to the GCR parking lot. Headed out to do St. Mary’s Falls trail. To the base of the falls from the parking lot it is 3.12 miles. Round trip 6.24, so a decent hike as one of the sections is difficult. We made it up to the falls and to my surprise several changes had been made.

A little over a year ago, a hiker had fallen and it killed him. A memorial has been created where he had fallen at the base of the falls. The trail has been reworked around the base that allows you to cross on logs and to stand at the base of the falls. A nice plaque has been added as well. The individuals name was Eddie Murphy.

The water was running fast coming down and the temperature was probably 20 degrees cooler than on the trail up. We stood at the bottom of the falls and took a few pictures. If you have not been up to the falls or have been. I would strongly suggest you make your way up as it is beautiful and with the new editions it’s even better.

we are doing Williams Canyon tomorrow and we should be able to see some great wild flowers.