A Tale of Two Hikes

Though I’ve lived in Boulder County for over five years now, I really hadn’t realized how incredibly diverse the outdoor environment is until this past summer while working at different county parks.  When a  plant ecologist spoke passionately about the diversity of the county’s ecosystems during a recent training workshop, I started to consider what a special place this is.  Boulder County ranges from 4800 feet down on the plains all the way up to 14,000-foot Longs Peak, all in the span of a mere 20 miles as the crow flies.  But this past week, the contrast of its natural environment really hit me while doing two very different hikes one day after the next.

On Sunday, I went on a park patrol at Rabbit Mountain, a park located between Lyons and Longmont on the great plains.  The Rabbit Mountain trail head starts around 5500 feet, and five miles of hiking trails lead you up 300 feet to the top of a knoll with views of nearby Longs Peak and the Rocky Mountains to the west, and views of the Eastern Plains of Colorado to the east.  Rabbit Mountain is rich with Native American history as well, as both the Arapaho and the Ute used these lands as part of their winter hunting grounds.  As I hiked up the Eagle Wind Trail, it was hot and windy, and the land felt parched.  I passed several prickly pear cactus, their yellow blooms providing stark contrast to the fleshy, prickly leaves.  The grasses looked windblown and dried out, browning at their tips, and the soil was cracking and flaky.  Thought it was a cooler day by summer standards, temperatures were rising into the 80s, and there was little shade to take refuge in.  As I made my way around the knoll, I could see hawks soaring on the currents, no doubt looking for the prairie dogs and rattlesnakes that call this environment home.  After completing the loop, I had thoughts of taking the 1-mile Little Thompson Overlook Trail, but I felt so dried out and parched from the heat and the wind, all I could think about was getting back to the car and cranking up the air conditioning.

On Monday, one of my days off, I decided to stay closer to my home in Nederland, and took our two dogs hiking in nearby Brainard Lake Recreation Area.  The Brainard Lake area is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and is part of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.  It is located off Highway 72, about 20 minutes from my home.  Though Rocky Mountain National Park gets more media attention, and a lot more visitors, Brainard Lake rivals the beauty of Rocky, with its soaring jagged peaks, and high alpine lakes.  On Monday, I decided to do a moderate hike to Blue Lake, six miles round trip.  As I drove up to the trailhead, climbing another 2000 feet from our home, the temperatures really started to drop.  By the time I got to the trailhead at 10,500 feet at around noon, the temperatures was hovering around 60 degrees.  I made my way through lush pine and fir forests, and creeks rushing from snow melt, with an array of wildflowers in bloom along its banks.  As I climbed 1000 feet up to the lake, I started passing snow fields left over from the winter.  Simon and Shawnee were loving it, rolling around in the snow and splashing through the creeks.  As I arrived at Blue Lake, clouds were building up towards afternoon rain, the wind was blowing, and I was chilled.  I pulled my jacket out of my pack to ward off the brisk wind, and later pulled my rain jacket out as the rain started to fall on my way down.  But the beauty of high peaks renewed my spirit, and made me glad I had talked myself into going for the hike.

Looking back on these two very different hikes, it brought home what a unique and diverse place the Front Range of Colorado is.  It’s hard to believe these two very different places exist within one county, about an hour’s drive from each other.  In their own way, they have a special beauty that though quite different is amazing in its own way.