No one can ever say the prairie is boring!

What a beautiful day and place. I can't believe how many pictures I took and can't get rid of! This is suppose to be such a lonely and desolate area but it's so chock full of life that it never feels lonely! I can't stop taking pictures. You will have to bear w/ me and my enthusiasm. I really thought I wouldn't have many pictures since I took the Pronghorn Loop trail and was really just hoping to see a couple of them (the Pronghorn). Those were actually in short supply, however, the pictures were/are not. I did see about 5 Pronghorn at the very end from far away as you can tell by the quality of the pic.
The insects and butterfly's were out in droves. I almost got a picture of the butterfly w/ it's wings open but it was blurry! Bummer!
I've never seen these lizards before and saw 3 before the hike was over. Each had a turtle shaped belly that was bigger than the one before it.
And need I say anything about the flowers? As you can see they were out in abundance!!

Let's give the 'weeds' their due!
Some day I hope to come back and label all the flowers. As you can see that will be one hell of a job!

And let's not forget the grasses! They need some love too!
And the yucca which were flowering!
This hike was undertaken the weekend of the 26th of June. Again, I was slow to post!

Soapstone Prairie
Trails Used: Pronghorn Loop Starting at far Entrance Gate
Distance: 10.2 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Moving average: 3.6 mph
Overall average: 3.2 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 48 min
Stopped Time: 24 min, 19 sec
Total Ascent: 722 ft.
Maximum elevation: 6449 ft.

Grey Day on Grey Rock

I can't believe I was at the trail @ 6:20 am and the sun wasn't even shining. It was a gloomy grey for the whole hike. At least I was able to do the whole hike this time and didn't encounter any snow. That said....there were a ton of hikers when I went down. I did the meadows trail first, then the summit, and then the main trail back. I always forget how pretty the little 'lakes' at the top are. I actually did this hike the weekend of the 18th of June. It takes me a little while sometimes to post! I have to filter my pictures since I always seem to take so many!

Luckily, the wildflowers were out and about adding lots of color!


Grey Rock
Trails Used: Meadows Trail, Summit, Main Trail Down
Distance: 8.13 Miles
Moving average: 2.6 mph
Overall average: 2.1 mph
Moving Time: 3 hrs, 09 min
Stopped Time: 40 min, 27 sec
Total Ascent: 2484 ft.
Maximum elevation: 7533 ft.

Bobcat Ridge

I went on an evening hike last night. It was 91 degrees when I started but ended up being a beautiful semi-cool hike. I went clockwise this time and did the Ginny trail first. I actually liked this way better even though it was 4 miles straight up. Whenever I end w/ the Ginny trail it seems like it will never end! It goes on and on! I didn't do very many photos. It was hard to resist taking photos of the many beautiful wildflowers I saw. Yes, I realize this is a thistle and not a wildflower but it was just so dang big and purple!
I was hoping to make it down before dark so I was pumping my arms and legs. A good workout but I'm tired today. I'm glad we are only going to the beach this morning! I did manage a couple of photos at the end when the sun was setting.
I even was lucky enough to see this buck (? points).
On the drive back to Ft. Collins I had to stop and take these pics! Horsetooth Reservoir was looking so nice and quiet! All in all it was a good hike!

Bobcat Ridge
Trails Used: Ginny Trial to Power Line Trail to Valley Loop
Distance: 8.73 Miles (the GPS cut out on me a couple of times, suppose to be 10.3 I think)
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 3.7 mph
Overall average: 3.5 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 23 min (actually, 2 hrs, 35 min if GPS didn't cut out)
Stopped Time: 4 min, 25 sec
Total Ascent: 1382 ft.
Maximum elevation: 6938 ft.

Soggy Shoes, Soggy Socks, & Cold Feet

Otherwise known as the North Lone Pine Trail! I decided to do something different this week. I'd never done this hike before and the next time I do this one I will wait until mid July or August. It's a pretty hike right next to a heavily flowing stream (w/ waterfalls) up in the Red Feather Lakes area. The trail actually meanders down springs and runoff making for the soggy shoes and socks condition I was writing about earlier. Even if it hadn't been so soggy my shoes would still have been wet and my feet frozen due to all the snow (knee deep in most places) I encountered later in the trail. Good thing I had my Gps w/ me or I would have given up much earlier since I had no idea where the trail even was once the snow started. I was determined to make it but did eventually turn around due to the conditions. When I do this again I will park at the North Lone Pine trail head, walk down Deadman Road, hike the Killpecker Trail and then meet up w/ the North Lone Pine Trail and finish back at the car. Funny thing is as I was leaving the trail I crossed a gate w/ a Forest service person who was blocking the road. Apparently someone had cut the rope keeping the gate closed and I wasn't even suppose to be in there (they were smarter than me and knew about the snow). Another thing to keep in mind is the elevation of this hike (starts at 9,000 and ends around 11,000 ft). I didn't notice this so I was very surprised to even see the snow. For some reason I was thinking that Red Feathers was lower than this. Live and learn!!!

North Lone Pine Trail
Distance: 16.75 Miles (the GPS cut out on me a couple of times)
Difficulty: Difficult due to length
Moving average: 3.1 mph
Overall average: 2.7 mph
Moving Time: 5 hrs, 16 min
Stopped Time: 55 min, 19 sec
Total Ascent: 3932 ft.
Maximum elevation: 7066 ft.