Molly Lake

I went for a hike up at Red Feather Lakes this weekend. I was hoping to redo the Lone Pine Trail but ended up not having enough time to do that. I went closer to where the family was and hiked to Molly Lake (this was not that far) and then down the road past there to where it connects up w/ another road. The wildflowers were beautiful. The lake itself was nice but there was no access to it due to the wetland like area surrounding it.

Time:	02:18:24
Distance:	7.82 mi
Elevation Gain:	662 ft

Time:	02:18:24
Moving Time:	02:14:03
Elapsed Time:	02:18:24

Avg Speed:	3.4 mph
Avg Moving Speed:	3.5 mph
Max Speed:	17.1 mph

Avg Pace:	17:41 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace:	17:08 min/mi
Best Pace:	03:31 min/mi

Elevation Gain:	662 ft
Elevation Loss:	688 ft
Min Elevation:	8,368 ft
Max Elevation:	8,661 ft

Curt Gowdy State Park

My mom and I went hiking at Curt Gowdy State Park outside of Laramie, WY this weekend. We started early to beat the heat but most of the morning was overcast so it wasn't too bad. We saw lots of cows who wouldn't move,
hummingbirds that were constantly chirping at one another,
bunnies running around,
the pretty waterfall that we climbed to the top of (even though they removed the rope to aid in this endeavor)
and pretty wildflowers.
I didn't take too many pictures due to the dreary weather. It definitely makes for a faster hike! The large granite boulders are what makes this hike interesting. They are throughout the park balanced one on top of the other. It's always cool to see a tree somehow sticking out of one of these rocks too!
Curt Gowdy State Park
Trails Used: Stone Temple Circuit, Igneoramus, Rock N' Roller, 2%, Stone Temple Circuit, Albert's Alley, El Alto, Overlook, Albert's Alley, Crow Creek Trail, Hidden Falls, Mo' Rocka, Crow Creek Trail, Pinball, Stone Temple Circuit
Distance: ~10 Miles (forgot the GPS)
Difficulty: Moderate, nice rolling hills throughout
Moving average: ? mph
Overall average: ? mph
Moving Time: 4 hrs, 40 min
Stopped Time: ? hrs, ? min
Total Ascent: ? ft.
Maximum elevation: ? ft.

Girl's Weekend in Steamboat!!! Day 3

We had a little later start and a more relaxed pace today. We went to the Art in the Park downtown on our bikes. Then we tubed the Yampa River w/ the help of Backdoor Sports. I really wish we had gotten pictures of this but seeing as how Heather got completely dunked I think it was good we didn't have any cameras w/ us. We headed home in the afternoon through Walden, up to Laramie, and over to Cheyenne, and then down to Ft. Collins. The highlight of the evening was the bear Heather spotted out the window right before we crossed into Wyoming! It made up for us not seeing any moose on Friday!

I can't wait to do this again next year! We couldn't have picked a better location for activities, scenic beauty, and relaxation. (Yeah, yeah, there wasn't much relaxation we were too busy!)

Girl's Weekend in Steamboat!!! Day 2

Since we made it to bed so early I was up (really I was up all night...I couldn't sleep) and rearing to go at 6:10 a.m. I tried to see if Heather was going to go w/ me but she thought sleeping in would better prepare her for the day's activities. I headed out on my bike to go see the Hot Air Balloon Rodeo just outside of the town. It was a beautiful morning (crisp, I should have brought gloves) to see the balloons.


Hot Air Balloon Rodeo (Bike)
Trails Used: Trail along Yampa River
Distance: 8.23 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Moving average: 8.1 mph
Overall average: 4.7 mph
Moving Time: 1 hrs, 0 min
Stopped Time: 44 min, 39 sec
Total Ascent: 333 ft.
Maximum elevation: 6913 ft.

After a quick breakfast we headed out to Fish Creek Falls. It drops 280 feet and is most impressive to view.


We decided to hike to the upper falls as well.
It was a grueling uphill but was great coming down. The area was like a tropical mountain valley. It was so lush and even humid that it didn't feel like you were in the mountains at times. At least until you had one of these views:
The whole hike up was a constant series of waterfalls and wildflowers. We had a great lunch at the top (our top, we could have gone to Lost Lake but that was another 2 miles at least and we had many things to do still). Our hostess had given us the name of another sandwich shop in town that was fabulous. Back Country Provisions gave us each a nice sized sandwich neatly wrapped for hiking that was yummy!
We ate here and had the sound of water all around us. We even gave our feet some relief and dipped them in the cold water.

The aspen along this hike were big, white, and beautiful. I'd love to do this hike in the fall and see them change color.
Fish Creek Falls (Hike)
Trails Used: Fish Creek Falls Trail
Distance: 6.46 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Moving average: 2.5 mph
Overall average: 1.7 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 32 min
Stopped Time: 1 hrs, 17 min
Total Ascent: 1468 ft.
Maximum elevation: 9119 ft.

We ended our day (I guess I should say the afternoon) at the Strawberry Park Hot Springs. It was another beautiful place that had a couple of different pools w/ different temperatures. It was nice going from the hot pool into the main river. We even saw some rainbow trout swimming around. The only thing that could have made it better was a cold, frosty beer!
We were going to try to attend the Steamboat Pro Rodeo Series but by the time showers and dinner were done the rodeo wasn't as high on our list. We walked by and the place was empty. Friday night it was packed so we were very surprised to see it so empty! We ate at Mambo Italiano and had a good appetizer and pizza. We were glad to see the size of their dishes (huge) so we split a pizza. We headed to the Rio for margarita's (they weren't as good as the ones in Ft. Collins) and then to Sun Pie's for the rest of the evening. All in all it was a great day out!

Girl's Weekend in Steamboat!!! Day 1

I had a 3 day weekend in Steamboat Springs, CO w/out having to be a mommy! Ahhh.....it's almost been 1 1/2 years since my last vacation from being a mom. My friend Heather and I had a great time enjoying all of the sites.

We left on Friday (9th) and went up the Poudre Canyon to Lake Agnes in the Colorado State Forest. I hadn't done this hike in at least 5 years if not longer so it was nice to revisit it. It's a sweet and short rewarding hike. However, the road up to the hike was steep (not good w/ me driving a stick shift) and bumpy (again, not good w/ a trailer hitch type bike rack). I managed to get Heather's wheel (on her new bike, no less) bent and even mine a little. This would be a good time to remember to drive my truck next year.....that's why I have it, right?

After we got out of the car we were molested by the worst mosquito's I've seen in a long time! Thankfully, Heather remembered her repellent. There would have been nothing left of us if we didn't have it. My repellent was still sitting at home in the garage on the workbench. Another reminder to myself....don't forget the bug spray!

The hike itself was as pretty as I remembered it. One side of the lake is very rocky (talus slope) and extends up to Nokhu Crags.
The other side of the lake is covered w/ wildflowers and there is even a waterfall.
We were lucky to see this cute little marmot.
We did end up having to walk in the water a little bit. The water was refreshing to say the least. It's a good thing we didn't walk in there longer or we would have frost bitten toes!
Lake Agnes
Trails Used: Lake Agnes
Distance: 2.27 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Moving average: 2.2 mph
Overall average: 1.2 mph
Moving Time: 1 hrs, 1 min
Stopped Time: 51 min, 48 sec
Total Ascent: 779 ft.
Maximum elevation: 10728 ft.
We then headed to the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center. We heard that all sorts of people had seen moose on the drive up. That was a bummer. I really enjoy seeing them and I know these people weren't far behind us. We must have just missed seeing some. We then went through Walden and saw tons of pretty wildflowers lining the road.

Our next stop was Rabbit Ears Pass before heading into Steamboat. We stopped at the Dumont Lake access road to do the Fishhook Lake hike. Again, the low clearance of our car made it difficult to get to the trail head. We decided to park before the road got too bad and bike to the trail head. After unloading the bikes (and discovering the bent wheels) we headed up the trail. Hmmmm.....are we mountain bikers? No, we definitely are not! This trail was steep! (At least for us non bikers). I'm glad I do some biking around town so I was at least in shape to do this. I'm not sure that Heather enjoyed this part of our trip too much but she was a trooper and pulled through! At least we had nice views to keep our minds occupied while we were huffing and puffing up the mountainside.

Fishhook Lake (Bike)
Trails Used: Forest Road 311
Distance: 8.6 Miles (Round trip)
Difficulty: Difficult (due to our experience, other biker's would think this was moderate)
Moving average: 5.1 mph (one way, the up portion)
Overall average: 3.2 mph (one way, the up portion)
Moving Time: 1 hrs, 20 min (estimating w/ trip down time, it was much faster)
Stopped Time: 52 min, 08 sec
Total Ascent: 714 ft.
Maximum elevation: 10297 ft.

By the time we made it to the Fishhook Lake trail head we were sweaty and beat. Fortunately, we had put on bug spray back at the car because the mosquito's were just crazy again. You could feel them hovering, hoping to find that one piece of skin that was still edible and spray free. We didn't spend too much time at the lake....you can tell by Heather's face that the mosquito's were ruining the mood.
We did see more pretty wildflowers and we even saw a big, fat porcupine. You would think that the person who likes to take pictures would have had her camera out and ready for the porcupine but I was tired and we were near the end of the hike so I didn't think we would see anything. Should have figured...
We rode back down the road the way we came. I forgot why I don't really care for mountain biking. I thought my arms and hands were going to fall off after all the jiggling. They could barely hold on by the end.

Fishhook Lake (Hike/Bike Roundtrip)
Trails Used: Fishhook Lake
Distance: 11.5 Miles (the hike was 2.9 of that total)
Difficulty: Easy
Moving average: 4.5 mph
Overall average: 3.3 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 33 min
Stopped Time: 54 min, 22 sec
Total Ascent: 1404 ft.
Maximum elevation: 10297 ft.
After the surprise of having to bike to the trail head we were hopelessly behind schedule. This wouldn't have mattered but we were staying at a woman's house (that we found on Craig's List to rent rooms from) and we had told her we would be there by 5 p.m. We finished our hike around 7 so that wasn't going to happen!

Luckily, she was just finishing up dinner w/ her friend. We said a quick hello, took showers, and headed off to a restaurant at her suggestion. The Double Z Bar & Barbecue (touted as a local's joint by our hostess) was scrumptious! The 1/2 lb burger was fabulous and so were the fries. My burger was even medium rare...how often does that happen nowadays?

After our long drive and hike/bike we were beat and headed back to our hostess's house for some z's. The house was perfect! We were 2 blocks from downtown and we could bike or walk anywhere we wanted. It was nice to be located so close to the 'action'. We each had our own bedroom, and she made an awesome breakfast for us each morning. Quiche, homemade granola, and fresh fruit were all on the menu! It was great being able to get a local's view on what to do, where to go, and where to eat. She even had a little deck w/ views of the valley where we could sit and unwind. I, of course, especially like her garden in the front yard. I'm kicking myself for not taking pics of her and the house/garden area.