Showing posts with label Wildflower Pictures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wildflower Pictures. Show all posts

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Boyd Lake

 The bike ride started out at Seven Lakes Park in Loveland.  The flax were out and beautiful.  The playground occupied the kids for quite some time.  They even had some different play elements here:
 
 I thought they had outlawed the good old fashioned merry go round.  Apparently, not!  The kids had fun trying to balance on it.
 
Had a nice tour of the lake.  It was a quiet time of year without too many boats.  I don't imagine there will be many more days like this until the fall.
 
 
 I saw this tree and thought it looked like a great photo op...was I ever wrong!  "It smells like a bathroom in there."  The honesty and directness of children is always refreshing!
 Fun trees to walk on and look at:
 
There were 3 different parks throughout Boyd Lake and we stopped at every single one of them!
It seems like this has been a snake year.  I don't think we've been on one hike without seeing one.
  
Bike: Boyd Lake
Trails Used: Seven Lakes Park to Boyd Lake and Back
Distance: 7.31 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 5.5  mph
Overall Time: 1 hrs, 19 min
Total Ascent: 97 ft.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Lots of good hikes for July in Breckenridge

Mohawk Lakes

Beautiful hike! We didn't make it too far due to my kiddos. I did get to see one of the falls but would have loved to do all the hike in order to see the lake and views from the top. The water was roaring! This is a hike w/ a ton of old mining equipment and cabins...historical as well as scenic.
Hike: Mohawk Lakes (w/ the family)
Trails Used: Mohawk Lakes
Distance: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 1.0 mph
Moving Time: 1 hrs, 34 min
Total Ascent: 904 ft.

Foxy Fox!!

I know this isn't about a hike but we had the opportunity to see 4 baby fox and their mother for the entire week right outside our door. Very cool!Baldy Mountain
We hiked partway up to Baldy Mountain behind the house and saw lots of flowers, goats, and great views!

Views of Breckenridge Ski Area


Alpine Forget-Me-Not
Marsh MarigoldPrairie CinquefoilOne Headed DaisyAlpine SunflowerDwarf CloverSandwort
Purple FringeSnowball Saxifrage Sky Pilot
Hike: Baldy Mountain (not quite to the top)
Trails Used: ski hill and up, emmett load and down
Distance: 6.66 miles
Difficulty: Difficult (Steep)
Moving average: 2.2 mph
Moving Time: 3 hrs, 01 min
Total Ascent: 2170 ft.
Iowa Mill, Boreas Pass, Down to Town, Up to House
My next hike was from Boreas Pass down to town, over to Carter Park, and back up to the house. Talk about wildflowers and aspen! I ran across some old mining equipment too!
SnailsIndian Paintbrush
Oregon Grape Holly
Rocky Mountain ColumbineFlaxWild Iris
Broadleaf Arnica
Subalpine ArnicaWild GeraniumRosePotentillaCarter Park flowersLupineRed ColumbineScarlet Gilia
Hike: To Boreas Pass, Down to Town, Up the Bike Trails
Trails Used: see above
Distance: 11.06 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 3.1 mph
Moving Time: 3 hrs, 39 min
Total Ascent: 2432 ft. (picture doesn't include from house to Iowa Mill in the beginning)

Meadow Creek
Our next hike was a new one for everyone. We drove into Frisco and hiked from one highway exit to the next. You wouldn't have known during the hike. We were far away. At times we were in 4 ft. of snow, our feet soaking wet, and were rarely on a trail. Our guide, Rusty (a 60 year old local), told us it was the most snow he's seen in July in all of his years hiking here!

Some of the many creeks/rivers we passed, crossed, or saw:
These unique columbine were near the beginning of the hike.A major obstacle to cross w/out falling in or getting wet!The only way to get down w/out falling on your face. It was fun too!These mushrooms were growing right next to the snow in the picture above. Finally, we got past all that snow.
Of course w/ all that water we saw there were wildflowers. But not as many as you might think since the ground was still cold!  Marsh MarigoldAlpine SpringbeautyThe snow was melting in unusual undulations...Three of us climbed to the top of a pass to see the view. It was well worth the effort through all the snow.Even better, we were able to slide down on our butts afterwards!
We took a break and Rusty spotted a hard to find orchid growing all by itself.  A fairy slipperPeek a boo Mr. Elk. If only my hands and camera would work faster. I might have gotten a cool picture! It's a bit like 'Where's Waldo?'.Hike:Meadow Creek
Trails Used: Meadow Creek (that's when we were actually on a trail)
Distance: 11.85 miles
Difficulty: Moderate (except for length of hike)
Moving average: 1.5 mph (oh my god was this slow)
Moving Time: 8 hrs, 09 min
Total Ascent: 3996 ft. (picture doesn't include from house to Iowa Mill in the beginning)
LinkOther Hikes:

House to Iowa Mill, Ski Hill, True Romance, Sally Barber, up, back to House
Distance: 5.79 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 2.3 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 33 min
Total Ascent: 1295 ft.
Boreas Pass to Iowa Mill, down to House
Distance: 5.64 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 2.8 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 02 min
Total Ascent: 1411 ft. House to Iowa Mill, Ski Hill, True Romance, Sally Barber, heart attack hill, House
Distance: 5.69 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 2.7 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 05 min
Total Ascent: 1336 ft.
House to Iowa Mill, Ski Hill, House
Distance: 3.32 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 3.5mph
Moving Time: 56 min
Total Ascent: 726 ft.