A hike on a holiday

On July 4th we headed out for what was to be an easy hike to Horsethief Falls.  My co-worker had told me about this trail and we wanted to check it out.  Once we parked at the trail head though, we realized we had done this trail several years ago.

What the heck, we'll just go hike it again.

There was a gentleman from Florida on the trail ahead of us.  At one point he waited for us to catch up and told us there was a bear up ahead.  Irv and I wasted no time in saying where, where?  We went to take a look.  As you can see, it wasn't a bear, it was an adorable marmot.

Time to get the pebbles out.  The first mile is all up hill.  This trail starts at 10,000 feet so the air is quite thin.

Up, up, up we go!

It was a beautiful day to be in the mountains even if we couldn't breathe.

After about a mile it levels out and opens up to beautiful mountain meadows.

Then we came to this sign.

And then another.  Hmm....decision time.  Go 1/2 mile to the falls that we've already seen, or head up to Pancake Rocks which is only 2 miles further.

What the heck, two miles isn't that far, let's do it!  This was a mistake.  Heading off on a trail you know nothing about is not a smart move.  We climbed and we climbed and we climbed for an eternity. Then the sciatica in my right leg kicked in and climbing became a painful challenge, but who wants to turn around?  Your destination might be just around the next bend. (No such luck.)

We were on part of the Ring the Peak trail.  Wouldn't that be fun?  I just looked it up and it's 67 miles in total.  Cross that trail off the list.

Beautiful rock formations along the way.

This is my typical view when hiking.  I keep the required 20 paces behind my man.

Beautiful groves of aspen.

More rocks.

A gnarly tree.  Taking photos along the way is a technique to have a few moments to breathe.

After climbing up hill for another mile, then down a saddle and up another hill we made it to the Pancake Rocks.

It was very cool and almost worth the effort.

A few more feet and we would have been at 11,000 feet!

The view was tremendous except for that gold mine over in Victor.  It amazes me how humans cause so much damage to God's beauty.

We stopped and refueled for awhile, enjoyed the beautiful of the land and then started the climb up the mountain so that we could then descend for two miles.

Seven switchbacks to get down, about an 8-10% grade.  Steep when you're hiking and tired.

Nope, still not going there.  Keep me on the Horsethief Trail.

No better sight than the parking lot.  As you can see I'm now at 30 paces behind.

Then it was up to Cripple Creek for lunch and a cold one, but no gambling for us.  I find gambling to be the most depressing sight.  I told Irv that we had to keep active so that we don't have to head to the casino for our entertainment.  Such a waste.  

Best way to celebrate our nation's birthday ever.  Give me this any day over a loud party with people drinking too much followed by fireworks.  I am at peace in the forest.