Deer Creek / Plymouth trail

We hit the Deer Creek Park system today. Another nice Jefferson County Open space. I've got to say pretty much every one of these Jeffco spaces has some nice hikes to be had and this one is no exception.

For our fist visit here we decided to grab the Plymouth Creek trail at the parking lot (2.4 miles with 1343' gain), hit the Plymouth Mnt. trail up ahead (2.2 miles 884' gain), and then the Scenic View (0.4 miles 165') to gain the summit for what they billed as "Beautiful 360 degree summit view".

At the trailhead I popped the top on a Hard Nutrition product to give it a test drive. Here is the raw data.

Suppliments in Win

Here is what it looks like under the lid.

Yummy little pills

I was feeling great today...like Tony The Tiger Grrrreat!! before taking this supplement.  So that along with the fact that I operate on a fairly stable platform of caffeine intake and there is nothing very "punchy" in here there were not any obvious effects of taking Win. I've heard a few good things about this company and I think next time I'm going to try .. This one

We took off from the parking lot and hit the Plymouth Creek trail and after about 5 min. it hits a fairly steep and rocky climb. We didn't wind up taking any pics of this section but there wasn't much to see anyway...it was a bit of an old school suffer fest to be honest on this section, the next section where the stairs are (more on that in a bit) and some spots beyond. The route outlined above is a just a fairly quick gain and it's mainly up vs switchbacks so you should be ready to hit it if you choose this path.

One great thing on P.C. is that you have a load of shaded sections like this to cool off in along the way up.

Alright, back to the stairs... I'm not sure why these stairs appear out of nowhere for this 50 yard section of trail. This pic is looking back down where you just came from. The bike is in this shot because the guy coming down this section gut stuck between some rocks and decided to drag his bike back up and try it a second time....he didn't like that attempt either and got off his bike right here and looked at the trail the same way a golfer crouches down to look at the line of a long put.. I told him if we had not been standing right there he would have just blasted down the trail and he agreed that he was over thinking it. Anyhow, I didn't take the stairs up and don't think they are all that much  faster...I've got no idea why they are here.

After an hour or so of chunky elevation gains you get to the short track.

From here it's a quick trip to the top.

We took about 20 min up here today to kick back because there were several places to catch views from. It was a nice hike and on the way down we decided to take an alternate route back to the car. At the last section down you have an option to turn off of Plymouth and take Meadowlark trail. We had crossed paths with a park ranger a few times and she said "if you haven't tried it before you might go that way"...  We decided to try it and it had a nice open view along the path that I liked.

It was about here that I started thinking more about lunch than the hike out so we hit 4th gear and before too long it was time to grab a chair at out favorite sandwich shop.

I saw they had my favorite drink when I was a kid so I had to grab a Rock and Rye to go with this Cuban sandwich. I think the RnR tasted almost exactly the same except the carbonation and citric acid were dialed down to modern levels. Back in the day it was pretty much like taking a punch in the face it had so much bite..I guess over time people have decided they don't like that anymore.

Sat hike done...... NEXT!   ;)

Matthews Winters, coffee, and tea...

Another regular hike for us is Matthews Winters. For pre-hike coffee today I decided to go with an inverted AeroPress latte off poly filter. It was good....of course.

At the trailhead of this hike you are welcomed in by a nifty little bridge crossing over a small stream. There is a couple of picnic tables and BBQ pits off to the side in the shade where you can hear this water running over the small fall just under the bridge... It would be a nice spot for grilling up some burgers sometime but for us the trail awaits.

This hike has about a mile or so lead in across some meadow. As you wind down the valley the climb is on the foothill furthest to the left you see up ahead. This section is super smooth and easy as you hike in.

Once you make it over and start grabbing some elevation there is a turn where you can look back at this same section of trail you just took to get in......dig it.

As far as summits go I'm not sure what (if anything) here is like a true summit as in you standing on the peak elevation of the area but depending on what trail you take there are different clearings you come to that reveal some nice views. Today we took Morrison Slide up to where you join Red Rocks and start heading over to Red Rocks parking lot. Having already done a lot of the lower section of the RR trail we decided to hang out at this clearing for a bit and cruise back from here.

Then it was time for lunch... ;)

After blasting out (and making good time) we went to my favorite tea shop in town. Here is an Assam Doomur Dullung. I prefer a more malt forward Assam but this was certainly a great cup. We will be moving 5 min away from this shop in a few months so I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to explore more of their offerings.

Some recap of the last few months...

Here is some random pics from over the last few months. I've been neglecting to post anything for a while now and wanted to sort of get caught up and kick off this new blog. My plan is to keep this one fairly active but change the focus a bit from the old blog.

To start off here is an IPA at the Breckenridge Brewery in Breckenridge. It was a Lucky U IPA and was standard fare for brew pubs.

This one around Breckenridge is sort of cool. Angie snapped it while we were driving and it has a cool swooshy look to it. Plus it's a gold mine...I didn't know they still had active gold mines. This place looks like it's up and running.

This has probably been our #1 hike location this year. We've been all over the place but I think the place we wind up the most is Mt Falcon. Right before you get started there is a hitching post...at least I call it that. To me it says enough about the place that you can safely assume how the rest of your hike might turn out scenery wise. We've done long hikes here, shorter hikes, and my favorite hike here (the Parmalee trail) a ton of times. It's a go to spot for sure.

Angie took a pic of a little bird going to town on this plant....I guess he might be a woodpecker but that aint wood. However he sure was pecking the hell out of it

Here is a random picture of Ted Nugent in the late 70's- early 80's for no significant reason at all....

Crested Butte is a really cool area. We went to see the wildflowers but I'd like to go back and spend a couple few days just kicking about the town. The drive up was amazing as well....I like Crested Butte!

Angie took a zillion pictures of  flowers. I like this one because it reminds me of a jesters crown...and that is just hysterical for a flower.

Look at me...I'm a flower and I'm not joking!

I also got in a few nitro pours as well as a real ale via an old school beer engine.....hahaha suckers!  :)

Lancer IPA at Pints

An amazing nitro pour Stout at Dry Dock.

Hanging out on my balcony - random Friday evening.

This year my buddy Shaun was responsible for shining the spotlight on matcha. Me being me you know I had to go a little crazy with it. :) This is probably the most fun I've had with it using 80% whole milk, 20% half and half, steamed together with the matcha, a spoon of big foam, and then dusted on top with 100% cacao. Not a drink for whimps....only those that go there should go here...

Sunshine.. from the cup straight to your brain. ;)

A cool experince at the Novo at the Museum. This is a lever pull that was presenting me with a shot I've had before. It was a super sensory memory at fist taste and had an overwhelming statement to make about itself..it was simply and LOUDLY... "Red".

I saw a car crash..

Managed to somehow get a shot of espresso planets on my cheapo camera...

One day I'll get a real camera.....

Ate a few breakfasts in small mountain towns like this Huevos Rancheros in Buena Vista.

Found a halfway decent cup of coffee in Leadville...

Plug for you Provin' Grounds...I think you owe me a latte and a pastry next time I'm in town. ;)

Chilled out with Angie on dozens of places a lot like this...

 

And probably walked a few thousand  miles of stuff like this...

Wash rinse and repeat the above a few times and that is pretty much what the last few months have been about. Not too shabby really and I figure that brings things up to speed for now.

Carpenter Peak

This little 7-8er is deceptively fun.

At first I was thinking it was going to be overly pedestrian because at first it is...

Luckily you have some choices to make pretty quickly on the trail system and selecting Carpenter is where you get to get on with getting on.

The trails in this park go beyond well maintained...I'd almost call them manicured they are so clean. There are all sorts of different sections, just take a look at this forested section.



If I have a gripe about the carpenter peak hike it's that the map is all jacked up. It's listed around 7 miles and approx 1,000 elevation gain. I've got no problem with the trail being something different but because the map is so wrong I have no idea what we actually climbed. I'll have to guess but I'd say it's closer to 8-9 miles and 1,800' elevation gain. It's a long trail and the gain is gradual but steady. There are clearings where you can look back down at the parking lot and it's easy to see you have gained over 1,000'.

There is a roomy summit up top and because you are only 8K up it's super lax. We had 4 people up there when we arrived and another guy rambled up after we all started filtering out. There are plenty of large rocks to sit on and take in the views. Here is a shot looking back at the city off in the distance. I like it because it's typical of what a day off is for me these days. We can get up, have some coffee, grab breakfast, hit a trail, and be back home by lunchtime. Denver is situated in a pretty good place to do this because as you see the city is just right there... Close enough to get out here in 30-40 min. So awesome!



And this one shows some red rocks below. You may have to click the pic to see them.



But as you look in another direction the city is nowhere to be seen...





Because the gain is gradual on this climb we powered up/down it like it was nothing. It's a great training hike for the distance and if you want you can power into this trail. The reports call it something like a strenuous hike but I think that might be because it's in a park and they get a lot of first time hikers. Regulars will probably say it's moderate...long but moderate.

After blazing off the top like we were on fire it was time for some lunch at my favorite sandwich shop. I'd say more about this pulled pork sandwich with jalapeno jack cheese, and homemade slaw on Texas toast but it would only make you cry...

Time for a new blog / Grays Peak

With so many changes over the last year I think it's time for a brand new blog. Time for me to clean slate it and this is where I'll start the ride.

A few weeks ago Angie and I made it out to Grays Peak to make our first 14er attempt of 2010. I went in thinking Handies had taught me a lot about myself and what to expect out there. It tuns out I was right and experience did help me a lot and I was glad for it.

Lets Go!





Fist thing you do on Grays is a lot of this.....



Pictures have a funny way of making elevation gains/slope look more gentle than they are in real life...just trust me, it's a bit of a climb to gt to the good stuff. ;)

After you put some trail behind you there is a nice clearing and you get to admire the elevation you just took out of the mountain. I like these types of spots and can look out over the green for a good long while. But this is nowhere near the summit so on we climb!



This one IS from the summit, check out that lake over there.



Yep, you can see pretty far from up here....



Look at those tiny people. Something tells me they are going to be drinking a cold beer way before I am. :(




So, we bagged Grays this year and if all goes well we should hit one more 14er before our season is over. I solidified some of the lessons learned on Handies, picked up a few new lessons, and have a few improvements to make to our climb plan from mistakes we made. Nutrition is still a problem...neither one of us can eat enough when in altitude. We just tested some gels and liquid on Carpenter peak (post to follow) and have more work to do.

But Grays was a blast and I thought it was the right thing to kick off this new blog that is going to be more about fun and less about anything else. ;)