Go Climb A Rock

Another long wait between posts.  Sorry (to myself as well as you).

This last weekend my daughter Rebecca came home from college for the weekend.  That gave the two of us the opportunity to make a goal that we've had nearly since we move here at the beginning of the summer.

Get to the top of Eldorado Canyon.

The may pictures in this post were taken by either Rebecca or myself.

Eldorado Canyon sits in the front range about half way between Golden and Boulder.  The canyon is beloved by climbers and hikers for the stunning rock formations and beautiful views.





It took us about half an hour to get to our real starting point, a steep boulder field next to the Rincon wall.

That picture was taken looking up at a 45 degree angle.  Having trouble visualizing it?  Here is Rebecca for scale:

This is the kind of hiking I really go for.  As close to climbing as you can without needing ropes.  "Vertical hiking".

We had already climbed 600 feet on the "improved" trail to get to the base of the rock field.  Another 600 feed of climbing brought us to the eastern edge of the canyon.  Here is what we saw.

Click to Embiggen (you really want to)

On the far left you can see Boulder and Longmont.  On the right, nestled between two trees you can see the Denver skyline.  In between is the vast expanse of the Colorado plains.  Kansas may be back there somewhere.

So, what do you need for this kind of hike?  Well, I am not an expert, but here is what I take:

You can see I have a climbing helmet, sticky bottomed hiking boots and my standard day pack.  In the day pack I have lots of water, a first aid kit, snacks and a light jacket.

Man, was that fun.  Here are some more pictures to finish up.

Bonus Track:

This was on my mind for reasons.