First Hike of Spring

Boulder Flatirons - Copyright 2008 Jan Gorski

To snowshoe or hike - that is the question!

We decided a warm hike in the foothills vs a snowy one in the mountains was the better choice for Saturday March 29th. It appeared to be "take your Golden Retriever on a hike" day on the Mesa Trail near Boulder CO. Or perhaps it was a not so subtle hint to me to start thinking about adopting a puppy or two again. I miss having dogs at home but I don't miss the backyard clean-ups or the hassle of finding puppy sitters when I travel. Luckily I got a serious "puppy-fix" while hiking yesterday. Golden Retrievers won the popularity contest but we saw other great species including a huge white Great Pyrenees (who was taking his masters for a walk).

The Mesa Trailhead - just West of Highway 93 at the Eldorado Springs turnoff is a great place for spring hikes. Although the plants are still a bit barren and a little snow remains on the north facing slopes, you will find many things to brighten your day. A field of white and rose colored spring beauties were poking through in the meadows along the Big Bluestem trail, but mostly it was just a dandelion or rose hip occasionally splashing color on the landscape. More interesting were the numerous dried seed pods whose patterns and whorls were worth stopping to investigate.

There is a very nice loop that starts on the Mesa Trail. As you cross the bridge over South Boulder Creek and pass an old stone house (once a gristmill back in the mid-1800s), turn left to hike up the Towhee Trail. This section is a gradual uphill climb that will get your heart pumping. Stop to explore the multi-colored rocks and the lucky few that have quartz growing inside them. The trail was mostly dry except in the upper section near a small creek bed where there was a little bit of mud in the shady areas. We stopped to listen to the sounds of a glistening stream and spotted the first butterflies of the season.

Once you reach the top of the Towhee trail it joins the Mesa Trail again. Turn left and head uphill just past the ruins of another homestead. You will soon find a trail junction - turn right and continue up the Mesa Trail (avoiding the steep uphill climb into Shadow Canyon). Continue uphill and stay left at the next trail junction (all the signs say "Mesa Trail" so it can get a bit confusing). There were short patches of snow/ice and muddy spots in a few sections along this trail. You will enjoy great views of Devils Thumb, Mickey Mouse Wall, the Maiden and other multi-colored rocks jutting toward the beautiful blue Colorado sky.

At the next trail junction (another access point to Shadow Canyon), stay to the right and hike along the Big Bluestem trail. Here you will find great meadows of soon to be budding plants of many varieties. It was along this trail that we found the meadows of spring beauties. Take a break for a snack on a nice flat rock and enjoy great views of the Boulder/Denver area.

Continue along the Big Bluestem trail as it gradually takes you downhill and back toward the plains. Here you will join the Mesa Trail again - keep heading south and back toward the starting point. We were glad we started in the cool temperatures of the early morning because the warming winds were at top speed when we hit the plains. On a number of occasions we thought our jackets that were tied to our Camelbacks would send us airborne in these high winds that are so common along the foothills.

I did not have my camera on this particular hike so the photos shown are from other visits to the area in the fall. For a great wildflower hike you can do this trail in reverse later in the spring. Pam Irwin has a detailed description of all of the types of flowers you might see between mid-May to early June in her book "Colorado's Best Wildflower Hikes - The Front Range." She lists the trail as an "Easy to Moderate" 3.7 mile loop whose elevation ranges from 5,600' to 6,520'. For other hiking options see the book "Boulder Hiking Trails" by Ruth Carol Cushman and Glenn Cushman.

Also note that the flatirons are popular places for nesting birds of prey, so several canyon areas and popular climbing walls are closed to the public from February 1st to July 31st to protect the birds and their young.

Happy Trails!

Along the Mesa Trail in the Fall - Copyright 2008 Jan Gorski