Our second hike of spring was Saturday 4/5/08 at White Ranch Park between Golden and Boulder, CO. This 4,391 acre open space park is a gem of a resource that is very close to Denver and a great place for early season hikes. The park history dates back to prehistoric times when Nomadic Ute and Arapaho tribes camped and hunted here. In 1865, Welsh immigrant James Bond and his wife Mary were headed to CA but decided to settle on this land after their young son was killed under the wheels of their wagon. In 1913, Paul and Anna Lee White began purchasing portions of the land and operated a Hereford cattle ranch until 1969. There is a fabulous display of many old farm implements along a nature trail on the West end of the parking area, which also leads to a picnic ground.
When we arrived there was a large group of camouflaged "Young Marines" in the parking lot, apparently restocking supplies, as we found their camp a few miles up the trail. Must be a good training site! I suspect they endured a very cold evening in their 'pup' tents.
We chose the Rawhide Loop, which is a varied trail that passes through forest and grassy plains. I don't hike here much so I forgot the key "feature" of this trail. It travels downhill for a long time at the beginning - which means you have to climb back out to return to your car. It actually felt like we went downhill more than uphill until we hit the final climb out (+1380'/-1386' elevation change).
The first section of the trail is an old ranch road that is in an open plains area and was quite windy and chilly. We found a number of muddy sections and parcels of snow that had not quite melted yet. I was surprised to see snow since it's been fairly warm, but this is at an altitude of ~7,450', and although it is officially spring in CO, we have a winter storm warning tonight - so anything is possible on early hikes!
We chose to take the loop from the east to the west, as recommended in a hiking book. It meanders downhill for quite some time through broad meadows and eventually enters a beautiful ponderosa pine forest. It was in the forested area that I missed a chance encounter with a large elk. My hiking companion got a glimpse of it as it thundered away. I only saw the dog that was headed top speed into the elk's territory. This is why we have leash laws.
We all love our pets and we love to exercise them and we love for them to have freedom. But when they harass the local wildlife - the love is gone. The chatty couple that also went flying by us on the trail was oblivious to what their animal had done. I was very disappointed, since I was hoping to see some wildlife in this land that has not yet awakened from it's winter nap. Instead I had to be happy with the rock sculptures we saw along the way - the tortoise, the chunky pancake rock and a lot of very beautiful quartz and mica specimens strewn about the trail. Luckily we were also awarded with stupendous views of the plentiful water sources for Golden and Boulder, as well as a hazy view of downtown Denver and surrounding vicinities.
Once again I did not carry my camera on this hike, as I was more interested in hiking without the weight of it hanging around my neck. So the photo of the bighorn sheep in this blog is just a general statement to everyone. If you want a chance encounter with a majestic animal - allow it to exist in its territory without fear of danger.
Happy Trails!
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