Upon further review, Rocky Mountain seemed a bit daunting. In hindsight, I would have been fine. But I was envisioning myself stranded on a snowy mountain summit a la the movie about some very unfortunate hikers on Everest I'd just watched. It was disappointing, but I put Rocky Mountain National Park on hold for another time when I'd hopefully have someone with me.
My back-up plan was a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater down in Golden, CO. This was a bucket list item, as I've had a long standing obsession with both red rocks and music. That video of U2 playing Sunday, Bloody Sunday against a backdrop of jagged rocks and desert sky sends chills down my spine every time.
I had to see it in person-- I was too close not to. So, I made the trek to Golden. It was about an hour away, but the scenery was flawless and I didn't mind the drive. On the way, I passed Table Mountain trailhead and made a note to myself to stop on the way back if I was up for it.
I parked in a distant parking lot from the stage, and hiked up a big hill to the rock tunnel and a closer parking lot that was full.
People were everywhere-- it was over 70 degrees out in March, so everyone was taking advantage of the weather. I took my time walking around the stage and the bleachers before journeying over to the Trading Post Trail.
It was a short loop, but so freaking cool. I could stare at those rocks for hours.
After I'd had my fill, I wandered back to my car and decided to check out Table Mountain. This hadn't been on my radar at all when I was looking up places to hike, but it turned out to be a wonderful choice.
My back-up plan was a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater down in Golden, CO. This was a bucket list item, as I've had a long standing obsession with both red rocks and music. That video of U2 playing Sunday, Bloody Sunday against a backdrop of jagged rocks and desert sky sends chills down my spine every time.
I had to see it in person-- I was too close not to. So, I made the trek to Golden. It was about an hour away, but the scenery was flawless and I didn't mind the drive. On the way, I passed Table Mountain trailhead and made a note to myself to stop on the way back if I was up for it.
I parked in a distant parking lot from the stage, and hiked up a big hill to the rock tunnel and a closer parking lot that was full.
After I'd had my fill, I wandered back to my car and decided to check out Table Mountain. This hadn't been on my radar at all when I was looking up places to hike, but it turned out to be a wonderful choice.
You start at the base of the little mountain, and take this incredibly steep hill up to the top. I'm not sure exactly how long the incline is-- maybe a half mile-- but it's brutal. I walked part of the way, and came across this-
Another hiker confirmed it wasn't a rattler, but getting by him still required getting closer than I'd prefer. Still, I managed, and kept going. There were signs posted about rattlers, so I made a mental note to keep an eye out.
The beauty of Table Mountain is, once you reach the top you can hike on a perfectly level surface for as long as you'd like. The loop I was on was about four miles, and much of it was spent enjoying the view and easy hiking terrain.
Once I was done up there, it was a long but easy downhill hike back to my car.
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