North Table 1-30-10

North Table Mountain, Golden Colorado
1-30-10

This family hike started like most do. A stop off for coffee and the drive to the next spot. Louie, ambitiously pacing just knowing he is going for a hike. North table mountain is really a find for me. It has a very large population of deer and at least a family of 4 coyotes we counted today. I know that there are lion here and am doing what I can to locate some physical evidence. I am pretty sure I have seen some scat and tracks.


Here is a view from above the Golden cliffs. This area is a popular climbing spot for locals and those that have that "connection". There are a couple decent sites that have some information on the different climbs.

Certainly a variety of climbs for sure. I hiked the cliffs for sometime and found something for everyone. Access seems easy if you have the best hook up as it appears that some do and can drive right to the top.

Looking down 58th towards Wheat Ridge there is (what I call) the Southern drainage. There is a trail as you can see here which I believe comes from the eastern side of the Mesa.

Here in the Southern drain there is a herd of deer about 14 to 18 strong. I don't think this would be a great Cat spot but there is plenty of heavy underbrush so I wouldn't be suprised.

View east northeast to the opposing cliff band from the north side of the southern drain.

I refer to this as dead tree wash. It certainly attracts a fair amount of wildlife as indicated by the abundance of tracks in the snow. The one thing I did notice is the lack of rabbit tracks. I wonder if this is due to the Coyotes and if this explains what appeared to be coyotes stalking a herd of deer a little later in this hike.

This is looking east southeast. You can see an arm of south table mountain and a possible new hike to explore.

There is an actual peak on the top of this mesa even though those that started mining here did their best to flatten it out. Mostly lava formed I am not sure what minerals they were looking for but they must not have found anything valuable.

Just an absolutely beautiful view of Denver and area. This is an unique shot that I haven't seen before and with binoculars can study a vast majority of this mesa.

North Table Mountain Hike 1-28-10

This trip started at the northwestern trail head. The climb starts out pretty steep as usual amongst most of the foothills. As you climb you will pass a large metal container and up further you will come to a maintenance rd. Here you will continue that steep climb until you come to the top of the mesa. There must have been some mining practices that have taken place here as they have done on South Table and on the right you will see the area dug out. Louie and I hiked south through the mined area, we walked with no real indications of wildlife. Once out of the scree field we followed an old road. There were only two other tracks of someone hiking there too. They must have been there in the morning. Wildlife tracks are everywhere showing there is no lack of food here.


I decided to go off the trail and head east following a drainage. Louie liked it here because he could run his little butt off. We come to an area where two drainage's come together and offers moisture to a couple of the few trees on this table top. After taking a break I decided to start heading north following the cliff line. The really interesting experience here was the lack of visibility and how big the table is. I couldn't see the other side and had no real references to tell me what direction I was heading. To make matters more interesting I learned how hard it is to maintain a specific direction on rough terrain. I was getting a little worried as I came to a much larger quarry. I wondered "where the hell is this"? I had no idea this table offered such a variety of features.

We had come over a knoll and I saw a large animal about 200 yds away which at first I thought was a lion. Boy, I was excited! As we watched Louie not really sure what we were looking at but held his stalking pose. I realized at that point there was no way that a lion would still be sitting there as I know it saw us. Then it turned sideways and I could see it had longer more pointed ears than a lion would have. I was surprised to see it was a coyote. Same color fur and was very thick making its hind quarters look bigger as it was sitting there. I really thought this was the lion I am looking for. I had a camera but my batteries died and that really pissed me off.

to be cont....

Firestarting using flint steel

Here I show my attempt at using a flint and steel to start a campfire. Have had a harder time using this tool in high elevations but as you can see here it works (7,800 ft). I really think the key is the birds nest you build. Trying to find cattail fuzz or in this case thistle flower fuzz adds that extra umphh.

Training Hike with John 1-17-10

Training Hike with John M.

A training hike with John and an over nighter for me we start out at the southern parking lot at around 10:30am. We take Longhorn at the Junction and after a brief hike up we stop for a break.

As we were relaxing a man rides up on his horse. Don, a member of the Front Range Back Country Horsemen volunteers his time to oversee the trails and camp areas in the White Ranch open space. After chatting about the park and the importance of volunteerism he gave us a little tip on fishing high altitude lakes and continued on their way. Very nice and a good representative.

We continue on shorthorn until it turns back to longhorn. We pass the upper parking lot on our way to the upper campground. We connect with Rawhide and take that around to the watering

hole and camping spot.




Here we begin the campfire starting championship of 2010. I have had a hard time with the mag starter and hoped that I had it this time. No such luck, it seems so easy watching videos of people doing it. I have to wonder how much higher altitudes and cold temps have on fires and getting them started. I go to the trusty steel wool and battery technique which is not any easier or better than just carrying a lighter. Now I haven't tried using a lighter to ignite the steel wool but if it does, a lighter weighs less than a nine volt battery I bet.

I will get better at the narratives I promise :)





The deer are obviously used to humans here as I was able to get within 20 yds of them without them spooking. If you have the time this is when you can get a view of other predators if you sit back and watch. The old saying find the deer you'll find the predators. This day I didn't have time to try and catch anything on film.

White Ranch Open Space 1-16-10

WHITE RANCH OPEN SPACE

White Ranch Open space park is a great local hiking/camping area. The Trails are well marked and maintained with bathrooms located at the start and at the top in the sawmill campground. There is also a water pump in the campground but I believe it is seasonal so in the winter you still have to hump it in or use snow.

The gang prepared for the new adventure. Pam AB Beadles and her trusty sidekick Kayla AAB Beadles. The brains of this operation .... LOUIE! With his eagle eye nose and a keen wit that can out smart even the fastest of rabbit/squirrel.









The Climb starts out by leading you out through a gate then back in through another gate. The trail begins to climb steeply for the next 2.5 or so miles. But within a short time your looking back on views like this.







Very quiet even on a Saturday. Most of the hike we were the only voices that could be heard.










The family guru gives me some insight as to what direction we should go next. He had some ideas, good as they were we didn't have time for horse chasing and squirrel eating. Louie did let out a sigh of disapproval at me for going over his head.









Here we are, man and his best friends. I think Pam is the more loyal but that's OK Louie has other friends than just me. Love you Pam :)









Kayla practicing her bouldering skills in the wild. I gather the goal is to approach the rock with gingerly care. Hoping to offer it something to eat so to make friends with the rock before climbing on top. I hear that if you should forgo this step you'll find yourself on the ground quicker than Louie can catch a squirrel.









Ok, What to do now? Ummm no, I can't stretch like that. Ummm no, I don't bounce. Ok, here it is. Oh by the way did I tell you how good at this I am? I did? Oh well I am really good at this so if you have any questions just ask me.

I am ALIVE! Ok, no hands Mom! I have to get down. Getting dizzy! MOMMY!

Kayla and Pam hangin out doing family stuff. Kayla carrying the big pack.. what a trooper! Gotta say I wouldn't have to worry if I got lost in the wild with kayla, she WILL carry her own. Takes after her mom for sure.

Sawmill campground about 3 miles in on belcther trail. Seems like a decent winter camping area. Says you have to have a permit so I will look into that.

It always amazes me how different the same trail can be from one direction to the next. This view is heading back down.

The guru and me. I am pretending I know what I am doing. All the while the guru knowing he is in charge lets his leash relax so I think hes a good dog.










The troopers pulling up the rear. We come to the close of another Colorado/Denver hike.










Trail map

Golden Gate Hike 1-14-10

First thing encountered was a pretty hungry coyote. He seemed pretty focused even though I was parked about 30yds from him. I have Louie with me, our trusty dusty terrier.





There is a coyote explosion here in the Colorado foothills pushing more and more into the open like this. Here is a still of him eating.














After hiking from the parking area its a steep downhill following a drainage, its easy to go farther than you can get back so I marked a good turn back spot













A nice view as I continue down the trail
















A distant shot at the Indian peaks area. Looks to be pretty passable right now.













Here we are the lou miester and me. There was much going on. A twig snap here and branch break there. Heightened alert protecting the homestead. That is our job. To be continued.

Colorado Trail Hike 01-05-10 pt2

After waking up the second day I was greeted with wind, clouds and the threat of snow. I decided to stay here for another night allowing me time to set up a better shelter in case of more snow than expected will fall. Out here you need to be prepared most especially during the winter.









Looking out the lean-to I built, it appears that the snow may be lighter than expected which both bums me and makes me happy. I wouldn't mind getting snowed in for a day or so just for the experience but really want to hike to the next camp.








Waiting for the snow in my new lean-to. One of my favorite pieces of equipment is my trusty tarp. It was as comfortable as any night I had out there so it worked. I do like a little music out there so my second fav is my MP3 player.







The third morning was pretty cold. I was able to keep the fire going most of the night. If I did it over I would make sure the fire was closer to the lean-to and would be able to have more warmth.

Waking up to a cloudless sky even though it was bitter cold there is still something to say about a beautiful sunny morning to brighten the spirits.

A shot of the view from the campsite. Hard to want to pack up with this as my bedroom. I was completely surprised at how much wildlife was present but how little I saw or heard. Just goes to show how animals can survive right under our noses.

Finally packed up camp and moved to the second stage. Temperatures stayed pretty low so getting the fire going was essential. My plan was to keep it burning all night and to be as close to the opening to my tent as possible without it smoking me out.

A video of my setup

The Third night certainly offered a competitive view. Again, another night with no wind which is why it got so cold that night. I used the embers from the fire I kept going to spread out under my hammock. This idea worked well for most of the evening but I let the fire go out so the last few hours was horrendous. My lesson here is to spend a tad more time in developing a good shelter including the fire. Making a smaller fire for the shelter is a good way to do this. Using embers and a new birds nest transfer the fire to the new spot.