The Month of Debauchery: Red Mountain Edition

As you know, the first half of my month off contract is being spent in Colorado. In order to combat boredom, I decided I needed to explore the area in which I live. Red Mountain was one of the first places I thought of. Most of the windows in my apartment face Red Mountain, so I see it every day. Also, I know the Red Mountain trail is fairly popular with the dog walking, trail running, mountain biking crowd. If so many people frequent the trail, it can’t be that bad, can it?

Uh, yes it can. Here’s the first part of the Red Mountain trail. It’s basically straight up.

I figured the trail couldn’t be straight up the entire way, so I pressed on doggedly. Without a dog.

Wait! There’s a road up this mountain?! Why does the trail go straight up?! It turns out that the road and the trail intertwine at many sections along the path. I actually decided to stick to the trail for the most part, mainly because the trail had more trees, which meant more shade. Also, going straight up would mean I would be done faster, right?


A random picture on the way up.  I liked the combination of the sun shining through the trees and the fact that the trees were on the edge of a small cliff.

 Towards the top, the trail finally evened out a bit, and I was able to inhale enough air to actually look around me and enjoy the view. I was also getting some pretty gnarly blisters, which meant I kept sitting down to give my feet a rest.

Look! A cluster of columbines, Colorado’s state flower! In their natural habitat: Colorado!

Columbine close-up.

A butterfly! This year I have seen more butterflies and moths than I have ever before.

After over an hour of hiking, I began to wonder when I would reach the top, and how I would know I was at the top. Then I saw this.

Here’s what I know about this little monument. Back in the late 1800s a hermit lived at the top of Red Mountain. One year, the settlers in the town realized that the hermit hadn’t come down for supplies like he usually did in the spring. They sent a search party out for him, and found him dead in his cabin. They planted him under a large tree that was kind of in the shape of a cross, and ever since then there’s been a cross at the top of Red Mountain. They light it up around Christmas time, but I’m not really sure what the cross is supposed to represent, besides the obvious. Solidarity, maybe? A little reminder to remember the hermits of the world? I have no idea.

At the top, I took a few pictures of the view. Here’s where I live.

And here’s a view of the rest of the valley. I have better pictures than this one, but I loved the clouds in this shot.

It took me an hour and a half to climb up, so after snapping a few pictures I decided it was time to go my way. I took a different path down in the hopes that it wouldn’t be as steep. It was steeper. So now I have four blisters, and an aversion to shoes.

At the bottom, I met a biker and two people with dogs on their way up. The only thing I can figure is that they use the road. Otherwise, they’re crazy. Even with the spectacular view at the top, it’s going to take a lot to convince me to go up that trail in the near future.