Hiking goal

 My hiking goal for 2016 is to hike more than 2 miles 3 times a week.  I know your real hikers are laughing because 2 miles is a walk not a hike.  But to my lard ass, it is still a lot of work.

His Lordship and I did some nice hikes (walks) last week.  Poor man - I hold him back so.  He has to take these mincey little steps and listen to me groan every time I tweak my knee.  His marriage prison sentence has been a long one!

We took some lovely pictures.  The first was of Red Rocks open space on a lovely sunny winter morning.   This is how it looked.

 

Our second hike was to the Lizard Rock trail in the lost creek wilderness.  It was stunning and we had it all to ourselves.  We hiked out and back about 7 miles.  The ice spikes on our shoes were lifesavers.

His Lordship on the trail.  We had to walk under this huge rock.

 

I hope you are getting outside to enjoy some fun and fitness this winter.

Insane Hike

So we have been buried under a foot of snow with more to come today.  Yesterday, instead of being sensible humans and staying in our dwelling, I suggested to his Lordship that we hike.

Hmmm - 20 degrees, snow falling rapidly but let's hike.  I must be mental.

We started from the house, walked up the road which was deserted (all the other smart people stayed home) and began the ascent toward the Intermann trail.  The snow was so deep that for every step, I slid back 4 inches - a situation that called for hiking spikes - luckily I had them. 

The first part of the trail was quite pleasant.  There was a lovely tree lined canyon where the snow and wind were subdued, with a magical feel of a fairy tale.

However, once we crossed Crystal Park Road, the trail goes sharply up Iron Mountain.  Most of it is exposed to the north and the wind and snow considerably more fierce.  We did, however, pass part of the trail that we helped to build last summer.  It was holding up fine, far better than me, who by this time was sweating profusely despite the wind chill.


We helped to build this section of the Intermann
You can see by the footprints that we are not the only morons who hike in the snow.

About the 3.5 mile mark, it seemed to have no end.  The little town of Manitou looked like a ghost town.  I was sure His Lordship would rather be doing other things.

We finally reached Pawnee Rd., but madness, having taking hold of both of us by this point, impaired our judgment.  We decided to keep hiking through to Ruxton Ave. After a further mile of trudging in a foot a snow, we emerged into civilization, only to find that both our favorite bars had quit early and sent their staff home.  In despair, we continued down the Avenue, wondering if this whole venture had been for naught. Suddenly, when we spied a bright window and what looked like central heat.  WE WERE SAVED! Yay for Swirl Wine Bar! These folks are hardcore.  Their sign said even the patio was open!

 

 

Disheveled and a little achy, we sat down to a delicious pint of  local IPA and a bowl of homemade beef stew.

 

 So we took 15,791 steps for a total of 4.98 miles.  With all this exercise, why am I not losing a little weight? Hmmm - wonder if the IPA and beef stew have something to do with that.

Hiking for Fitness

I have set a goal to climb the Barr Trail as far as Barr Camp in May.  In order to prepare for that, I am trying to hike 4 times a week.  On weekdays, I have been hiking 3 short trails and then on the weekends, his Lordship and I take a longer hike.

So todays hike was through the Garden of the Gods.  It was an unusually warm day - I think it set a record high.  I started on the Strausenback Trail.

 

It was quite pretty and the first time I actually hiked that particular route.  Here are some pictures.

 

I then hiked the Scotsman trail to the central garden trail.  I always try to hit the central garden 1/2 way through my hike as they have that most important of features - a flush toilet. 

 

I then took the Palmer trail around the west side of the park.  Here are a few picture of the central garden from the Palmer trail.

After out walking a group of very pokey trail horses, I ended up on the Siamese Twin trail and back at the car.  Total steps was 10771.  Aerobic step were 8282.  Mileage was 3.39. Tomorrow his Lordship takes me up a mountain so I hope I have the energy for that!

The Siamese Twins

The Little Pedometer that Could

His Lordship, my spouse, got me a pedometer for Christmas.  It is made by Omron and displays the number of steps taken in a day, miles walked, aerobic steps, calories burned, and the time.  My first day wearing it I went on a long hike and managed about 12,000 steps.  But yesterday, I only got a little walk in and by 8:45 pm, I was still 1,500 steps short of my 10,000 step goal.  So bring on the steps - up and down the stairs 5 times, pacing while I brushed my teeth, doing lots of little chores etc.  In fact,  continuous motion for 15 minutes and I had my 10,000.  His Lordship was pleased as he hoped it would motivate me to move more and spend less time in front of this computer.  I think it is working.  So if you need a little motivation, try a pedometer.