chapter 525
6/1/2019
Boulder Flatirons Hike
it's not a flat hike
We made it to the top of Flatirons 1 and 2 trail in Boulder Colorado and loved it. We felt like Kings of the Mountains. It's a majestic view of Flatiron 3 when you walk thru the notch at the top. It was one of my most rigorous hikes, most dramatic and probably the most rewarding. Didn't know if we'd go all the way but just took one step at a time. We took a leisurely 4 hours to cover the 4 mile round trip as we savored the moment. There were a lot of people on the trail as it is one of the more popular ones. I wait for people to clear from my photos or I photoshop clone them out.
The start is from the Chautauqua Park in Boulder. The mountains get their name from the shape of flat irons standing on end. It starts out as a nice meadow, but we are starting at an elevation of 5700 and going up to 7200 making hard to breathe in the thin air.
It was nice to get out of the heat and into the shade from the trees. Without the switchbacks going back and forth we wouldn't be able to go straight up for 1500 feet. The treking poles give 4 points of contact and really add confidence to balancing. The whole trip my foot only slipped maybe 6 inches once. Most westerners don't seem to use them. Quite a few trail runners going rapidly down these trails. Foolish, I think but they join trail running clubs.
The rock face climbers: solo freestylers and team climbers with ropes were going right up #2 behind Collen and on #1 that she is facing. I have dramatic shots of them in the linked folder at the top. That was part of the thrill. You felt like you were part of their team. You could easily hear their commands; give me slack, I'm climbing. At times we were so close we could touch them.
In fact I was talking to one guy who just completed #1, photographed him and found out he got his start on the gunks, the Shawangunks of the Catskills. His son was climbing El Capitan in Yosemite, California at that moment. He was hunkered down in a wall tent because of the rain and could only climb at night with a headlamp. Wished him luck and he gave me a fist bump.
Googled El Cap and found that a Colorado girl 10 just became the youngest to climb the rock nose this week (video).
This hand over hand section is just a short portion of the overall hike. Colleen blames me for sending her up first and not giving her time to put on her gloves.
The rock formations make for a dramatic background. Never thought about it falling on us until I reviewed this picture.
We are on the edge of Flatiron 2 behind us with Flatiron 3 in the distance. Such fun.
I try to catch the dramatic angles in the photos neglecting to shoot in the boring flat sections. That may give the impression the hike is harder than it really is but I will take that risk. Even young and inexperienced and many Chinese climbers are able to do this trip, some in flip flops !
This is nearing the top of the notch between the first two Flatirons when we went around the edge for the top photo. Overall an exhilarating and thrilling experience. It's like going to Natures Art Gallery and they let you play on the sculptures.
Before we go on vacation we do a preliminary reconnaissance on youtube. The three videos that stood out were: Flatirons Ranger tips (don't feed the bears), Flatirons moderate hike, Flatirons successful rock climb, Flatirons rock climb fail.
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