WE DECLARE THE BEGINNING OF HIKING SEASON IN COLORADO! YAHOOO! Sue and I spent yesterday hiking to Pancake Rocks, on the back side of the Pikes Peak Massif. The trail was snow covered but packed, so with Microspikes the footing was fabulous.
The day was lovely and Sue was trying out her new knee and I was seeing how healed my broken pinky toe is. Sue's knee was strong and stable and my toe didn't hurt very much. Pancake Rocks is a 6.5 mile round trip with 1,609 feet of elevation gain, with the highest point 11,100 feet.
This area is part of the Pikes Peak Ring the Peak trail which is almost complete. It was a good start to our season which will culminate in August, on Summit Day, with our ascent of Lamotte Peak in the Uinta Mountains, and if that goes well, we'll tackle Long's Peak in Colorado in early September. Lightning drove us off Lamotte's shoulder last year (thank goodness, 'cause I was completely worn out!) but with better training this year I'll make it. We had a wonderful blue sky...
and that's Sentinel Point, a rocky, Class 3 Summit that Grizz summited last year without any problem. So here are the pancake rocks, with a view of the Sangre de Christo mountains in the distance...so many peaks to explore!
Grizz had a great day, and so did we. Here's to a great hiking season, far from people and viruses, and, yes, toilet paper hoarding. Lots of natural options in the woods!
