Golden Gate Canyon State Park

We went for a day excursion with Kobi the other day. We went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It is located in Golden, and not too far from Ben and Ellie's (well the road to to get there). There is a slow winding mountain road that takes you up to the park. From my few experiences so far, Colorado Parks really have their stuff together! Immediately, as you enter the park, the visitor center was in sight. An adorable log cabin with a pond where you could feed the fish, restrooms, and many information kiosks greeted me. I was unable to feed the fish due to the thin layer of ice that covered the entire pond. I knew it has been getting chilly and snowing in the mountains, but I wasn't prepared for this. 

After talking to the knowledgeable park staff inside, Nate and I assessed the park map and decided to take Mountain Base Road to Panorama Point first! We wound up the narrow two lane road. I hung on to the "oh shit" handles to keep me in place! When we arrived at the top, it was stunning. I couldn't have imagined such a sight. On one side, you could see Longs Peak (a fourteener) and some of the other peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park. On the other side you can see Mt. Evans (which we drove up to last weekend) on the far side of Idaho Springs. 

After not spending much time at Panorama Point due to the wind and cold, we headed down to Kriley Pond and hiked the Blue Grouse Trail. It was an easy .8 mile trail that was out and back. We decided against doing too much hiking due to the fast that we were not well equipped in case of more wind and cold. We hiked up and then back down to the pond for a snack. It was a little warmer facing the sun, but when the wind whipped up it sure was fierce and chilly. 

On the way down the winding road

There is the car!

After our brief lunch by the pond we decided to do one more hike on the Horseshoe Trail, 1.8 miles out and back. It was a nice trail, all uphill on the way in and all downhill on the way out. We saw a gray jay, but I wasn't able to get a picture. We also saw some ice on this trail!

More mountain roads

Pine tree collecting aspen leaves

Ice!

This is what I do in the car...

On the way out of the park we took a loop that would eventually meet up with the road we took in. There was some crazy geology along the way. I saw some major pegmatite, gneiss, lots of schist (pardon my link to wikipedia), and some granitic intrusions (or at least that's what I think this might be). There is a lot going on in this picture, however I only had a chance to snap it and not get out and look. 

Today, I hiked a few trails at North Table Mountain where I have already been a few times. It was a good straight up hike. Love to all!