Royal Arch
The weather was forecasted in the mid 50's so we decided to go for a hike. None of the Northern Colorado hikes seemed interesting to us, so we decided to venture down to Boulder and hike the Royal Arch trail. Unknowingly, Boulder got a little bit more snow than we did in Northern Colorado and most of the trail was pretty snow-packed. I was a bit underprepared in the fact that I really could have used my crampons and a long-sleeved shirt, but overall, it was a really fun hike.
The hike was very steep, 1,600 feet of elevation gain in a little over 2 miles one way. mixed ith the snow and ice, it was a slow-going hike at two and a half hours total.
4.36 mi
2.5 hrs
6,896 ft
1,611 ft
Poking Out of the Snow
There wasn't a ton of snow on the ground, but enough to make the trail slippery.
Blanket of Snow
I love that you can see just a little bit of flatiron #1 in this phot.
Snowy Trail
The trail was snow packed. Definitely pretty slick in some spots.
Textured
Flatiron #1
There were only a few places along the hike that provided a view like this of one of the flatirons.
Icy Steps
The trail to Royal Arch is fairly steep. Just one way, it's a little over 2 miles, but 1,600 feet in elevation gain. The majority of the hike was about this steep and with the added factor of the snow, it was pretty slow-going.
Unhappy
At least Katie had some crampons for her shoes, I don't know why she's so unhappy about having to go up the stairs.
Mossy
Drip
Boulder
The city of Boulder from the trail to the Royal Arch.
Deathly
Had to walk almost directly under these to stay on the path. Could have died.
