Nearly Wildflower Season
We had a small window of time to go hiking this weekend. It was raining when we woke up on Saturday morning and there was rain forecasted in the early afternoon. Since the weather didn't look that great, we decided to go into Boulder to hike in Chautauqua Park. Chautauqua is a gorgeous area but usually packed with people making parking difficult and an overall decrease in hiking experience due to the crowds. But we were hoping with the weather not looking great that would deter people from getting outdoors. And it did! We got to Chautauqua a little after 9 and there was still plenty of parking.
We threw on our packs and headed to Royal Arch, a hike we've done several times before. This is a difficult hike but relatively short. It's difficult because of how steep it is - 1,500 feet in just under 2 miles. Since it was raining in the morning, the humidity was high making this a more difficult than normal hike, but we made it there and back without getting rained on.
The wildflowers in this area are just starting to pop up. We only saw two different wildflowers, but it's the start of our favorite hiking season.
3.81 mi
2.6 hrs
6,882 ft
1,539 ft
Breaking Clouds
The clouds from the overnight storm were breaking just as we stared our hike.
Creeping Oregon Grape
We always see these plants with their fruit on them, but I've never noticed what they look like when they're blooming. There were a lot of these blooming in the area.
Boulder
There were several good views of Boulder on this hike.
Tiem for a Break
Katie is getting over a cold so she was getting tired more easily than I was, but I enjoyed the breaks (it was a hard hike).
Summit Panorama
The summit of Royal Arch gives a great view of the first Flatiron and the city of Boulder.
Hiding
Royal Arch
Since it was raining before the hike and afternoon rain was forecasted, the sky wasn't as bright as it usually is. That allowed me to get a good shot of Royal Arch from the North side of it.
Spring Beauties
We walked right past these on the hike up and didn't notice them. Luckily I spotted them on the way back. These are truer wildflowers than the Creeping Orange Grapes we saw earlier.
