Date: 07/25/2015
Who: Michelle and myself
Length: 9.4 miles (4.7 out + 4.7 back)
Time: 5.5 hours
Weather: about 75 degrees, mostly sunny
Video:
Today, Michelle and I enjoyed hiking in the Pikes Peak South Slope Recreation Area. The area is accessible by permit only. Dogs are not allowed–poor Sammy had to stay home. It was a 90-minute drive to get there from Colorado Springs via Old Stage Road, Gold Camp Road, and Forest Service Road 376. We hiked the Mason Trail from the parking lot up to Boehmer Reservoir and back.
The most popular activity here is clearly fishing. Most visitors were fishing in the Mason Reservoir. We were the only hikers on the upper trail to Boehmer. And, what a beautiful place to go fish! The water was crystal-clear, fish seemed to be biting, and the views of Pikes Peak and Almagre Mountain are great.
The Mason Trail passes through wildflower-strewn meadows for about a mile. Then, the remainder goes through pine forest until it reaches Boehmer Reservoir. Occasionally, there is a view of Pikes Peak. It’s interesting to see the cog railway in action, and glimpses of cars way way up on a section of the Pikes Peak Highway.
We saw lots of wildflowers, but no significant wildlife viewing today. It was super-nice to share a Jeep/hiking day adventure with Michelle!
Michelle and Chris at Boehmer Reservoir
This hike followed the YELLOW line:
View Colorado Chris Hikes in a larger map
Beautiful country!
Cordelia says, “That’s one pretty view!” I’ve always thought a lake surrounded by mountains is about as good as it gets. Bonus wildflowers along the way. And great that Michelle was on this hike, too! Keep wandering out West! And keep sharing when you can. (I showed the whole family the last three posts while we all were in bed together this morning after the kids came in to wake us up;-)