Date: 3/25/2012
Who: Sammy and myself
Length: 10 miles
Time: 6.3 hours
Weather: 45-72 degrees, partly cloudy

The trailhead for Stanley Canyon is on the grounds of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Before heading there, one should check the security status of the Academy to determine if the trailhead is accessible. The first hour of this hike was a strenuous uphill in the canyon. The rest was relatively easy miles. We made a loop of the canyon (trail 707), trail 721, forest road 307, and then back down trail 707. We made a side trip to the Academy overlook, and made an unplanned detour through Goat Camp.

A couple of weeks ago I found some waterproof hiking shoes that fit comfortably, and today they passed the test. My left foot slipped into a stream, about 4 inches deep, and my foot stayed dry! Another gear-related point is that I am now a convert to trekking poles. I used to doubt that they would be worth the additional weight. Today, I used poles and they worked out really well. On the steep downhill sections they did help reduce stress on my knees. On all kinds of terrain, the poles provided additional stability and kept me from falling a few times.

My old Boy Scout compass cracked and developed a leak during this hike. The liquid inside the compass was kind of oily. Lucky for me, it worked this one last time, and helped me find the trail after we took a wrong turn into Goat Camp.

According to my map, at this spot trail 707 forks to the right and the main trail becomes trail 721.


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