Up To Highest Point In Red Rocks Park

Even though I was pretty tired Saturday, I got up and took to the hills.  Two of my cousins decided to do the last minute hike with me.  We planned to beat the cold, rainy and snowy weather and yes we did.  We hiked up Mount Morrison, which neither of my cousins had ever done.

Instead of just up and back down the same trail, we actually started on the backside in Idledale, which has an elevation of 6,460 feet.  We started at 8:20am and made it up to the top at 9:07am, in 47 minutes.  We were moving at a pretty good clip to reach the top at 7,881 feet, climbing about 1,400 feet.

It was beautiful at the top with views of some of Colorado's highest peaks including Longs, Evans, and Pikes Peaks.  One of my favorite views was Mount Evans surrounded by clouds.

Then at 9:20am we started the over 1,400 foot and 1.3 or 1.4 mile hike down, which was very steep and rocky.  It's considered a Class 2 hike, which means you have to climb in spots and use your hands to maneuver.  There were a few moments I regretted that I was in running shoes instead of hiking shoes.

But through some climbing through rocks and a few slides on some small scree we made it down and were walking to breakfast at 10:30am.

Definitely a thigh burner and great workout in just over two hours.