Power Walking In The Land of Dinosaurs

I had a shoot for an upcoming Explore Colorado special today and headed back out the Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison.  We wrapped shoot about noon and I wanted to get in a workout.  Normally on Wednesdays I take Mad Abs and Dirty 30 from noon to 1pm but missed the classes today.

With my right hamstring bothering me and sore from intense workouts Monday and Tuesday, I decided I was going to power walk or hike.  If we finished our shoot early enough, I was going to head over the the Matthews-Winters trail in Red Rocks.  But since it was a little after noon and knowing I had a tons of stuff to get done this afternoon, I decided on the power walk at Dinosaur Ridge.  That decision was also made shortly after I saw a snake slithering by on the trail as we headed up Dakota Ridge trail a bit to shoot something.  It was a bull snake, which keep rattlesnakes away...but still I'm not a fan of snakes!

From the gate to the bone site on the other side of ridge is 1.5 miles.  So off I went, power walking my way up the gradual incline of the ridge and over to the other side.  I actually went beyond the bone site to the other gate to get in a little more mileage.  Which meant I probably did closer to 3.5-4 miles.

On the way to my turn around point I really enjoyed watching the clouds roll in over the Foothills.

On the way back the view of the clouds coming in over Red Rocks was just spectacular.  Definitely a right decision to workout, clear my head, and really enjoy a cool place.

Trekking Across Dinosaur Ridge

After a shoot at Dinosaur Ridge, I decided instead of heading over to Red Rocks that I was going to run/hike the Dakota Ridge Trail.  Erin from Dinosaur Ridge said the views are spectacular...but watch for rattlesnakes.  Now that's a different run for me - run and watch for rattlers!  So I parked my car at the gate entrance of Dinosaur Ridge and started running up the road to the trailhead.

Right at the trailhead I noticed a mountain biker and decided to let him make it down the last switchback before I headed up.  I asked him if he had seen any snakes.  Just one he said, then commented on how early it is to see them.  Great.  Blame snakes coming out early on the weather!  He told me where it was and I had so ground to cover before getting close to the snake spotted zone.

I jumped on trail and started the climb up to the ridge line.  I quickly noticed the ever-changing terrain and constant rolling of this ridge.

It wasn't long before I got the great views of Red Rocks, Morrison, Golden, and even Denver.

There were a couple of spots that I just had to stop and soak up the scenery of the Foothills, jagged rocks, petrified trees, and the trail that lies ahead.  I kept going through the trail that does turn into a single track trail through rocks and boulders in a few points.

I asked a few other folks if they'd seen any snake.  All said no until two women said yes and that it was about 30 minutes down trail in the ravine.  There was a guy hiking a little ways behind me so at least I knew if I did run into a rattler there would be someone not too far behind.  About 10 minutes after I ran into the women a guy was running the other way and said he didn't see the snake.  So feeling a little better I kept going, but still slower than I normally would as I was keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes as I traversed the ridge line.

As I got closer to the ravine, a guy named Jason was on the home stretch of his run and took the raven and uphill to next ridge peak with me.  Actually nice to have someone to chat with for a bit on my run/hike. I hit my turn around point and was able to take the trail back at a faster pace since I wasn't so scared to run into a snake but still had to go back through some tough terrain.

 
It took me 45 minutes to get all the way back to my car, including a couple of stops to take a few pictures.  The Dakota Ridge Trail is 2.2 miles and add the distance to and from my car to trailhead and it was close to 3 miles each way.

It's a great run or hike.  Make sure you take water, wear sunscreen, and watch for snakes!