Chris and I set off on another hiking adventure. Surprise, neither Misha nor Kristen wanted to join us.
Granted, it was a lot further than we planned on.
We started from the main parking lot at Brainard Lake. We hiked Lake Isabelle in this area last summer.
Niwot Ridge Spur Trail or the Niwot Cutoff Trailhead in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of the Roosevelt National Forest follows a trail up the side of the mountain until you finally reach timber line. From there, the trail winds around the side of the mountain toward a Mountain Research Station where they have the Niwot Ridge Biosphere Reserve.
It was fairly breezy and windy above the tree line. We had thought we would get rained on as we set out, but the dark clouds dissipated for a nice sunny morning.
We stopped at one of the research stations—complete with a chair—and had a picnic lunch.
We could have stopped there at about 4.5 miles in and been great. But we decided to continue another two miles UP the side of the mountain to the top of the peak. It was not as picturesque as we might have hoped.
So, we looked around for a bit and then started back down. The clouds started to pour on us and we pulled out rain jackets for the 20-minute rain storm.
Somehow we made great time heading down the mountain.
And yeah, we were tired and sore once we were done. I love that Chris and I get to explore so much of Colorado together and have the physical capabilities to climb mountains!