Just because I haven’t written a photo essay in the past week or so doesn’t mean that I hadn’t been getting out for my fitness exercise. I have been exercising an hour or more every day. I did take my camera for my walks in places like through the Pearl Street Mall (in 10 degree weather), to the supermarket, and along Coal Creek Trail in a snowstorm. But photographically those trips were in vain — until today.

Today I snowshoed up to Brainard Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness for the first time in almost a year. That time I did it the easy way — going straight up the road and back for 4 1/2 miles. This is the same road I have driven many times for summer hikes beyond Brainard. But in winter they close the road to vehicle traffic.
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Every time that I need to go to Denver I make a point to hike the Fountain Valley Trail at Roxborough State Park, if I can. I could today and did.

I drove to Denver this morning for a class in macro photography at the flagship store of the chain where I bought my Canon EOS 50D SLR camera. While the class was too basic and general, I learned a few things.

And I moved closer to buying a Canon EF25II extension tube, which will work for both my 60mm macro lens and my regular 18-200mm zoom lens. It will increase the effective focal length of my lenses, bringing my subjects closer. Since the instructor for the macro class this morning offered us students “a special deal,” I almost bought it from him. The regular price, he said, was $189, and I could have it for $164. But when I got home this evening, I checked the Amazon price — $135 with neither sales tax or shipping charges. Glad I waited.
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Hall Ranch Open Space is only 20 miles from my apartment in Boulder, but it looks and feels like the desert around Albuquerque. The warm, windy weather this afternoon and the complete lack of water heightened the effect.

Boulder’s temperature peaked at a near record for the day of 70 degrees, which was more than I needed to push me to trails. Hall Ranch ranges from 5,440 feet –which is about the same as Boulder — up to no more than 6,820 feet, and its trails are just enough of a challenge.

But a couple of hours of dental work this morning held me up until the early afternoon. After being held down that long, I needed to get out into open country.
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At the meeting of my diabetes support group yesterday evening Jeff asked me if my goal was still to hike every trail in Boulder County.

I laughed and replied, “Yes, maybe even more so. Now I’m even hiking trails that aren’t completed.” That referred to hiking the unfinished Goshawk Ridge Trail last week.

So, perhaps being contrary, today I went back to the trail that I have hiked the most. And it’s not even in Boulder County.

The Emerald Lake Trail is the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park that’s in Larimer County. It’s about an hour’s drive from here.
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Boulder County Parks and Open Space offered a “Wildlife in Winter” program at Caribou Ranch today. I joined the crowd of a dozen people there to learn about how wildlife survives the winter.

Th announcement in yesterday’s newspaper said to “be prepared for a moderate, two-mile hike in snowy, cold, and windy weather.” The hike was certainly moderate as the group moved much slower than I do — and I am certainly not a fast hiker. Caribou Ranch is about 8,600 feet, so we certainly had snow.

Most of the other people we encountered on the trail were on their snowshoes. The trail itself was packed hard. But when I went off the trail to take pictures, I discovered that the snow was usually about a foot and one-half deep. Again today I could have used my gaiters to prevent snow from getting into my boots.
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Cowboys and rodeos are the essence of the West. But until today I had seen only a few cowboys and no rodeos.

As a true Westerner, that was a grievous gap in my experience.

I rectified that problem this afternoon by driving down to Denver’s Coliseum to see the Pro Rodeo at the National Western Stock Show. The afternoon was mostly about photography and watching other fit people stay fit — or get injured when they fell from their horses. But I maintained my fitness with all the walking I had to do around the Coliseum complex as well as my yoga practice this morning.
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The Goshawk Ridge Trail between Doudy Draw and Eldorado Canyon State Park is so new that it’s not finished. But that didn’t stop me from squeezing in a three hour hike there yesterday between a potluck lunch/program of the “55+ Plus Group” at the Unitarian Universalist Church and an evening meeting of the Colorado Nature Camera Club.

The previous day I had tried and failed to find the trailhead, which according to the Boulder Open Space overlay on Google Earth is at the end of the North Spring Brook trail, where I had hiked a few days ago. Yesterday I realized that the reason why I failed was because the trailhead doesn’t exist yet.
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When I got up yesterday morning, I was ready to hit the trail. I was hoping for some sunrise shots after all the images of sunsets I’ve captured lately. I also figured that the high winds of the past few days — as much as 80 mph at 6 the previous night — wouldn’t start until later in the day.

But Bolder had snow instead of sunrise yesterday morning. So I reverted to Plan B — and went right back to bed.

After I was up for good and ready to face the day, my friend and mentor, Doug Goodin, called. He suggested that we could hike either around NCAR for views of the snow-covered landscape and possibly of deer or people-watch at the Pearl Street Mall.
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Usually I avoid hiking on the weekend. Too many people want to share the trail with me. But for some reason I had the Flatirons Vista trails practically all to myself this Saturday afternoon.

Maybe it was the weather. When I reached the trailhead about 1:30 it was sunny and the temperature was a warm 35 degrees. It was quite pleasant, since I was dressed warmly.

Then, the wind came up. Some gusts of the west wind reached 64 mph this afternoon. As I hiked toward the west on the outbound leg of my hike, the wind cooled my face a little too much. But on the way back with the wind pushing me from behind, the hike was quite enjoyable.
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After getting my SUV serviced at the Toyota dealership today, I was in such a good mood that I just had to go hiking. I had just enough time before dark.

Many things put me in a good mood today. The day started wonderfully with my first yoga class after my operation.

Then, while I waited at the dealership, I read a new 15-year study of about 5,000 people how regular walking keeps the weight off. I will review that study for Health Central soon.
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