Just 3 weeks ago, we enjoyed our first hike on Dinosaur Ridge so greatly that we raced back to explore it from the other end as soon as time allowed. We found a bit more elevation gain this time out, which we were pleased to note we handled easily. Our daily 3 mile walk is showing itself! We covered 4.5 miles round trip this hike.

This trail is great in a number of ways - close to home, interesting, views, lots of geocaches to find ... and ... on this outing an entirely new source of pleasure. During the hike we cemented our resolve to hike our first 14,000' peak in Colorado. Let the conditioning begin - goal summer of 2014. Mt Elbert, in the San Isabel forest, offers a Class 1 (easiest) rating, with the Northeast Ridge route at 9 miles, elevation gain 4700'. This will likely be our first effort at a Colorado 14er, thanks in part to the hogback.

Meanwhile, enjoy this end of Dinosaur Ridge!