Tuesday night finds me heading into Golden to meet up with the Boulder
crew for the dusk ride. An easy commute from work and I am at the
trailhead of Chimney Gulch in thirty minutes. Just in time to watch a
paraglider come in for a landing off of the big "M".
Another new trail for me and right next to the home I hope to purchase.
In fact I am excited because I'll be able to see it from Lookout Mountain.
The crew arrives and we head out/up for a 5:45 start.
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I've been warned this is a grueling climb and that's no joke. Not even
ten minutes in and we are all gasping for air.
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We continue the relentless steep climb which if not exposed, is often
technical.
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We reach the mid-point of our climb and the end of the Chimney Gulch
Trail. Yielding some views of Golden (my future home town) and the
mountains beyond. Yes, that's the Coors brewery on the left in the
first pic. Lousy beer (although I did like Killians), but a great tour.
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The second half means more climbing up Lookout Mountain trail as the
gang waits for the slower climbers (I wasn't the only one).
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Then it's another technical ascent to the top. If daylight stayed
around a bit longer we'd head down Apex, but this time we had to opt for
the out and back. A screaming downhill it was! Seat lowered and ass
set back cleaning all but two sections and the dreaded switchbacks.
Curse them!
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Mmmmm... Mountain.... Aaaaggghhhhhh!
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Actually, the "M" is for the School of Mines. Which although I thought
was a school for miners, is really the M.I.T. of Geological Engineering.
A really tough school to get into. Go figure.
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o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
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