Canoeing and Butterflies

Today my son had his last day of camp (for the week) and it was "Parents' Day" which meant free canoe rides on Boulder Reservoir!

I left work at 11:30pm thinking I could get some food and be at the Res by noon. Nope: the usual horrendous traffic in Boulder was already well underway, and it took 20mins to just clear town.

I got to the Res right at noon, but I saw the $6 entry fee and was having none of it. So I parked outside the gate (can you say "cheapskate?") and jogged about half mile in the 95 degree heat.

I don't know what happened to Spring in Boulder, but I guess I missed it. Two weeks ago it was snowing at 10k feet.

As soon as I saw Sandra she said, "Hey, no running!" (I'm not supposed to be running at all.) And yeah, my left Achilles was burning... so bad decision.

My 4 year old had never been in a canoe and he was very suspicious, not wanting to get in! It took some coaxing. Finally I told him, "you are part Cherokee... and canoes were invented by American Indians, so this is in your blood!" That worked.

It was nice being out on the water... as soon as you feel a bit too hot, you can dip your hand into the water and rub it on your forehead. Ahhhh...

By 2pm I was on my way back to the car (walking this time) and by 3pm I was at the S. Mesa Trailhead with 100oz of ice water and a pair of trekking poles. I had thought to hike Doudy Draw again, but at the last minute demurred: it was too hot. So I went north instead, starting up the Homestead trail.

Wow, is it ever gorgeous. And, although I'm not supposed to be hiking hills, it's not too steep. In fact, quite runnable (when I get back to that hopefully).

I thought I was in a movie: butterflies cascading around me as I pranced up, breathing hard, my arms as tired as my legs. It felt so wonderful.

Up to Shadow Canyon, which is substantially broader than Homestead. After awhile, the trail turned NW and started to get steep. Once it was seriously climbing, I decided I'd better turn around (even though nothing hurt), and I went back down to the Mesa Trail connector and took that overgrown bushy trail to the Mesa trail (which is a highway). Then out that beautiful trail for a ways, just past S. Shanahan jct. By now it was 4:30pm and I wanted a 2.5hr walk, so I turned around figuring I was about an hour from the car.

Back down to the Big Bluestem, and took that down through amazing lush forests and more butterflies to the Mesa trail again, and the car.

About 2:21 hiking time, and maybe 2k vert. Iced the heels, 400mg Ibuprofen, and the usual prayer.

WS100 starts tomorrow. Will be exciting!