Sometimes one quick hike feels not enough... That's how I feel this day - it was too short and the area is not really new - Flowers of the mountain or back to Central City. So it is good to have a backup plan which I execute this July day. I drove just another 30 minutes and started on a wide, well maintained path...
Before starting there I learned the map of the area to choose the best trail... and I was lost, so many options. Finally I decided to start with the Historic Gilpin Tramway and continue to Summit trail...
By the way, don't forget to look back when you start hiking - the bridge crossing the highway is a really nice looking ;)
The Historic Gilpin Tramway is... mmm... wide, smooth and relatively flat. It is ascending but very slow...
A few minutes later I was stunned by the view down to Black Hawk
(honestly, this view will hunt you all the way up to the summit and
back, so get used to it!). The casino town looks so nice and picturesque
from any viewpoint.
So the start of the hike was super nice - wide flat trail and stunning view to the left ;)
And... once you climb up a bit you can see the valley below you and the ridges far away. Breathtaking!
When I turned to the Summit trail, the terrain changed. This is
hiking only trail so it is narrow and steep. Not many rocks at this
stretch though. By the way, see this house? I was taking pictures of the
butterflies just a few yards from it this morning ;) Nice to meet an
old friend even though this is a distance between us ;)
The trail is weaving between trees and climbing higher and higher... But this is expected, isn't it? Actually it is not that hard at this point ;)
And the views are more and more beautiful. The hills overgrown
with pines and old abandoned mines (there are hundreds of them in the
area) look just amazing!
When I climbed high enough I was able to see the whole valley below my feet. Look at this panorama, isn't it spectacular?
At this point the trail changed to steep and rocky, but it didn't stop the flowers from being everywhere!
Finally after about an hour of slow moving I reached for the summit
and felt this again. This feeling when you are staying on the top of
the mountain and looking around just to see everything... The ridges
(they look so close and small, but they are huge and high) and the
mountain peaks. This view is worth the hike!
Somewhere far away you can see Mount Evans from this point (look at the second picture for more details). Still
covered with snow patches and even from here looking harsh and
unfriendly...
Hiking down is always faster and opens some new views or, probably, same views but from different angles.
And... here is Black Hawk again ;) It is hiding and appearing back between the trees and this small town looks very nice from there.
Back to the wide and easy trail and we are almost back to the parking lot ;)
This hike was a bit harder than the previous one. About 4 miles and
the same 2 hours. But almost 1300 feet elevation gain and more sun and less
shadow. Better to do this in the morning or at least before noon.
Anyway, it was a fun and nice hike and, probably, one day I will do it
again, just hiking a different route.
Click here to see the trail on Google maps
Pictures were taken on July 02, 2022.
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