Table Mountain or Oh, deer...

Actually I had no plans to hike Table Mountain. Saturday morning I was heading West on I-70 but soon found out the traffic was awful (despite it wasn't even 7AM yet). I definitely didn't plan on spending hours in traffic so I just made an U-turn and 20 minutes later stopped at the parking lot and was breathing the cold air before starting hiking up on the trail to Table Mountain.

 I like this hike. Close to Denver and you can always pick your route. Wanna do some workout? Go all the way around and it'll be quite a long walk. Want a light hike? Take one of the closest trails and you'll be back in an hour or two. I didn't have any good plans so I just started to roam in hope to see something interesting... and...

 

...oh, deer... I was saying that over and over because this morning I met a lot of deer. I mean it. Small herds... big herd... Couples and singles... Honestly, I don't remember when I met so many deer while on the trail ;)

It still was early and everything looked different without the sun. Dimmer... Muted... but still lovely...

And yes, deer again - looking suspiciously at me and ready to run away if I move too close...

The cliffs and rocks. This is another thing I really like about hiking there. You can see something you wouldn't find in other places.

And if you move fast enough the deer will run away from you and all you could see will be their tails ;)

BTW, there are three deer in this picture too. Can you find them?

Dry flowers and snowy mountain slopes. Nothing special but still nice views all around!

I liked this stag. Looked really tough and proud of itself ;)

Breakfast on the sunny side of the slope. Made me jealous ;)

One of the most memorable hikes for me was in May 2017. Believe it or not, but that day we had a lot of snow. Don't believe me? Look here - Table Mountain, light hike one Saturday in May

 Pictures were taken on January 14, 2023.