Today’s ThrowBack Thursday takes us to the greater Glenwood area of west-central Colorado in late April 2009. My mountain biking buddies decided we should ride the Forest Hollow Trail. The plan was to use our multiple cars to do it as a shuttle route. That way, the biking would all be downhill, with the uphill return handled via motor vehicles on “regular” roads. Before heading up to the trailhead, we stopped by a local bike store to inquire about trail conditions. They told us they had heard nothing about the conditions on this trail. We should have realized what this meant, which was either (1) no one had been foolhardy enough to attempt this trail recently, or (2) those who attempted it had not lived to tell the tale. But we didn’t realize it, so we went ahead as planned.
Sadly, I failed to take any pics of the challenging spots, but there were some serious challenges. We encountered several downed trees blocking the trail, and waist-deep snow in a spot or two. We encountered one spot where there were several downed trees piled up on one another AND waist-deep snow; we formed a “bicycle brigade” (all of us standing in a line, handing each bike from one person to the next) to get past.
As we got lower in elevation, the snow disappeared, and so did the trees. But then the design of the trail itself became a serious difficulty for the less experienced of the party (i.e., me). There were multiple points where a hairpin turn and a steep drop occurred together, which led to me falling off the bike a couple of times. There was also a stretch where the trail occupies a very narrow ledge. It’s a good thing I didn’t fall off here, as it would have been quite a long fall. But as I said, no pictures of the challenging stuff, just pictures of the good stuff. Take a look…
The next day, we went hiking rather than biking. Our destination was Hanging Lake, a few miles up Glenwood Canyon from Glenwood Springs. This hike begins with a short, easy walk on a paved road. This road is now part of a hike/bike trail that runs the full length of the canyon; it was U.S. Highway 6 before Interstate 70 was completed through Glenwood Canyon. Here are a few snaps from the former highway…
When you reach the original trailhead, things change. You quickly climb from the canyon floor up a very narrow side-canyon. From here, the distance is only a mile and a quarter to Hanging Lake, but it’s steeply uphill almost the entire way, and very rocky. The final stretch of the trail clings to the side of a cliff. There’s an iron railing, but it has broken free of its anchoring in a couple spots. Again, I did not take pictures of the challenges, just the good stuff. This trail is very much NOT recommended for folks with Parkinson’s Disease. But for those of you with able bodies and good balance, this hike is a must! Check it out…
So, like, yay! We’ve reached Hanging Lake! So like, let’s look at the lovely lake. OK, so maybe it’s not a “lake” per se. More like a pond with waterfalls flowing into it. Let’s just look at the damn thing…
Had your fill of the lake? Well, don’t head back down the trail yet, because there’s one more thing you must see. You probably didn’t see the turnoff at the top of the cliff-clinging segment. Both the trail itself and its sign are very easy to miss, so follow me and we’ll take a very short walk up to Spouting Rock…
All righty, folks! That’s it for this week’s ThrowBack Thursday. Thanks for stoppin’ by!
Voyages with Parkinson's 