North Table Mountain

Today was my first time on this trail.  I've passed in many times going through Golden and finally Jonny and I decided to check it out.  The trail is only a couple few years old, not sure exactly when it opened.

Is this Scotland or Golden?  So green this time of year.  Nuclear green.  Looks kind of freaky actually.

In fact Scotland isn't even as green.  Though the Crags at Arthur's Seat bear and eery resemblance.

Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland

The trail started out easily enough.  Plenty of climbing but not super steep, just enough to let your legs know they're alive.  My legs were pretty darn sore from a boot camp workout on Thursday.  I think it was from the Sumo Squats.  I keep forgetting that I should probably sit out the Sumo Squats or at least do a few every few days so my legs are used to them.  They feel like nothing when you do them but then you wake up the next morning and can't move.

Anyway, I stopped here and there for some photos.

There's a loop trail that goes around the mountain and for most of it you can see Golden, Denver and the surrounding 'burbs.

Nice view of Denver in the distance

 Kind of a weird feeling to be on an open space trail yet surrounded by city.  There are other trails more interior to the open space and I plan to go back and hit those up.  The trail we were on eventually turned more into the open space and away from the roads but it also got super steep and for the first time in ages I had to get off and walk a portion of the hill.  I hoping it's because my legs were so debilitated.  Will have to go back again and ride the whole hill next time.  Eventually we were treated to a view at the top.

The plan was to do an 8.5 mile loop and then do another smaller loop of the interior trails but I was so trashed by the time we got back to the parking lot after a mere hour of riding.  I decided to call it a day and come back for more when my legs are a little fresher or at least not as trashed.  Will have to come back soon though, I'll bet this trail is miserable when it's hot, sunny.  Plus there are lots of rattlesnakes.  A hiker warned us that he'd just seen one, thankfully on a trail we weren't taking but we could just as easily have encountered one on any trail.  Hopefully I'll get one last shot at it before summer heats up.