Horsetooth Hike in November
It's a little crazy, but we went on a hike at the end of November when the weather should be cold and snowy. The thing is, that it wasn't. We've had several days of wonderful weather lately, and I'm not complaining. I've been able to work outside in the garage (with the garage doors open for the extra light), go outside without a jacket, let alone a coat, and go on hikes.
Katherine and I picked Horsetooth for a few reasons, we knew the temperature on the hike would be pretty close to the temperature in the city, we knew it wouldn't be snowy (like Rocky Mountain National Park surely is), and we hadn't hiked Horsetooth in a little while.
The round trip hike was exactly 5 miles and took us 2 hours and 52 minutes, including the 30-minute long lounge we had at the summit. The hike had a total elevation gain of 1,555 feet.
5 mi
2.9 hrs
7,256 ft
1,555 ft
Few Clouds
There were a few clouds in the sky when we started our hike. When we started hiking around 8:30, it was a little clod, in the mid-50's, so as soon as the sun came out from the clouds we were happy.
Patches of Green
Since it was November, there wasn't a whole lot of green, except when you saw a hillside of evergreens.
Horsetooth
This may be the most important geographical feature of Fort Collins. Everyone that lives in Northern Colorado knows Horsetooth.
Unrecognizable
ONce you get close to the summit of Horsetooth, it becomes unrecognizable. It's crazy how your perception of things change with distance.
Horsetooth Reservoir
This is part of the reservoir as seen from about a hla-mile form the summit of Horsetooth Mountain.
West
This is the backside of Horsetooth Mountain, as seen from the summit. There's always more and more mountains as you keep going West...
Kiss on the CHeek
Summited!
We made it up the mounting in about an hour and a half. It was 2.5 miles (one-way) and about 1500 feet in elevation gain.
Fort Collins
This is the best view of the city. You never realize just how big Fort Collins is until you see it all at once vanishing into the distance...
Tea Time Summit
Since it was the end of November, I expected the summit to be pretty chilly. It wasn't - maybe mid to upper 60s. I brought a thermos full of hot water, a few cups and our favorite tea for something we've never done before - tea time on the summit of a mountain. By far one of my favorite tea times.
Passing By
I caught this plane flying by and turning around Horsetooth just in time. You rarely see this profile view of a plane, which made the shot all that more special.
Big Boulder
This is the backside (west) of Horsetooth Mountain, looking into the valley.
Behind the Lens
Katherine wanted to haul my old camera up the mountain. I taught her a few photography things along the way.
New Old Photograper
Katherine has always been into photography with her phone documenting everything we do, but one of Katherine's 2018 New Year's resolutions is to get more into photography. Despite it being more than a month early, she wanted to take my old DSLR on the hike.
Between the Teeth
This is shot between the North-most gap in the teeth on Horsetooth Mountain. You can see the center tooth on the left and just a little bit of the North tooth on the right.
