This Sunday I decided to make constructive use of the early wake up and hike the North Table Mountain trail in Golden. It's something I've been wanting to do for well over a decade.
Handy map for trail users
As the North Table Loop trail does, as it's name implies, make a circuit around the entire mesa, you can chose to either take the trail to the southeast that requires a somewhat rigorous hike uphill for the first few thousand feet of the trail, or the easier, more gradual northwest trail that increases in altitude over the course of a few miles of casual hiking.
It's not quite a long way to the top
If you brought gear, feel free to rock climb
That's about as close to a loose, shale-like rock cliff face as I prefer to get
Beautiful Golden Colorado, home to Coors Beer and The Colorado School of Mines
After taking in the beautiful views, I followed the North Table Loop trail east, which gives one a wonderful panoramic view of the metro Denver area.
View to the east - downtown Denver and the plains
The west end of the Coors Brewery
The middle section of the Coors brewery - that's South Table Mountain right behind the facility
The east end of the Coors Brewery
If you set out in the morning on this hike, once you are on the east face of the mesa the sun will be bathing you and everything else on the trail.
And by everything else, I mean snakes. Big ol' sunbathing snakes. I nearly walked into this one that seemed to be stretched out after a morning meal. At first I wasn't too sure if the snake was a threat or not, as rattlesnakes do inhabit the mesa. I was able to determine it was a Bull Snake and made my way past just as the snake decided it was time to head further up the mesa.
See the bands on the tail? That's a Bull Snake - basically, a large gopher snake, not a threat
Wanting some time out of the spotlight, the snake slithered away as I passed
Handy tip: If you are in doubt about whether the snake on the trail is a viper or not, get the hell away from it ASAP. Better to be safe than sorry.
The North Table Loop trail is great for hiking, but it is also used by other outdoor sports
The Sunday Morning Ladies Mountain Biking Club makes it's way around North Table Mountain
Just about everybody exchanged "Good Mornings", too.
At every turn the trail held little surprises
Hell bent, or some such description indicating a mountain biker racing recklessly downhill
As I rounded the east face and made it to the north side of the mesa I was surprised to find that the trail was now skirting the southern limits of the city of Arvada. I hadn't looked at the total distance of the North Table Loop trail when I set out, assuming that it was probably close to that of the Green Mountain trail, but as I checked the time when I was on the north side of the trail, I realized I'd been hiking for over two hours, which was how long it took to hike the entire Green Mountain trail.
Heading into the northwest turn
Being on the southern limits of Arvada, I knew I was at least two miles from the trailhead in Golden. I had to get moving in order to get off the trail and back home to prepare for work.
I think I may have stumbled across a super-villain's lair
The south side of North Table Mountain Park abuts a number of mini ranches, complete with horses and stables. There is an equestrian center near the northwestern corner of the park, and as I neared it I caught sight of a number of equestrians out and about.
An Equestrian out for a ride
The columnary basalt cliffs that encircle the mountaintop
Finally back on the west face of North Table Mountain, I kicked it into gear a bit. I covered the last couple of miles in just a bit over twenty minutes.
It was getting close to 11:00am - the trail was getting crowded
It was a great hike, and though I was a little tired and my feet hurt a bit, I enjoyed the overall experience and recommend it to one and all.
How come nothing this beautiful grows wild in my backyard?
Just be careful of the snakes.
Later that day I looked up the the total trail distance on the jeffco.us/openspace website - 8.5 miles. No wonder my feet were sore!
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