This week Randy I headed up to Hall Ranch.  It is a nice area in the foothills just outside of Lyons.  This trip I was planning on using the GPS to track our hike, and then was going to upload to www.activehikes.com, but before we got to the trail head the batteries had died.  Oh well!


It is great being so close to the foothills and mountains.  It only took us 20 minutes to get there.  We went to Lyons and turned left on Hwy 7, and it was just a few miles up the road.  Here is a google maps link that shows the parking lot/trailhead.

This hike was in the foothills, so it was not too steep. Hall Ranch has multiple trails.  We took the Nighthawk trail which is open to hikers and horses (but no mountain bikers).  We hiked for a little under an hour, and then headed back down.  Part of this trail goes down a small valley to a stream bed and then back up out of it.  So we had some good uphill sections on both halves of the hike!

On the way down, we passed a point where the Nighthawk trail connects to the Bitterbursh trail.  Randy suggested we race the rest of the way.  We looked at the map, and it looked about the same distance, so he turned off to the Bitterbrush, and kept heading down the Nighthawk trail.  The rules were no running.  And Randy being 6+ inches taller than me had the clear advantage, but I won!  He thinks he must have had a longer route, but I still won!  Unfortunately there was no prize for the winner, but there's bragging rights, right?

It was a nice trail, the dirt was pretty soft, no mountain bikers,  and we saw tons of rabbits!  The neatest part was the deer we saw.  Most of the area was pretty open, and there were two bucks in a meadow near the trailhead.  They were both 8 point bucks, and they were just standing there eating.  Every now and then one of the would look up as people would hike by.   They were quite impressive!  Next hike we are going to have to borrow Grandma Baker (MeeMee)'s camera!

It was a nice hike, and there is tons more to explore there!  Here's a link to the offical Hall Ranch Website.

1 Comments

by Randino @ 31 Aug 2006 04:20 pm Central Time, Nepal is +11:45

Nolan you are like the son I never had. Nobody else will hike with me. You are a real asset to the rest of my family as you take the pressure off them. But you will never hike as good as me, hahahahahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!!