Discover Horsetooth

Be Back In Spring

2007-12-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I won't be posting for a while. I'm guessing sometime in late February or March will be the next time I will do a post. Until then I hope everyone has a great winter! Remember, just because it's cold outside doesn't mean you cannot ride your bike... You just have to layer up!

Keep on keeping on,
Shaun

My Favorite Pictures

2007-12-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

For my last post I decide to pick five of my favorite pictures from this year that I taken around Horsetooth that didn't make it into posts. I had so many pictures that didn't make their way into previous posts that I had a hard time picking just five.

1) This was my favorite picture that I took this year. It's just a tree growing on the side of Grey Rock. When viewed from the side it looks pretty normal and just hangs a little bit over the rock.
As you can tell it's really not that impressive from the side view, which is why I loved the picture from the bottom so much. With the sky in the background it really makes it look as though the tree is growing sideways from the rock.

2) This picture was taken after our first real snowfall. It's a picture of the stairs from a parking area in Horsetooth that leads down to the reservoir. I don't know why I liked this picture so much, but for some reason I do.

3) This is a picture from Horsetooth rock looking west. I really like the way the hills formed and the dirt roads. My friends and I have had plenty of discussions of how far we can throw a frisbee off of Horsetooth rock. I think with a good westward wind I could hit the road, but maybe I'm crazy.

4) I took pictures of my roommate Brad throwing rocks he didn't like into Horsetooth reservoir. I really enjoyed this picture because you can see the rock hitting the water and an almost perfect vortex forming around it. I caught it at just the right time.

5) This is a picture of the Cache la Poudre river from the bridge that leads to the Grey Rock trail. The Cache la Poudre river is a great place for all shorts of fun in the summer time. You can tube a good part of it, fish, raft, and swim. Well I hope you enjoyed the pictures and thanks for reading. This is my last post for a good while so have a great winter.

The Cave

2007-11-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

One of the primary places people seem to go at Horsetooth is the picnic area pictured above. It's a great place to grill some food and relax with friends. An attraction nearby is a makeshift cave formed by a few boulders stacked on one another. It's a pretty cool place to hang out, especially if you just sit on top of the boulders that make up the cave and enjoy the view.

The thing that I find annoying is all the trash that people just leave behind. I know that most people do pick up after themselves, but what is with those that don't? I know that parents don't let their 10 year olds just wonder around this area by themselves and I'm pretty sure that everyone above that age is capable of cleaning up after themselves. So what gives? It gets worse when you see all the graffiti in this area.

Why? I mean the "Fuck MySpace" is a little bit entertaining, but not enough to ruin this cool formation. I mean if you look at this picture you will see that the rocks have previously been painted to cover up old graffiti, it's just ridiculous to see such childish behavior. There is broken glass bottles all over the ground and when people bring their pets with them, well lets just say the two of them don't mesh well. It's nice to know that most of this area isn't treated as badly. The area does get cleaned up, mainly by people doing community service. I know this fact only because my roommate had to do it for about a week. I guess that's all I have to say about this, but if you do ever find yourself around this area, it never hurts to pick up a few items of trash. Thanks for reading!

The Colorado Big Thomson Project

2007-11-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

The Colorado Big Thompson Project is a huge project that was designed to “collect West Slope mountain water from the headwaters of the Colorado River and divert it to Colorado's Front Range and plains”. So why am I blogging about it? Well, it’s the whole reason why Horsetooth Reservoir exists! The project was started in 1949 by the Bureau of Reclamation as a way to get water to farmers in Colorado and has since become a secondary water source for about 720,000 citizen of Colorado.

This is a great achievement because over 80% of Colorado’s annual rainfall occurs in the Western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, but over 80% of Colorado’s population lives on the eastern slope in between the great city of Fort Collins and Pueblo. These two facts don’t mix well, especially when Colorado doesn’t have a good way of diverting water from the Colorado River to the citizens of the Front Range.

The main part of the project is actually the 13.2 mile Alva B. Adams tunnel that runs under the Continental Divide and through Rocky Mountain Park. This tunnel does not take the water over or around the Rockies it actually runs right through them. Isn’t technology amazing! Anyways the tunnel is 9.75 feet long in diameter, uses the wonderful power know as gravity to move the water from west to east, and at some points is as far as 3,600 feet beneath the surface of the Continental Divide.

After the trip through the Adams tunnel the water drops in elevation by ½ mile where it is diverted into many storage facilities one of which is Horsetooth reservoir. There is one exception to the last sentence, Carter Lake. Carter Lake is filled by a reversible pump generator, not by gravity. To reach Horsetooth the water must also travel through the Charles Hansen Feeder Canal. This canal begins at Flatiron Reservoir in boulder and crosses over the actual Big Thompson River and Highway 34. It travels in a large green pipe that is referred to as the Big Thompson Siphon. The water has travelled about 60 miles to finally reach Horsetooth, which is the largest reservoir in northeastern Colorado and the second largest reservoir in the Colorado Big Thompson Project, behind Lake Grandby.

The water from Horsetooth reservoir is used by farmers who have built irrigation systems around the Poudre River basin. It also supplies the city of Fort Collins drinking water as well as many other rural cities and many regional industries. In total Horsetooth reservoir cost 12.5 million dollars to build, can hold 156,735 acre feet of water, and first started to hold water in January of 1951.

The Big Thompson project now encompasses a total of 10 reservoirs and 18 dams and dikes. Another great feature of this project is the six power plants it created which in a given year produce about 759 million kilowatt hours of electricity. This power is generated mainly by the ½ drop that the water follows after exiting the Alva. B. Adams tunnel. Well I hope this gives you a better appreciation for the water we drink every day. Thanks for reading.

For more information please visit: http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/cbt.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Big_Thompson_Project

Rock Hounding

2007-11-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

I have a roommate who is a geologist and just plain loves rocks. I'm not quite sure what would is so appealing to him about them, but then again, I'm not quite sure why I like computers either. Anyways Horsetooth is full of rocks and one thing he loves to do is hound rocks. I asked him if this activity was "legal" and he responded with "who the hell cares, they're rocks!". So I'm not quite sure about the legality of rock hounding, but I encourage everyone to give it a try.

One of the first rocks he showed me was the one pictured above. It has "slickened sides" (I believe that's what he said, don't quote me on it) which in most cases is caused by glaciers moving across rocks, but in this case it was cased by rocks rubbing against each other and fracturing. A little bit later on in this adventure we ran into another rock which was a lot bigger but with the same feature.

This is a very common feature apparently. According to Brad you can find a lot of different rocks, most not valuable, but for the most part you will just find sandstone. He tends to look for chert which is a sedimentary rock which has a little bit of value, but he uses it along with a piece of steel to start fires when he camps. As we hiked down close to the reservoir we ran into a big piece of conglomerate rock.

These are pretty interesting rocks because their actually a bunch of rocks held together by, in this case, sandstone. Brad's guess what that these were formed by a stream slowing depositing these rocks in mud and eventually forming this rock, or something like that. Oh yeah in the picture below you will see Brad's index finger pointing at a piece of chert stuck in a conglomerate rock. If he had his rock hammer that piece of chert would of been his, but oh well.

Well I think I will leave the post here. I'm sure this has inspired all of you who are reading to go out and start hounding your own rocks. Well maybe not, but if you ever need some rocks for landscaping purposes I would go to Horsetooth, it sure beats paying for them. Thanks for reading.

Bouldering

2007-10-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

An activity that is very common at Horsetooth is rock climbing/bouldering. Most of the time people are just bouldering, which is just simple rock climbing without ropes. This can be dangerous especially if you're alone. At Horsetooth rock a man died while bouldering around the rock alone. One of my friends actually fell about 25 feet when bouldering 3 years ago, but managed to escape with only a broken arm.

There are so many places around Horsetooth to boulder. Pretty much any rock that is bigger than you can be used. It’s really up to you to find a good place. If it’s your first time you should probably just go to the picnic area and climb around the rocks there. You should never go up more than 10 feet if you are inexperienced. You can injure yourself very easily at any height, especially since there are hard rocks surrounding you and they’re not great for breaking falls. Most people have mats that they lay on the ground below them to help break their fall. I would recommend that you invest in one if you start bouldering.

Well I really don’t have to much more to say about this activity, it’s really up to you to find a spot that you feel comfortable with and start slowly. The only advice I would have is always bring chalk, you’re your gravity towards the rock, and use your feet to support you. There are plenty of places online to learn more about rock climbing and bouldering. I hope you try this out sometime. Well thanks for reading and have a great day.

Hiking Grey Rock

2007-10-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to break the lines and do a hike that isn’t in Horsetooth Mountain Park, Grey Rock. This is by far one of the best hikes around Fort Collins and since a few friends of mine were going on the hike, I decided to tag along. There are two trails you can take to get to the rock, Meadows Trail and Grey Rock Trail. The Meadows Trail is 4.3 miles each way and the Grey Rock Trail is 3.1 miles each way. We took the Grey Rock Trail to the top and the Meadows Trail on the way down for a total of 7.4 miles. It was a beautiful day when we started the hike around 11AM, probably about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The trail was in great quality and filled with great views of the trees turning color as autumn takes its toll.

It took us about 2 and 1/2 hours to get to Grey Rock, but it was well worth the wait. When we finally reached the rock, we were all in awe of the breathtaking views. It was really cool to see a lot of people climbing the rock. We hiked about half way up the rock and stopped and sat down for about 30 minutes to take in the view. What was really interesting was that in the 30 minutes that we were sitting the weather started to change. We noticed that there were some dark clouds coming in from the west so we decided to take off.

View to the west as we got to the rock.

View about 30 minutes later.

We decide to take the meadows trail back down. When you first start down the trail you see a bunch of damage done by a forest fire a few years ago. It was really a cool site and you can now see new life growing where the old life has died.

About 45 minutes in on this trail we actually reached the meadow which has a huge out of place boulder in the middle. It’s kind of interesting to think about how this place was originally discovered. This trail has been around for a long time, much longer than satellites, and someone must have been doing a lot of hiking to find the meadows.

For about the last hour and a half of the hike the wind picked up a lot. We didn’t get rained on luckily enough, but I almost got blown to the ground more than one time. This is something that you should always keep in mind, especially in Colorado. The weather can change on you very quickly. So make sure that you check the forecast before you leave and bring the appropriate gear. By the time we finally got to the bottom of the trail the temperature had dropped by probably about 10-15 degrees.

This didn’t faze us because we had all brought jackets to wear. The only problem with jackets is that you get a little cold so you put on the jacket and ten minutes later you’re sweating, so you take off the jacket and this cycle repeats. We were all pretty worn out and hungry by the time we got to the car. It took around 5-6 hours to complete this hike, but I recommend it to everyone.

I wanted to let you know that this may be one of my last hikes because work and school is kind of getting in the way of hiking. Well thanks for reading and have a great day.

No Hike, Just Facts

2007-09-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm sorry to say that I will not be doing a hike this week. I have two tests and been feeling a little under the weather :( . Anyways I went onto the internet to find some more facts about Horsetooth Reservoir and here's what I found:

The official elevation of the reservoir is 5,430 feet, it's 6.5 miles long, and at it's deepest is 180 ft. It's open year round and is available for fishing, boating, camping, picnicking, swimming, and water skiing. There are walleye, smallmouth bass, perch, trout, and other fish. Swimming is only to be done at the beach area of Horsetooth (Southwest corner). I would be lying if I said I hadn't broken the rule. Camping is available in designated area only.

If you bring a pet with you, you must keep it on a leash of 10 feet or less. I would say this is probably the number 1 rule that is broken, but goes on unpunished. Let the dogs roam free!!! Anyways I believe there is actually a $50 dollar fine for this, but I have never seen or heard of anyone actually being ticketed (Please feel free to comment, if this has happened to you). Perhaps the most disappointing rule for people of my age and fisherman is that if you bring alcohol it must be 3.2%. On the other hand, I find it really disappointing that there are broken beer bottles, cans, and other trash just lying around.

The quiet hours are from 10 PM to 6 AM and there are defiantly no shenanigans during this time period as well. Everyone who visits is expected to pay the entrance fee (Although it's not listed for a person) of $6 per car and boat ($7 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays) or pay the annual fee of $65 dollars (Non-Larimer residents pay $75). I would like to end this post with this fact: "Homeland security prohibits recreation on dams. Stay 100 feet away when on land--no restrictions on water"... What???

Thanks for reading!

Most of this information came from http://www.co.larimer.co.us/parks/Horsetooth.htm

Hiking Horsetooth Falls

2007-09-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

The round trip distance of this hike is about 2.25 miles and can take anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours. The term "Falls" is a reference to the waterfall that is active during parts of the year. Unfortunately this is around April and June and there is currently no water flowing. The trail, in parts, follows the stream created by the waterfall. There's actually a pretty cool bridge on the trail that crosses the stream, but I didn't take a picture of it :(.

The fact there was no great waterfall waiting for us at the end of the hike didn't detour my friend Dan (D-Mart) and I from doing the hike. The lack of water is made up with great scenery for an easy afternoon hike. It doesn't provide quite the experience that can be found at the top of Horsetooth Rock. The trail however is much easier than most because it is a mix of moderate inclines and declines.

During most of the hike you feel pretty secluded. From my experience most people don't even visit the falls this time of year; instead they are tempted by the rock. We ran into a total of 2 people and 1 guy on a mountain bike that just flew by us (He did say "Hi" though, how nice...). The hike to the falls only takes 45 minutes and before you know it you're there:

This picture isn't the best picture, but it is the waterfall from the side. I know it is kind of disappointing not to see running water, but this is Colorado, we're always in a drought! On the south side of this rock formation is an interesting looking rock. It looks almost like someone set it there and placed a few rocks behind it to support its balancing act:

Once again I got to the end of the hike and needed to turn around. I know what you're asking; did you play Nascar on the way down? Well, no, but we did do a mild jog for the last quarter mile and I almost stepped on a baby rattlesnake! I actually didn't even see it until after I had passed it. My friend D-Mart yelled at me to stop and showed it to me. This one is pretty small and hard to see, you will need to click and enlarge this image to see it.

This is actually not that uncommon, over the last three years I have seen a lot of rattlesnakes and even more deer. Wildlife is something to always be keeping in mind when you're in the wilderness. Well keep that in mind and have a great day!

PS - My friend John Gaines has since informed me that baby rattlesnakes are the most dangerous because they cannot control the amount of venom they release when they bite. Is this true? I don't know... If you know the facts please leave me a comment!

Thanks for reading!

Hiking Horsetooth Rock

2007-09-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

As you may have read in my last post, Horsetooth Rock is my favorite trail in Horsetooth Mountain Park, so I decided to make it my first hike!

The round trip distance of the hike is about 5 miles (2.5 each way, but coming down is always the easiest). I started the trip around 3:30 in the afternoon, with my good friends and roommates Brad and Frank. It was a beautiful day about 80 degrees, sunny skies, and the trail was in great condition. It's a pretty easy hike, taking anywhere from 1 - 2.5 hours up the trail, depending on speed and the amount of time you choose to actually enjoy the wonderful vistas presented at each bend. The best recommendation is bring a good amount of water. I always fill up my camel pack before every hike, but I would recommend everyone brings at least 32 ounces. If this is one of your first time hiking, the first 15 minutes will be hard, but you can always turn to the east and enjoy the view. You know you're almost to the top when you reach this sign:

Left passage: “Bands of Native Americans lived and hunted in this area as early as 10,000 B.C. Longstanding legend tells of an evil giant who terrorized the region. A strong, heroic warrior killed the giant by slashing out his heart. The rock is said to be the heart of the giant. Many years later fur trappers and traders passing through in search of fortune and prosperity thought the rock looked more like a horse’s tooth than the heart of a giant. Shortly after, the name “Horsetooth” began appearing on maps”

Right passage: "“View from the top: A short trail from here leads to the rock. On a clear day you can see Pikes Peak to the south, Longs Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park to the west, Wyoming to the north, and the Great Plains to the east.”

It's really amazing to learn Native Americans actually lived in this area over 12,000 years ago! After you stop to read the sign, the real part of the hike begins. It takes about 15 minutes from here to get to the rock and boulder to the top. The bad part is that the last 15 minutes are the hardest part of the hike because the incline increases, but don't worry, once you get to the top you will realize it was worth it. And here's why:

View of Front Range from Top of Horsetooth Rock (East)

View of the Rocky Mountains (West)

View of the satellites and antennas (North)

View to the South

This is where most of my time was spent on the hike, just sitting at the top and taking in the wonderful views. After about an hour of relaxing and dancing on the rock we began our descent. We like to play Nascar on the way down, which involves us running as quick as possible on the way down. I don't think many people would recommend this practice, there's a good chance of injury, but it does get your heart pumping. Please note that I don't like nor support the "sport" of Nascar, but I do enjoy poking fun at it. About 10 minutes from the bottom we spotted a family of deer, but could only get a picture of one of them:

Frank enjoying the deer!

We spent a total of 2 hours hiking (1.25 hrs up .75 hrs down) and about 1 hour at the top. I encourage everyone to do this hike, it's well worth it. Well this will conclude my post on Horsetooth Rock. I hope you enjoyed it!

Welcome

2007-09-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hello there, my name is Shaun, I'm a 21 year old college student in Fort Collins, Colorado. I have created this blog to inform others of the great entertainment you can find around the Horsetooth reservoir in Fort Collins. I plan on documenting all of Horsetooth Mountain Park's trails, the Horsetooth Open Space, and of course the reservoir. If I have time, I also intend on doing a few blogs on Lory State Park which is just north of Horsetooth Mountain Park. If you have any recommendations on places for me to visit, please leave a comment and I will try my best to do a post.

View Larger Map

I would like to use my first post to give you a little background on Horsetooth. The name comes from a rock formation that looks like a horse's tooth; I know it's really creative. If you have never seen the formation the easiest way to spot it is to drive west on Horsetooth road and look forward. The mountain park and open space, located four miles from Fort Collins, covers a total of 2,711 acres. There are 15 trails in the park that cover 29 miles. These trails can be used for hiking, mountain biking, and even horseback riding! My personal favorite trail to hike is Horsetooth Rock, which is the highest peak in the park, reaching an elevation of 7,255 feet and offers spectacular views of the Front Range, Rocky Mountain National Park, even Pikes Peak.

If you find yourself interested in visiting the easiest way to get to Horsetooth is to take I-25 (if you're not in Fort Collins) to exit 265 (Harmony Road) and head west. After passing Taft Hill, Harmony turns into County Road 38E which is the south entrance to the park. Following 38E will take you past the reservoir and lead you to Horsetooth Mountain Park. The north entrance is right by the CSU football stadium just west of Overland Trail on Country Road 42C. Parking Permits are required to park in the park and cost $6 a day. A season parking pass is available for Larimer County residents for $65 ($75 for non-residents). Well I hope this has helped inform you; I will post again next week after my first hike!

Thanks for reading!