A new appreciation of an old acquaintance

[WolfVanZandt]

I've taken the 9.8 mile Bear Creek Trail with an altitude rise of 516 feet several times since I moved to south Denver and I've always considered the 200 foot rise in the middle, called Mount Carbon, to be an ugly impediment that I had to get over to complete the hike. Bear Creek Trail takes a long, circuitous route through a couple of golf courses and a long a crowded highway to get over the "mountain" (200 feet make a hill in my dictionary). But I've eyed a trail that takes a more direct series of switchbacks over several times. I finally decided to try it, thinking I would probably hate it, but, boy! was I surprised.

It turns out that the switchbacks on the Mount Carbon Loop Trail are far less painful that the paved trail through the golf courses and the vistas are breathtaking. Here are some pictures.

The Bear Creek Trail follows Bear Creek from its confluence with the South Platte River to Morrison, Colorado.

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I noticed a new beaver dam across the creek. It's obviously new because the limbs are still glossy. It backs up the water so that the creek pours over the bank back into the stream channel for several feet downstream.

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My destination is Mount Morrison seen here from a street in my neighborhood.

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And this is Mount Carbon.

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Here are some photos from the Mount Carbon Loop Trail.

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[WolfVanZandt]

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My destination was Morrison. I jokingly tell people that I walk to Morrison to get a milkshake. That's almost the truth, though. It's a pretty little mountain tourist town tucked into Bear Creek Canyon and it's probably most famous as the entrance to Red Rocks Amphitheater. The area is a geologist's dream and a lot of the current research on Dinosaurs is taking place in the area. The Morrison Formation is named after it. Both Dinosaur Ridge, an indoor/outdoor paleontology museum and the Morrison Natural History museum, one of the best paleontology museums I've ever seen, are in the area. Here are a couple of pictures of Morrison.

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[crashdive123]

Looks like a nice walk. Thanks for taking us along.

[WolfVanZandt]

Y'know, after 5 or 6 times to Morrison, I figured I'd harden to it. The last two times, I was washing dishes the next day, but something was different this time. In short, it whooped me good.



Honestly, though, if I could find a way to prevent these plantar blisters, all the other aches and pains would be ignorable. Anybody have any ideas?

I bought a couple of pairs of Merino wool socks to wear as outer socks for a pair of thin inner socks. Today it looks like I have porphyria on my feet so I guess I'm allergic to woolen socks. To bad - they really were comfortable.

I have two rules for endurance hikes:

1) Once you start, don't stop. At my age, if you stop - you stop. I take short breaks but if I sit for more than 10 minutes, I start getting antsy and if I sit much longer - my autonomic nervous system takes over and I find myself on the trail again.

2) Never, ever say, "I'll just call someone to come pick me up." That's not an option. If I ever allowed myself that, I'd never finish a hike.

And I need to believe that, if I ever get stranded far from home, I'll be able to walk back.

I watched "A Walk in the Woods" the other night. It was filmed on the Appalachian Trail. It was a good enough movie - not a classic by any means but certainly watchable. But it almost made me cry a couple of times. The Rockies aren't my mountains. They're too stark - too dry. I guess that's why I love Bear Creek - it reminds me of home. The Appalachians are my mountains.

The Appalachian Mountains begin in the city limits of Selma, Alabama where I lived for 20 years. My vacation of choice was to get myself good and lost in the mountains of northern Alabama and Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

In the Rockies, there are plenty of things to eat, but there are plenty of look-alikes that will make you quite ill. In the Appalachians, if you trip and fall, you're falling on something you can eat.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the Rockies west of Denver and I guess those will be the mountains of my old-age, but sometimes I get homesick for the Appalachians.

[crashdive123]

Try moleskin on the bottoms of your feet.

[hunter63]

Nice hike.....Great pic's....Thanks for posting.
I play he!! to do 20 min on a treadmill at .1 grade. 2.8 (mosey)....Good news is, I'm still moving....lol

[WolfVanZandt]

I have moleskin. What's the best way to apply it?

[hunter63]

Sitting in your recliner????

[WolfVanZandt]

Aye. I'm not that bright.

[1stimestar]

Get the moleskin that has adhesive on it. Then it's just peel and stick. You can also cover it with duct tape.

[WolfVanZandt]

Aye. I've used moleskin after I got blisters. I wonder if it can be used to prevent them.

One of my housemates suggested getting some of those fuzzy socks for outer socks.

[crashdive123]

Aye. I've used moleskin after I got blisters. I wonder if it can be used to prevent them.

One of my housemates suggested getting some of those fuzzy socks for outer socks.

Use the same as you would to protect a blister -you're just protecting an area before the blister/hot spot forms.

[finallyME]

I use either silk tape or cotton tape and apply before I leave if I know there might be a problem. Also, if I feel the slightest bit like it might start getting rubbed on, I put tape on my skin on that spot. The sooner the better. Duct tape works as well, but I think the silk tape works better.

Vitamin I is also a must.

[finallyME]

[QUOTE=WolfVanZandt;491394]
I'm thoroughly enjoying the Rockies west of Denver QUOTE]

Wait....there aren't any Rockies east of Denver. All of the Rockies are west of Denver. I enjoy the Rockies as well.

[hunter63]

[QUOTE=finallyME;491537]

I'm thoroughly enjoying the Rockies west of Denver QUOTE]

Wait....there aren't any Rockies east of Denver. All of the Rockies are west of Denver. I enjoy the Rockies as well.

Surprised me as well....prairie, prairie. prairie........Denver.....Mountains....

[WolfVanZandt]

Some people think that all Colorado is mountains - Surprise!

I'll try all the recommendations.....not at the same time, of course. Well, I could try them two at a time and see which foot comes out better.



Actually, I meant "the Rockies due west of Denver." I haven't had the chance to explore the Rockies to the south and north much.

[1stimestar]

I use either silk tape or cotton tape and apply before I leave if I know there might be a problem. Also, if I feel the slightest bit like it might start getting rubbed on, I put tape on my skin on that spot. The sooner the better. Duct tape works as well, but I think the silk tape works better.

Vitamin I is also a must.

I'll have to try that. Though my heavy backpacking days seem to be over now with the availability of canoe and airplane. I always just used duct tape because it was available. And yea, don't wait until you have a blister. Prevention is much better.

[Rick]

Duct tape on its own makes a pretty good second skin. If you have a hot spot starting to form just put on some duct tape and it will take the rubbing instead of your tootsie. Two pair of socks does work well. It keeps the tiny things like sand, etc. off your skin so it doesn't rub. I've used the duct tape on several occasions and it seems to work as well as anything for me. The trick is to use it early. Don't wait until all the skin falls off.
Bone is...well....bony.

[WolfVanZandt]

Sounds good. I'll try it.

Honestly, though, it looks and feels like the tough sole is separating from the flesh beneath. The blister isn't on the surface and, when it heals (takes about 3 days) the thick outer skin opens up and starts peeling off (not in onion skin layers like a sunburn, but more like rhino plate.)

It looks like I heal so fast my feet don't get a chance to form legitimate calluses. There are sometimes I wish I was normal - not often, but sometimes.

[WolfVanZandt]

The duct tape seemed to work. I took a fairly short (10:00 am to 6:00 pm) hike today and had no plantar blisters. Thanks for the tip.