Walker Ranch Loop

This morning I drove through some very thick smoke near Cheyenne and down into Colorado to do some hiking outside of Boulder at the Walker Ranch. I drove up Flagstaff Road for the first time (past a bunch of interesting looking trailheads) to get to the start of my hike. 

What an interesting, diverse hike. The trail started out in a higher elevation, meadow.

The trail passed some really interesting rock formations,

and then started to descend down to the South Boulder Creek.

Wildflowers dotted the sides of the trail.

Along with plentiful Oregon grape in some of the shadier sections.

After a short time along the river, 

the trail started to ascend back up to amazing views of the high peaks to the west.

The trail entered Eldorado Canyon State Park and passed the Crescent Meadows Trailhead. Here the trail passed through its namesake meadows.

Soon, there were views off to the high peaks of Boulder (Bear Peak and South Boulder Peak) 

and the mouth of Eldorado Canyon.

The trail then descended to South Boulder Creek for the second time, 

descending a steep staircase down to the stream.

As I climbed out of the canyon, I passed one of the few wild animals I saw on my hike, a red squirrel.

It was a steady ascent, with great views 

as I made my way back to the trailhead to finish the nearly 8-mile loop.