Another warm weekend in Colorado led to another hike snuck into the month of March. This time, a group of us headed towards Pike's Peak National Forest, to explore a hike out of Green Mt Falls, CO. The area around Colorado Springs has been warm this time of year, and the weather sure didn't disappoint during this hike.

Beautiful blue skies hung overhead as we set out along the steep dirt road toward Catamount Trail. The road met the trailhead high along the ridge, but there was still a good bit of work to go before reaching the ridge. Along the way, pockets of shade harbored treacherous ice along the trail. We had a nice walk, but quit before reaching the reservoirs and views of Pike's Peak at the top. A new burger joint was calling our name.

This area is amazing, considering its proximity to Colorado Springs. It would make a wonderful hike on a hot summer day, the trail being so shaded and the reservoirs along the ridge. It was great for wetting my appetite - Now I can't wait to climb Pike's Peak. 

After a few weeks of some variable weather that included a foot of snow or two, the Front Range was bestowed with some splendid, sunny weather. Zoe, a couple of friends and I took advantage of the warm rays and headed down to Castle Rock. We headed down to Castlewood Canyon State Park, a day-use park within the Colorado State Park system. With day-use as a priority, the park has no campsites, but boasts around 50 picnicking sites.

While certainly not a backcountry destination, Castlewood Canyon is perfect for several tryps of activities including trail running, birdwatching, picnicking, and rock-climbing. The park's vicinity to Denver and Colorado Springs is perfect for groups of climbers looking to socialize.

This ecological region is particularily unique because it sits right between the mountains of the Front Range and the plains grasslands of Eastern Colorado. Those zones meet here, along the Palmer Divide, a peninsula that divides the drainage basins of the Arkansas and Missouri Rivers.