A Climb up Cathedral Rock

On Tuesday, Nov 29 we took a hike up to Cathedral Rock on the Baldwin and Templeton trails.  We had had some rain and cold weather the previous few days and at the upper elevations that rain turned to snow.  As you can see below the snow created for some even more dramatic colours.  I keep thinking that the views on our hikes can't get any better and then the next trail we take proves me wrong.  This will be our last hike in the Red Rocks but I am sure we will make a stop in this area again in future years.  This is actually a great time to be here.  While the weather is a bit cool at nights the cooler weather during the day makes for great hiking weather and other than Thanksgiving week, the crowds aren't too bad.  

The snow on the higher peaks make a nice contrast

Sometimes the colours are richer and deeper in the shadows of the mountain

Yep.  We are heading up there somewhere

Before we headed up to Cathedral Rock we passed
 by this river swelled to capacity by the recent rains. 

1/5 of a second exposure shows the speed of the water.
Wished I would of had a tripod to slow the shutter even more.  

Fall colours on display

The rains resulted in little streams coming down the rocks.
Charli much prefers a muddy pool of water than clean water from our packs. 

Above.  To our left the valley below us with mountains in the distance.
Below.  To our right the cliff face of Cathedral Rock. 

Time for lunch.
 Charli is focused and waiting for the morsels that she knows will come her way. 

Maybe it was the snow on the mountains but on our way back to the RV we decided to treat each other to our Christmas gifts.  We each have hydration backpacks that we got at Costco a few years ago.  They have worked well for us but on longer hikes, particularly when the weather is a little warmer, the 2L capacity can come up a bit short, especially when we are also sharing with Charli.  Our current packs provide room for a small lunch and some snacks but not any room left over for additional layers of clothing or camera equipment.   

A stop at a hiking store and we soon had new Camelbaks, each with 3L water capacity and 22L capacity for stuff.  Perhaps a bit of overkill for our needs but it will be nice to have room for additional layers and for that big telephoto lens that is on my wish list.

Thats it for hiking in this area.  Next couple of days we will be packing up and driving to Gold Canyon.