[Journal entry for March 14, 2014; Elk Meadow Pak, Jefferson County, CO] I flew in on the Red Eye and Dallas, who has been in Colorado since the third, picked me up at the Denver Airport. We stopped at Elk Meadow Park, in the foothills of the Rockies south of the city of Golden. The morning was clear. The land has only a little snow, for the temperature was well above freezing – in the forties, Fahrenheit. We parked at the east lot, off of Evergreen Parkway, at the edge of a large meadow bordering a highland region to the west.

A Mexican family with a dog named Lecha arrived at the same time. We chatted with them a bit before starting out. We walked a loop about 3.2 miles long, on the Meadow – Meadow View – Founders – Painters Pause – Sleepys Trails. This route took us mostly through the meadow, though the Meadow View segment rises up into the highlands in places. The grass was all yellow and brown and the bushes as yet unvegetated, though showing some signs of budding. Most of the highlands were wood in Pine, though some of the ridgetops, and especially Bergen Peak, were craggy and bare. The trails were wide and easy to follow, though some sections were muddy and others were icy. We carried microspikes with us and used them on the latter.

We met the Mexican family again at the halfway point. They were hiking the same route as us in the opposite direction and at about the same speed. The views of the meadows and mountains were nice. Near the northernmost point of our hike, we passed a picturesque hillside with many rock spires. Towards the end of our hike, as we walked through the meadow, we crossed a footbridge over a little stream, full of meltwater. We saw some magpies and crows, but for the most part wildlife was scarce. We did pass an occasional mound of earth amid the grass that I suppose marked the burrow of some sort of gopher. The Mexican family arrived at their car at the same time we arrived at ours, and we waved goodbye to each other.

About two and a half hours.