The Hike to Greyrock Mountain

On Wednesday, we decided to go explore Poudre Canyon, which is very near Fort Collins.  We planned a hike there to Greyrock Mountain.  It rained all morning, so we entertained ourselves by driving up the canyon to the Continental Divide.  The scenery was lovely in spite of the rain. 

When the rain stopped after lunch, we drove back to Greyrock to try to do our hike.  It was filled with beautiful views, but the trail itself was quite rough and difficult.  We ended up losing the trail briefly, but we found our trail again when we decided to backtrack.  We had come to a switchback and kept going across the side of the mountain instead of turning.  Simple mistake, right?  It could have been serious.  It did cost us any possibility we might have had of making it to our destination, Greyrock Mountain.  We had just made it to the place where we could catch a glimpse of Greyrock when it was time to turn back.  On our way down the mountain, we noticed the chokecherry bushes growing on the edge of the trail.  Chokecherries are edible, and they are similar to plums in taste.  Some of them were ripe, so we all tasted the fruit.  It was delicious!  Apparently, birds, deer, squirrels, and even coyotes like them, too.  We saw signs of all of those critters.

I hope we are able to go back and try Greyrock Mountain again someday.  I want to finish the hike and see what it is like from the top.  It was a pretty neat hike, and I'd like to see what the surroundings look like on a sunny day.

Annie and I are looking at the trail map and information board.

Annie taking in the view