No school on Presidents' Day, so I wanted to get out and hike. I also wanted to find snow, since it's been a pretty warm and dry winter here in Castle Rock.
I went out to Florissant and got 1 1/2 out of 2. I hiked, and there wasn't no snow. Just not an abundance of the white stuff.
The hike was almost over before it even started. I'd read that the Visitor Center at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument would be closed today, but I didn't realize that also meant gate to the entry road would be closed and chained. Undeterred, I drove a little further and parked at the Hornbek Homestead where I re-evaluated the trail situation. Fortunately, most of the trails interconnect. So I picked up the Florissant Loop there.
Like my only previous visit, there was a lot of scat on the trail. There's clearly plenty of wildlife in the area -- hoofed stock and predators alike. I just have so far only seen their poop.
The big attraction here are the petrified stumps. I didn't make it to "The Big Stump" on this visit -- it isn't close to the loop trail. But it was quite cool to see a living tree growing out of a petrified one.
Not sure what caught my eye exactly about this pine cone on the trail. But I do like the glistening of the snow.
Speaking of snow, I hit a section of trail that was legitimately wintry! I guess it's shaded enough not to melt off. I enjoyed it.
Besides the petrified stumps, this rock formation is another highlight of the Florissant Loop. As in, it's labeled on AllTrails. And it is pretty striking.
After the rock formation the trail was pretty gentle as it meandered through a rolling meadow back to the homestead. Probably really colorful when the wildflowers are in bloom, too.
Just under eight miles in just under three hours, with the fast pace primarily due to not stopping for many photos. I'm not done looking for snow-covered scenery this season, though!
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