Columbine Trail

Prior to today I'd gone hiking in North Cheyenne Cañon Park in Colorado Springs three times, and enjoyed every one.  So when I was looking for a place to hike today, I decided to make Trip #4!

The Columbine Trail was today's option, which was made even more attractive by the road being closed for construction so I wouldn't hear cars as I was enjoying my nature.  North Cheyenne Creek was looking pretty as I started off from the trailhead around 7 a.m.

It's not immediately obvious how big this waterfall is.  Not sure I can even call it a waterfall, since it's only about two feet tall.  Charming, though.

I'm getting some really nice sunburst shots with my new Nikkor 10-24 lens.  Possibly because it hasn't gotten sand and oil inside yet to add distracting lens flare?

Helen Hunt Falls were flowing more briskly than I'd expected.  I didn't lug my tripod with me, but handheld was still fine.

I lowered the ISO to 100 and shut down the aperture to f/29 to see if I could get that nice feathery look to the water.  This was the best I could manage, which tells me that if I intend to shoot waterfalls in the future I should bite the bullet and carry the tripod to get the longer exposures.

I did the 9.18 miles and 1,674 feet of elevation gain in a tidy 4:06.  Apparently I can hike faster with only one camera body, a smaller lens, and no tripod. :)

Related Links:

• Mount Muscoco
• Kineo Mountain via Seven Bridges Trail
• St. Mary's Falls, April 2024