Colorado Springs is a gorgeous city, hard not to be when the whole city is balanced on the edge of the Colorado Rockies. I was a bit worried about hiking some of the trails around here as the elevation we were starting at is over a mile above sea level…..and then the hiking trails go up from there.
Garden of the Gods was a bit of a test run…a beautiful but relatively short hike.
The next hike I picked out, 7 Bridges, was a bit longer. Another early start (it is still July and starting on the trailhead at dawn was the best way to avoid combining the altitude with uncomfortable heat)
The drive up to the parking area was stunning…..and a bit scary….narrow road…lots of steep and tight switchbacks……
It was a lovely morning as we set out on the trail….
As we headed out there was another lone hiker starting at the same time as us…Hi Courtney…..so we joined forces and hiked together.
Turns out the 7 Bridges trail only has 6 bridges……the first was washed out in a storm, now the beginning of the trail starts with a detour….
The bridges criss-crossed with the switchbacks as the trail wound its way up the side of the canyon……
I do enjoy having someone to chat to on a hike……my blogtographer (energizer bunny style is always running ahead or waiting behind to get ‘the shot’…lol….so chatting and hiking doesn’t happen too often….!!!)
This trail was a moderate according to Alltrails….. a well marked steady climb…..not easy but not overly challenging.
Bridge no 2…well actually no.3 if you count the missing one…
We were chatting pretty hard LOL…well I think I was….Courtney was a great sport at listening ….and making me stop to hydrate…
Bridge no.4
There’s a bit of rock scrambling in some spots…..nothing crazy…but enough to keep it interesting
Bridge no.5
All in all a very pretty trail…
Bridge no.6
….after that last bridge the trail became a lot more vertical…
….and at the last part for us….. was climbing up over the rocks
…but totally worth it….the view from up there was quite something….
This was the end of the 7 Bridges trail and time to say farewell to Courtney as she headed on up to the peak…..us old guys headed back down after this. I was almost persuaded to go out to the edge of the rock for the picture….but I made it to the tree as long as I did not look down…LOL…
In the exposed spots we could feel the sun getting stronger….we were very pleased with ourselves for being savvy enough to start out early as the heat began to build.
We found this little chap lurking by the side of the trail…
I think the pictures on the way down demonstrate just how steep the path was…..it was much easier going down…!!
I’m not sure how we missed the last bridge on the way up….but apparently we got it on the way down.. (just the picture….we did cross it both ways)
We passed quite a few hiking couples and groups on the way down too…..I’m imagining that it got busier through the morning….we were grateful to be out early in the quieter, cooler time…
Nearing the bottom…we decided to investigate the washed out bridge…
We had considered having to turn around and retrace the detour…..but the creek at this point was so low crossing it was no issue….
…and much to the disappointment of the blogtographer I did not get my feet wet……(Editor. There’s always another creek)
The final part of the route back to the parking area…..did I mention that this is a beautiful part of the country….!!!
Extra Pix
