Colorado 2011 Day 4: Bear and South Boulder peaks

Day 4: Bear Peak (8,461 feet) and South Boulder Peak (8,549)

Miles biked: 14.5

Miles hiked: 7.8

On Wednesday, Eliot needed his car for work, so I had two choices: 1) Rent a car for the day (which, after research, I learned would be pretty pricey on such short notice); or 2) Rent a bike for the day, at a cheaper rate, and find a local hike to do.

I went with, you guessed it, option No. 2.

The plan was to rent a cruiser from downtown Boulder and bike to the trailhead for the Boulder Range’s two highest peaks, Bear Peak (8,461) and South Boulder Peak (8,549).

From looking at a map, the trailhead for the Towhee Trail didn’t seem too far from town. I guessed it was maybe 5 miles from the downtown drag of Pearl Street where the bike store was. I wasn’t too concerned about renting a cheap cruiser.

I severely underestimated the ride.

I ended up battling 90-degree temperatures, a bright, scorching sun, and a fierce head wind for more than 7 miles. The only positive was that Boulder is the most biker-friendly city I’ve ever spent time in, so I was traveling on bike paths and back roads the entire way.

Still, my legs were burning, my lips were parched and my tongue was dry by the time I reached the trailhead. Now I just needed to hike 8 miles. No biggie!

The trail didn’t offer any relief from the heat or sun. For more than 2 miles, I walked through dried-out grass and shrubs, constantly looking out for bears — who, the trail description warned, enjoy the area because of its array of berries.

I didn’t allow myself to stop until I finally reached the Shadow Canyon Trail and a bend that offered a small window of shade/relief. I ingested an energy bar and water and continued on.

I also knew from the trail description that once I entered the woods and, thankfully, more shade, I would face 1,600 feet of elevation gain within a mile. Just another challenge on a day full of them.

But I actually got a good rhythm going on the ascent and while the going was rough, it didn’t take too long to emerge from the woods and the intersection for the two peaks. First, I headed right for a quick 0.4-mile jaunt up to the pile of rocks known as Bear Peak.

After a bit of rock-to-rock scrambling, I reached the summit and searched for any flat rocks that might serve as a good resting spot. I had 360-degree views, but things were a bit hazy, so it wasn’t great picture-taking weather.

I had brought my book for the trip, “Halfway to Heaven,” which is an entertaining, informative and easy read about a man’s sudden quest, while out of shape and in his 40s, to hike all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers. It was the perfect book to read on this trip.

Unfortunately, as cool as Bear Peak was, it was also infested with annoying, unrelenting flies and bees that didn’t allow me much peace. I forced my way through a chapter about another of the author’s audacious, adventurous climbs, then descended back to the intersection and made the short, easy, 0.3-mile ascent of Boulder’s highest peak.

My hiking book hadn’t mentioned anything about South Boulder Peak and friends from the area hadn’t mentioned it when recommending Bear Peak, but I enjoyed the top of the less-traveled, less well-known summit more than Bear.

For one, the bugs weren’t quite as bad. And secondly, the summit was large and offered several spots looking out in all directions. Compared to Bear Peak’s small, jagged zenith, South Boulder Peak provided a football field’s worth of places to relax.

As I sat on a rock reading, my feet swinging over a drop-off, I took a respite from the book to think about how my day had progressed.

Just a few hours earlier, as I struggled to bike against the wind, I had wondered to myself if I even wanted to do this hike. I could bike a little more and call it a day, right? Take a day off lying by the pool. Was this worth it?

And then, as I hiked under the bright sun, not gaining any elevation or, seemingly, getting closer to my destination, I had thought, Why, really, am I doing this hike?

Now though, of course, as is the case with every hike I’ve ever done, I knew that it was worth it. Being on top of everything, having such expansive views, hearing nothing but the sounds of nature — the feeling never gets old and remains my favorite thing in the world.

I hustled down the steep trail and jogged the level part, reaching the parking lot in less than a hour in time to begin my bike ride back to town as a thunder storm threatened — but didn’t materialize.

For my efforts, I rewarded myself with some homemade Glacier ice cream, black cherry, while sitting in a grassy park downtown , doing some serious relaxing later during the afternoon.