Altitude Gained: relatively little, but enough to get views that inspire!
inauguration
the groundhog sees his shadow
happy equinox!
the groundhog sees his shadow
happy equinox!
Today, the vernal equinox, we embarked on our first official hike of this project. As we are still quite limited by the elements, we are beginning with the city hikes. Today, we took a few steps out our door and climbed our neighborhood trail, the Centennial Nature Trail, which takes you quickly from downtown Durango to the beautiful campus of our alma mater, Fort Lewis College. We then continued around the Rim Trail to Chapman Hill and Lion's Den before coming back to finish up on the other side of the Rim Trail. It is still quite muddy and snowy in many parts, but this does nothing to deter our excitement about being on the trail!
There were people snowboarding on Chapman Hill!
This is a trail we 
love dearly and tread often.
love dearly and tread often.
Neither of us had ever actually been to the Lion's Den. According to Pixler, the Den was a shelter built during the Great Depression from large pieces of sandstone and refurbished and roofed by the Durango Lion's Club in recent years. This is a very cool little spot with nice views of Durango and the valley. We will come back for picnics!
Look who's awake!
The fauna highlight of the hike: the colonies of groundhogs that have recently woken up to start eating and breeding.(click on photo for more info on our furry friend!)
Today we feel elated! Sunny, chilly, windy, glorious spring equinox! As we descended down the back side of the Rim Trail toward 8th Ave, the smell of pine and the sound of a the bubbling brook prophesied great moments to come. We can't wait to go deeper into the forest and higher into the mountains!
