Butzel Hill

During Thanksgiving break I had the opportunity to go home to Boulder, Colorado and enjoy the Rocky Mountains for a few days. While I was home I did one of my favorite hikes. I live in left hand canyon up in the foothills and the start of this trail is not far from my house just one canyon over, so I could hike to the start of the trail and didn’t have to drive anywhere. I hiked up Butzel hill, and even though it is called a hill its one of the foothills and is more like climbing a small mountain versus a hill. I took my little puppy lainy with me, as she loves to run around. It was a fairly nice day in November around 40 degrees out and the sun was shinning. It had snowed a few days before so the parts of the trail that were hidden away in the shade had become packed with ice from a few of the other hikers and their dogs. This is one of my favorite trails to do though because it is not popular and generally quite. I had gone in the late afternoon and was the only person out, which was peaceful and I didn’t have to keep lainy on a leash which was more fun for her as well. She does this adorable thing where she finds a big stick and then runs up the trail dragging it with her. This trail is not too long about 2.5 miles up to the top which has an elevation of a little over 8,000 feet. The hardest part is this one steep section in the middle that barley serpentines, and makes my legs burn every time I hike it. It is a section of the trail that you just have to push through because stopping makes it worse and even harder to start again. The top is the best part though, there is a rocky outcropping and I climbed on top of it and soaked in the sun for a few minutes allowing myself to relax and just enjoy the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Because it was getting fairly late and I wanted to get back before the sun went down I couldn’t stay for long, but that is one of my favorite places to go just to be alone with my thoughts and to relax for a little.