Hiking from Eldorado Springs to Boulder

To the northwest of Denver lies the city of Boulder, right next to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains known as the Flatirons. I was in town so Thomas and I could do some hiking further west later that weekend, but since Thomas still had a bit of work to do, first I was going to do a roughly nine-mile solo hike. I would start at the South Mesa Trailhead in the town of El Dorado Springs and then hike north through the Flatirons all the way to Boulder, where I would then meet up with Thomas to continue our trip. The last time I did a solo hike here was maybe two years ago. That was the worst air quality of anywhere in the world was in Denver that day. Today, normally you can see the mountains, but you can't see it right now. It's all from Canadian wildfires. Thank you very much. All right, dude. See you later. Good luck. See you this afternoon. Bye, Sierra. Bye, doggie. I'm gonna go down here and then go up here. I'm gonna go all the way up there. I guess this was Sylvester Dowdy, the first settler in the area from 1858. Seems like a really nice house for 1858. These people were pretty crafty back then. Okay, so basically today I'm going to be hugging the foothills of these mountains eight miles all the way to the town of Boulder. Actually, the smog isn't too bad right now, so I guess either the wind is blowing away the wildfire stuff or it's just better today. I'm currently at 5,700 feet elevation. The initial plan was actually to go into some of those mountains, but it's probably a good idea to get acclimated first, especially since we're going to be going up even higher later this weekend. Historically, the elevation has affected me quite a bit, so we're going to take it a little bit easy today and see if we can get acclimated without any ill effects. I don't think it'll ever cease to amaze me, but whenever you get to a trail and it's kind of crowded, if you just get like a mile in, the crowds thin out so much. Like when I was at that parking lot earlier, there was quite a few people and I was like, oh man, the trail's going to be crowded. And I'm not that far in and already everybody's gone. Maybe this is super obvious, but I just realized that when you prepare for a hike, you're not preparing for the beginning of the hike, because the first 30 minutes, the first hour, no problem. But the preparations are for when you get to the end, you need to be in shape enough to finish and have the water and the supplies to actually survive. You want to prepare for how you're going to feel at the end, not at the beginning. Yeah, that's probably too obvious. Okay, here's a real insight. All of the things that you do to stay healthy now are really for later. It's for the long haul. So when you're older, you can actually still walk and you're healthy enough to enjoy life. Yeah, yeah, it's a nice parallel. So it's about eight o'clock right now. I'm meeting Thomas at four o'clock, which gives me eight hours to hike eight miles. When we're hiking as a group, we usually go about a mile an hour. When I'm by myself, I can go a little bit faster, but really it's not that much faster. So today I can really take my time and really enjoy the sights because there is no rush at all. Wow, man, Colorado does not miss. Even with the smoke, this is amazing. So I assume they're doing some sort of small loop, but I've been passed by the same trail runner three times. I am going incredibly slowly, but even so, it's pretty impressive. I think that is one of the areas where the trail loops back, but I'm going to continue north. We should be on the Mesa trail right now, and if we turn left, that should keep us on it. All right, we might be going to Shadow Canyon, but we're definitely staying on the Mesa trail. This must be where that trail runner was looping around. We're going to continue up this way. I've actually already done a mile and a half, which is a little bit surprising because I've been barely walking. I'll walk for like 10 seconds and then I'll stop and look at the view. Me and Thomas were talking about this a little bit, but I do wonder if you had access to trails like this, would you just start to take it for granted? I feel like, I don't know, I feel like it'd be hard to take this for granted. Look at this. Okay, now we're going to do Mesa trail, not Shadow Canyon. Yeah, Shadow Canyon takes you around the mountain. We're going to stay on this side. So the trail itself is actually super nice, super well paved. The things I'm going to have to look out for are the sun, altitude, and smoke. The altitude and the smoke, there's not too much I can do about it, but the sun, I got to stay in the shade when possible because this is some intensely brutal sun. Good god. Yeah, maybe there used to be an old homestead here or something. Definitely a nice spot. All right, we're going to continue straight. We're just going to continue on the Mesa trail north like this. So we'll have the mountains in view on our left side the whole time. My watch is currently telling me that I have 95% blood oxygen level. I don't know how accurate that is, but that's a good sign. It's definitely gotten in the 80s before at high elevation. We're actually not too high up, like 5,700 feet is not too bad. Yeah, anything above 8,000 though. It is hard to imagine that this is just a local trail. This is not like way out in the back country. This is just a trail that people come to for the day. I don't think I'm taking that. I think I'm continuing this way. I actually don't have much in the way of real food, but I have infinite snacks. Thomas gave me these sea salt and vinegar chips. I wouldn't say sea salt and vinegar is my favorite, but on occasion, it can be pretty exciting. Isn't sour good for elevation or something like sour candy? Am I thinking of something completely different? That was good, man. Thomas, come in, Thomas. Come in, Robbie. How's it going? It's going great. I'm about 2.2 miles into the trail. I think I'm below Bear Peak. It looks like Bear Peak anyway, but how are you doing? Yeah, let me see. I'm pulling you up on my map right here. Last I saw, you were still pretty close. Yeah, I guess the signal's just not good enough. Okay, good chips. Thomas is still alive. I'm still alive. Let's go. A pretty weird contrast going here. It feels like I'm out in the back country right now, as far as the environment goes and how there's nobody else out here, but in the distance, you can hear the sounds of the city. Actually, that sounds like construction. I was walking forward just now because I was like, oh, there's a great view out here. Then I turned around, and I was like, wow. Okay, so that's got to be Bear Peak, and that's got to be Nibelhorn, something. Maybe that, maybe that, but that's definitely Bear Peak. And if I'm not mistaken, just up ahead, we're going to get an amazing view of Boulder. Okay, well, it's not exactly Boulder out here. Boulder is further north, but still an amazing view nonetheless. Denver is like super far out that way. I can't really see it because of all the haze, but wow. My blood oxygen level is still at 95%, or was it 96? Either way, that is good. Pretty soon, we're going to start entering the downhill section of this hike. Another junction. What do we got here? North Fork Shanahan and Fern Canyon. Okay, we're going on Mesa Trail. Okay, I guess the plan today is to just eat like a bird. Is that how birds eat? I think we all know how I feel about protein bars at this point. Oh, it's kind of melting. There is no other food I go through more emotions eating than protein bars. It's like you take that first bite, you're like, oh, and sit there for a second like, yeah, I don't know. If I squint my taste buds hard enough, this is almost like eating a fresh chocolate chip cookie. Just gotta use your imagination. Okay, we're about three miles into the trail now. There's actually only going to be seven miles of actual hiking on trails, and then the final like 1.8 miles is all going to be in the city. It's noon right now and we were planning on meeting up at four, but with this pace, that might be asking a bit much. I can always tell Thomas I'm going to be late, but I do want to make a little more steady progress. Also with this bird food that I have, the post-hike meal is going to be incredible. I don't really care what it is, as long as it's real food. Yeah, there's no way. If you lived out here, there's no way you could take this for granted. This is perfect. I love a good field. I believe that's Boulder, and I've driven through there before, but other than that, I don't know too much about it. I think it's University Sound because there is a university in there. We're going to be walking through it today, so we'll get some idea of what it's like. So that guy in the dog, he was telling me that there's some sort of creek up ahead. I don't see it yet, but that might be a good place to take a break. Pretty much right at the halfway mark, maybe a little bit more than halfway. Oh, this must be the stream. Imagine there are times of the year where it is much more wet here, but this is probably a pretty dry time right now. Man, it is hot. Yo, this sun is brutal. If you weren't prepared for this, even a simple day hike like this, well, I was going to say it could kill you, but it'd probably burn you at the minimum. I will say, though, this is starting to feel like a good journey. I think that's what I really want out of hikes, is I want to feel like I've been on a journey, you know? I want to feel like I've been to some different locations and really had to work to get somewhere. Okay, we got another fork in the road here. The Mesa Trail continues to the left here, so we will continue on the left. Sometimes you got to remember to look behind you because the view is pretty incredible. All right, right here, we're going to keep going north, and then maybe we're going to exit over here somewhere. That is one way to tell if you're accustomed to the elevation or not. If going uphill immediately makes you feel like tapping out, chances are you're not accustomed to the elevation yet. Wow, the wind is so hot. It's like a sauna. Okay, I believe that is the city of Boulder. This certainly looks like a university. I don't know, just something about those buildings look like dorms. That means we're getting fairly close. Let's see where we're at right now. Oh yeah, so two miles left of trail, and then we will be in the city. I hope Thomas is ready to eat. It's 1 14. That should probably put us there right around early dinner time. I've certainly ate dinner at four o'clock many a time. I think it's time for a little bit of a morale boost. Okay, let's see what I got. Granola bars, almonds, cereal. Oh, I know what we're doing. Fruit snacks. Why are these so... the texture is just right. Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and E. Dubious. Okay, let's see how much water I got. I'm not doing great on water. I'd like to have a little bit more than I do. I think we should be fine. I don't even know what cereal this is. Thomas just gave me this bag of cereal and was like, here. I love cereal. I really mean this when I say this, but if I could eat one food and it would give me all the nutrients and keep me perfectly healthy, it'd be cereal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Got the sweet kind, the non-sweet kind. I love them all. No idea what that is. Property line. I guess we'll assume it's somebody's property and admire it from afar. I've got this little thermo drop thermometer and right now it says that it is 97 degrees out here. I don't know if that's exactly right because when the sun is like right on it, I don't think that's giving you the actual air temperature, but it's actually a pretty manageable heat. The wind is kind of warm, but when you're in the shade, it's totally fine. All right, it's two o'clock. That's a nice six-hour journey. Oh man, that city looks very inviting right now. When I get to the bottom, I'm going to fill up on water, regroup a little bit, and then we'll head into the city. Thomas is already there. He's at some cafe, so we'll just kind of zigzag towards him. Heck of a trail, man. And I'm pretty sure I just scratched the surface. There was all sorts of other places you could go to. Once again, Colorado, incredible. Oh, nice apples. Not sure if it's all of these houses, but some sort of like summer retreat here. Yeah, some of these are just houses though. Probably very expensive houses. I don't know. That one's got a number on it. Huh. I'm sure those pictures are going to look great, but man, that looks miserable. It is way too hot to be wearing a suit today. Southeast Side Ranger Cottage. All right, here we go, here we go. What is this place? Animal store. Ice cream, coffee, snacks. I'm just gonna relax for just a bit. All right, Thomas is basically due north of me, so I think I'm gonna just try to find some quiet city streets to walk down. This feels really disorienting getting back into civilization. Just spending all day by yourself, and then suddenly there's a bunch of people. It's really weird. Oh yeah, this is a nice little neighborhood. Oh yeah, it's gonna be nice. Oh, apples. Oh man. What's the etiquette on taking apples from a tree next to a sidewalk? Would anybody mind? Probably not. Flamingo Stonehenge. Whenever I'm walking down a sidewalk, I'm always hoping that I'm gonna find a CRT TV. Huh. I could be totally making this up, but I feel like I heard somewhere that cemeteries want more people to visit. I don't remember why exactly. Man, cemeteries are really nice. Just a nice place to walk through. Look at the tombstones and see when people lived, like your boy John Roberts. 1857 to 1907. Here rests a woodman of the world. Are these tombstones that old? That does not look very old. One of the ways you could tell that this is definitely a college town is that every house looks like it's a house where 10 people live. Oh, what is this? Looks like this is Boulder Creek. Let's check out this statue real quick. Oh, that's the bird we saw earlier. Black-billed magpie. Let's go find Thomas. Somewhere in central Boulder. Geez. Business Thomas. So, are you hungry? Not really, but I'll follow you. I want to hear about your trip. I want to hear about it. It was awesome. Have you done that whole trip? Not to Boulder, but I've done half of it. It was a journey. I bet. That was not a short trip. No. I'm tired. I bet. This was a terrible. Look at all that head. I'll drink it for you. It's like a beer milkshake. Five dollar salmon rice ball. It is a big boy. I thought that I wasn't hungry. It's just I needed to take the first bite. I'm very hungry. For my own sake, I'm glad we figured this out before we started this trip. Oh, apparently that's good. Is it better than the 7-Eleven? Yeah. This is an update for Michael. Okay. Itadakimasu. I know that this time. Look at these eggs. Is that what that is? Yeah. Oh, that's dope. What'd you get? Tuna mayo rice bowl? Rice bowl with egg and avocado. All right, I'll try it. That's good. That's the type of thing I should make on my own. Why don't I make rice bowls? Oh, dude, I got the Himalayan curry. I was a little jealous of yours at first, but I made the right choice. I know it's still so funny to me. The best meal we had in Japan. It was the deffolies place. That place was amazing. I have had dreams about that place. Pricey, but good. Okay, now we've got about a two and a half hour drive. Is that right? But we're staying at a campsite tonight and tomorrow, and hopefully they have some showers because I am filthy. Oh, baby. Oh, baby. Oh, I've waited my whole life for this. You've been walking all day. That's wild of you. Yeah, it's really funny. I've been walking since seven in the morning. It's five o'clock. That might be the hardest hike of the whole trip for you. Wow. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. We should have gone to Tom's Tavern. No, we shouldn't have. Tom D. How do you know we shouldn't have gone there? Because I don't know. I mean, I probably wouldn't want to eat at a place that had my name in it. Robbie's rough roast beef. Rump roast beef. Up on top of that mountain over there, that's Lookout Mountain, and I think that's where Buffalo Bill was buried. Not the serial killer, but the Old West show person. Okay, so how long have you been living in Denver? A little over two years. Two years. Okay. How long did you live in California? Just under four years. Which had the better hike? I don't know. It's tough. It feels like it's harder for me to get alone here in Colorado, because so many people in Denver are really big outdoor enthusiasts. Oh, yeah. Probably a lot less people in California. It was amazing how, at the time I lived there, I could, in an hour and a half, I could be the only person on the side of the mountain. At least that's how it felt. Whereas out here, you go to the side of the mountain, and there's a long line. And maybe it's just because I don't know all the secret spots yet, I felt like I had a lot more peace, a lot more solitude. How about the trails, though? Because they're both are fine. I mean, I can't compare them both. Everywhere I've been in Colorado has been absolutely incredible. As far as trails go, I don't know of any place in the world that has better trails than this. I mean, I'm sure there are better places, but from what we've done, this is the densest, best trails that I've been to. In a quarter mile, your destination will be on the left. Oh, wow. Yeah, okay. Well, we better set up Megatech quickly. Visit the night registration box by the office door to pick up your map. Wow, look at that sky. Are you long? I'm long. Maybe I'm long. I mean, we don't really need it. We just need to know where we're at. Oh, man, I'm freezing. I'm freezing. All day I was boiling, and now I'm freezing. What sick fate is this? Oh, yeah, this is great. This is great. Oh, this is great. T21. Hang on a second. Oh, this is T21. There's T21 right there. Yeah, so you park. All right, so I guess this is our site. I don't know why it's so small. Our tent's going to go right here, and the site next to us is way bigger. That's fine, I guess. Wow, you even got a mallet? Life has changed after I started using mallets. When you properly stake a tent. Oh, man, imagine that. I have no idea what that's like. This is the greatest moment of my life. So you can come in, but make sure you take your shoes off once you come in. When was the last time you could stand up in a tent? Man, this is crazy, dude. Yeah, isn't it? Massive tent. What is about to happen? This is awesome. So you just hook up a little USB battery? Yeah. Dude, this is hilarious. This thing here is actually a room divider. It's a privacy screen for getting dressed. When was the last time you were able to sit on a chair in a tent? Never. So what's the plan tomorrow? I was thinking wake up at four, get to the trail, head by five. Sunrise is at 5.50, but we'll start to get light around five. Okay, we are gonna do our thing, and we're gonna get in bed. We got a very early start tomorrow. We'll see you tomorrow at the top of Mount Sherman. Thank you very much for watching. Hope you enjoyed the video. If you did, please remember to hit the like button, and also consider checking out our Patreon page at patreon.com adventure. You get early access to the videos, bloopers, commentaries, live streams. Being a patron is the best way to support us. Thanks for watching. We'll see you in the next one. Tomothy, come in, Tomothy. Thomas, come in. Can you hear me, Thomas? I can hear you, can you hear me? Yes, I'm using my nose to talk to you, but it's working. This walkie-talkie feature is like really close to being amazing, but out here, it's not quite there. Do you have problems with spicy food? Me neither. I wonder if that's genetic, but Andrew's always, yeah, he must not have gotten that gene. I'll tell you my thoughts. Not in a restaurant. My Toyota camera, what a decision you've made. I'll stop in the middle of the road. Surely that can't be a bad decision. Solidarity. Solitude. Solidarity is a different word. A lot more solitude. It's like we absolutely do kind of ham it up a little bit. A little bit. I'm absolutely freezing. I know you are, but that reaction. Do I or do I not talk like this all the time? I won't let you back into a pole ever again, even if I'm filming you. Are we doing a fusion? I texted Thomas on the plane and I was like, can we stop somewhere to get something to eat? And you go, I'll have a warm sandwich. No, no, no, that's not what I said. I said I'll have the best damn sandwich you've ever had in your life ready for you when you get here.