Nice and short hike

Last Saturday a friend of mine and I decided that we needed some fresh air and a bit of exercise... And what could be better for it than a nice and short hike? Preferably somewhere nearby ;) And we knew the place that would be just perfect - Alderfer / Three Sisters Park near Evergreen. Just over 30 minutes of driving and we crossed the meadow and entered the woods...

 

The weather was just perfect for a short hike... The morning air was chilly, but we expected it to warm up quickly. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was blue... Colorado blue, I should say :) everything felt just perfect!

This was not the first time we were hiking here (and here is the first time I visited the park - Saturday, visiting Three Sisters ;) ). But a lot has actually changed since last year. The park service worked hard last summer and cut a lot of trees along the trails. The forests used to be dense and if there was a fire it could have been disastrous, so they removed a lot of the trees. This left a lot of stumps, but also added some air and brightness to the trails. Hopefully some bushes will take the place of old trees and the landscape will change again in a year or two. I promise you to keep an eye on the park and let you know about the changes ;)

 

But fewer trees opened up more windows to see surrounding mountains and even some snow-capped 14-ers in the distance. What a beautiful hike it was...

The last snow in the area was a few days ago and the trails were mostly clear, but the snow covered much of the ground and added some beautiful white spots throughout, making the views even better.

We slowly moved along the trail, enjoying the weather and the scenery.

At some point we went off the beaten path and had a little snack, lying in the hammocks and soaking up as much of the mountain sun as possible. It was a nice break (although we were not tired), and we almost dozed off there ;)

But it was time to go back, and we both had some errands to run, so we packed up the hammocks and continued along the meandering trail, now walking downhill (yeap, we had our short picnic at the highest point of our hike :) ).

There was more snow on northern slopes, but it mostly covered the openings and the trail was clear and easy...

We passed Elephant Butte (I hiked it last year and it was an amazing adventure - Three Sisters - Elephant Butte: A Delightful Summer Hike ) and turned left to the parking lot where we left our car.

The last quarter mile we enjoyed the meadow and some rocky hills on the side of the trail...

Just over 4 miles and almost 3 hours (including a long snack-n-hammock break). 715 feet of elevation gain... What can I say - a nice light hike to start the weekend in a good mood :)

The pictures were taken on December 21, 2024.