The Hermosa Trail. Well, a small part of it anyway...

Today, Trevor and I hiked a portion of the Hermosa Trail. We've never done this hike before mainly because it would take DAYS to see the entire thing and there is no big pay off unless you go plan to go 20+ miles. It is also a trail that is used often by mountain bikers and horseback riders, so it has a reputation as being rather busy. But it is also relatively flat, which works well with Trevor's obsessive need to monitor my heart rate, and allows the hiker the flexibility of turning around without feeling like you've missed out on something fabulous.

The Hermosa Trail was also neat to see for no other reason than it used to be part of the old stagecoach route between Durango and Silverton. Be still my little history nerd heart!

We decided to hike the Hermosa Trail midday on a Wednesday. We figured that this would be a time of day and week when traffic on the trail would be at a minimum. And we were correct. We only encountered one other hiker, two horseback riders, one mountain biker and two ATVs in three hours on the trail. Not bad for such a local hotspot!

The downside to the trail is that it is rather rocky and there isn't that much water for the dogs running naturally along side it. So, if we ever venture back here in the future with the Awesome Pawsome, we will need to pack more than just a single bottle for all three.

All in all, we hiked about five miles (+/- 2.5 miles each way). Here are some of the photos from the day:

Alley Cat wallowing in one of the few streams/mud puddles by the side of the trail.

Thick forest...

Twisted Tree that caught Trevor's eye...

Snack break.

The view along the trail.

Strange rock formation.

Hiking back to the car.