Mallory Cave Trail

It sort of feels like we skipped spring and moved straight into summer. The weather has definitely warmed up, the grass is tall and green, and I feel like I blinked and the trees sprouted leaves. Happy little white and yellow flowers are popping up all over the place. Dandelions are everywhere this year. I know they are weeds, but I have always thought they were pretty. With all the moisture we have had and the sudden temperature change it makes sense that everything started to grow at once. The late winter left the spring with a lot of catching up to do! It is just amazing to me how quickly things change here.

Make a wish!

Happy little dandelions

This beautiful weather has definitely given me the hiking bug. All I want to do is play outside! Yesterday my husband and I decided to explore more of Boulder's big backyard. We chose the Mallory Cave Trail. This trail begins at the far west end of Table Mesa Drive at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. There is no fee to park in the NCAR lot which is great. We weren't exactly sure where the trailhead began when we arrived so we wandered around the large sandstone building before we found it. Turns out it was on the backside of NCAR. We followed the Walter Orr Roberts trail for about 0.6 miles before hitting the Mesa trail. The path to Mallory Cave was not clearly marked at this point. We were not sure if we needed to head right or left. Now my husband that I adore probably would have rather taken a guess before asking for directions, but a man was heading back from the trails toward us so I simply asked him which way to Mallory Cave. He told us to turn left on the Mesa Trail and from then on the path would be clearly marked the rest of the way. Turns out he was right. The lesson here is that it is ok to ask for help sometimes. :)

 

As soon as we turned on the trail toward Mallory Cave, the hike became very steep. The trail switchbacks up Dinosaur Mountain through towering sandstone formations with beautiful views of Boulder and the eastern plains. We commented on the way that the rolling green hills of the plains reminded us of the Shire in the Lord of the Rings. We paused in one of the open areas towards the end of the trail to rest on some rocks and soak up the mountain sun. In the 4th photo below you can see NCAR in the distance where we started. It looked so tiny from the trail. It was amazing how quickly we felt so far away.

Looks like the Shire doesn't it? :)

So close to the cave entrance!

Near the end of the hike is a steep red rock staircase that leads you to Mallory Cave. The final 75 feet of the ascent to the cave is very steep and you have to scramble up the sheer rock face to get to the top. Because the cave is closed off to the public we did not go all the way to the top. The closure stems from an epidemic of white-nosed syndrome, a fungal disease that has destroyed bat populations across the country. In an attempt to limit the potential spread, the U.S. Forest Service closed the cave.  Because the disease is primarily found in human-accessible recreational caves, people are thought to be the main cause of spreading. It is too bad because it would have been neat to be able to explore the cave! It is still a great hike that I would recommend to others because of the spectacular views and it is an excellent workout. The trail is only 2.8 miles round trip, but the steepness of the hike makes it a challenging one. 

Entrance to Mallory Cave which is closed off

Although we did not encounter much wildlife on this trail, we did see lots of dogs! Wildflowers were scattered throughout the trail. I took pictures of the ones that I did not recognize so that I could identify them later at home with my field guides. I love doing that. However, if you are not going to take the time to identify the plants on the spot, you need to make sure to take multiple photographs of them. It can be difficult to recall details when you are at home and if your photograph doesn't capture characteristics like the plant type, flower or fruit/seed shape, leaf shape, arrangement or texture, then it can make it very difficult to identify the plant later on. I took a photo of some beautiful flowers I saw on this hike but am now struggling to remember if they were from a tree or shrub and I cannot tell from the picture I took. I sent the photo to a friend who is a master gardener and also to the person who manages the Wildflowers of Colorado Facebook page to ask for help. I think we may have it narrowed down to a Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)or some other member of that genus. Again, another fine example that sometimes it is beneficial to ask for help! :) I will keep you posted if we figure out what it is for sure! Check out http://www.wildflowersofcolorado.com/ if you are having trouble identifying Colorado wildflowers! This website has been a great tool for me!

Look close to see the dog!

This is the flower I am having trouble identifying because the photo I took does not clearly show the plant type. It is important to take multiple photos of any plants you want to identify later that show the plant type, color, height, flower shape, and leaf shape and arrangement.

Have you done this hike before? I would love to hear about your experience or see your photographs! 

Until next time, keep calm and hike on! :)

Another great hike completed! :)