Sanitas

Sanitas was my very first hike in Colorado.  I thought that I might die.  Really.  Die.  I was literally picking my legs up and pushing off of them with my hands.  The girl I had gone with, my new neighbor, was practically running up the side of the steepest hike I had ever attempted.  In my defense, my hiking career was, at the time, saturated with east coast, sea-level, mostly-in-Georgia fun.

If you’ve never hiked Sanitas, do.  Hike it!  It’s a mile or so down Mapleton on the right hand side coming from Broadway in Boulder.  This trail is only a 3 mile loop but officially rated moderate to strenuous.  Going up the West Ridge is like finding yourself stuck on a stair climber.  Feel the burn!  Well, I absolutely love this trail for a short, close to home hike and whenever anyone comes to visit, you bet Sanitas is where I take them get a taste of Colorado and how easy it is to play in this great state!

My friend, Lindsey, recently came to visit from Texas.  She’s an avid runner and really wanted a challenge, so of course, I had the “perfect place” to go on a quick hike before we went out for lunch in Boulder.  We called up our mutual friend who met us at the trailhead with her three children, ages 6, 8 and 10.  These kids are troopers so I wasn’t worried about stamina.  The littlest one had on treadless sneakers but she only weighs 30lbs so… eh.

Everyone did a phenomenal job going UP the mountain!!!  Our Texas friend really was in great shape, despite the altitude.  The kids booked it up, all the while jabbering away and taking pictures.  We only stopped a few times for water and a snack; I was seriously impressed.

We went down the same way that we gone up and it was a little more of a challenge.  The littlest one with the treadless shoes had a pretty good slip at the beginning of our descent.  She cried for 2 seconds, huffed and pouted, then got up and started walking again.  Definitely tough!  I could hardly keep up the the middle boy; he ran down like someone was chasing him !

As it turns out, this was the very first hike these kids had ever been on : ).  What a great milestone to measure all other outdoor adventures against.