September 9, 2016

Today I managed to cross off my list a Boulder Bucket List item.

The famed Boulder Skyline Traverse.

To accomplish the Skyline Traverse, I summit the five peaks that flank Boulder’s western mountain ampitheatre.

My group starts at 5:45 am on the Goat Trail in North Boulder. We summit Sanitas Mountain at 6:40 am.

We use the Red Rocks Trail to get to Settlers Park, Boulder Creek, and EB Fine Park.

Next, we take the Viewpoint Trail to Panorama Point Trail, which leads us to Flagstaff Mountain -- which we manage to summit at 9:30 am.

The GM Greenman Trail takes us, by 11:40 am, to the Green Mountain summit.

The Green Bear Trail brings us to Bear Peak, which we summit at 2:00 pm.

Our final summit is South Boulder Peak, which we top at 2:55 pm. We then take the steeply descending Shadow Canyon Trail to the South Mesa Trailhead near the Eldorado Springs Canyon.

We arrive at 5:45 pm.

In total, our epic hike takes 12 hours of half-awake boulder scrambling, and being rewarded with dazzling views into Boulder Valley to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west

Our traversing requires a formidable 6,000 feet of elevation gain.

Our average gradient of 13 percent is not for the faint of heart, either.

Click here for the photos I shot during this hike.

Route for Boulder Skyline Traverse Sanitas, Flagstaff, Green, Bear, South Boulder, 16 mi, Sept 7, 2016