FIRE!

Its frightening to think about, but the Front Range is already catching aflame this spring. This is far earlier in the year than I can ever remember. One particular fire that garnered a lot of attention was the Mount Galbraith fire just outside of Golden. Mostly because it blew smoke all over Denver. I, on the other hand, was concerned because I like running in the open space park in the area.

On Sunday, the fire was out, and my friend Luke and I ventured out on the nearby Beaver Brook Trail to survey the damage while traversing the on the south side of Clear Creek. Poor lighting made it hard to photograph the effected area, but I got plenty of other nice photos.

View of the burn area from the South. The light of the midmorning makes it hard to see the burn line, but if you stare long enough you can find it.

Luke at the top of Gudy Gaskill overlook

No fire, but nice view of Evan's from the Gudy overlook.

Downtown Golden and South Table Mountain (and smoggy Denver) on the way down Chimney Gulch Trail

Our "Trail Head" for Sunday's run. I don't know why I haven't thought of it before, but Golden City Brewery is the perfect place to start and end a run. Cold beers on tap upon return.

Yesterday, my friend Tom informed me that the park had re-opened. I jumped on the opportunity to take a easy run out there to survey the damage. It was extremely windy ('slightly breezy' as Tom put it). It never dawned on me until I was turning into the TH, but running in a recently burnt forest on a windy day is not the brightest idea. Tom put my mind at ease when he let me know that his uncle had died by getting crushed by a fallen tree. The chances of that happening to two people he knew had to be very small.

Anyhow, the combination of wind and a nice evening sun resulted in some great photos of the area, and a face full of ash. Good times.

Game trails that would typically be hidden under brush emerged when the vegetation is all gone.

Tom at the top of Mount Galbraith. This is close to where they think the fire started.