Coney Flats
We did this trail right after doing Middle St. Vrain, and we got a really late start. We all had fun on our way up the rocky hill, because it had been raining all day. It was really slick, making everyone slide all over the place.
Even with the muddy rocks, no one had any issues. It just made things more fun on the way up.
We got up to the "lake" for our annual BBQ and it was well past lunch time. It was also pouring rain and pretty chilly. We got to work setting up a canopy so the grilling could get started. Ladd started grilling the elk burgers that Jed brought, and Jed started grilling the bratwursts that Bob brought.
We also set up a huge canopy with sides, with no floor like a tent would have. That meant that we could set up chairs inside to get out of the rain. It was even tall enough for Perry to stand up in the middle.
A few people also strung tarps between Jeeps to get things out of the rain. It kept getting colder, and eventually you could see your breath. We were all bundled up, but no one was complaining.
Lots of people went by and visited with us, including the group from Cheyenne that was with us on Middle St. Vrain. We had lots of extra food.
We heard of a Ford F-150 that was stuck on the hill between Middle St. Vrain and our lunch spot, so Mike and Gary went down to help him out. It ended up being a young driver with no 4-wheel drive, stuck between two rocks and not able to move. Mike used a snatch block to drag the truck over the rocks and get him free.
Lunch was over and everyone was stuffed, but no one wanted to get out in the rain to pack things up. We finally stopped procrastinating, and it didn't take long to get it all back together.
We had a good time going through the lake, but we didn't stay to play for awhile like we usually do (though Gary went through a few times throughout lunch). We had lunch with Ladd, Sean and Perry but they decided to go back out on Middle St. Vrain so we split with tham at that point.
The trail was covered in an unbelievable amount of water. There are usually more than a few puddles of standing, muddy water, but this time those puddles were huge. There were also lots of huge puddles where there are normally no puddles at all. It seemed like there was a huge puddle every few yards.
It was also very green, which was nice to see. The area is getting a lot of water.
You couldn't even see to the other side of Beaver Reservoir when we got to the end. We kept going, to air up in the big parking lot at the Boy Scout camp. When we got there, a camp supervisor came out to let us know we were on private land, but then said it would be fine if we aired up there. He owned a Jeep himself, and had a good time checking our vehicles out.
After we aired up, most of us went into Boulder to have some snacks at Murphy's -- we were still full from lunch! It was a great day, even with the rain and the cold. Our 4th of July BBQ is always a great time to catch up with everyone. We'll look forward to next year.
Reports from Other Days: 11
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