Bard Creek/Watrous Gulch

Finally something new to post. On a grey Memorial Day, I took Iris and Murdoch to Watrous Gulch (trailhead at Exit 218 off I-70). There was rain, fog, and graupel on the way, but it was really clearer in the mountains than in Denver. The deep hole golf put in my right ankle has not yet healed completely, but a few days with no water on it helped. The run up Watrous Gulch to the Bard Creek trail is posted as 1 1/4 miles and I'm going to make a guess that it rises 937.5 feet--not to put too fine a point upon it--for an incline of about 14.25% (Pike's Peak is around 11%). Up in 24 minutes, down in 19. There was quite a bit of thunder as we approached the bottom, and quite a bit of both rain and graupel as we began the drive down.