May 2008 Sanderson Gulch

Denver has a lot of minor creeks and streams. Today we're riding Sanderson Gulch.

Sanderson Gulch leads to the Platte near Ruby Hill Park but I caught the trail about five miles upstream.

I caught the RTD #21 Westbound and got off at Florida & Pierce Street.

Then I rode a block or two North to W. Oregon Drive.

The trail starts out as single track in Lakewood Open Space.

Here's looking West from Pierce Street, no access here.

This is looking East. Follow the single track for less than a mile to the concrete.

The stream in Sanderson Gulch is kinda tame but beautiful in it's own way.

It's small now but gets bigger as we go downstream.

The single track portion is short but sweet. Everything looks so green and beautiful this time of year.

Metro Denver has so many excellent trails. Starting this blog was a great idea. It's making me ride new trails instead of the same ones all the time. It's also improving my RTD skills. I'm not a regular bus rider but for transporting my bike and me to a trailhead it works really well.

The $1.75 fare wouldn't even buy you a half gallon of gas.

Here's the beginning of the concrete path. The GPS coordinates are N39.68491 W105.06755.

I saw a Goose with her Goslings.

Soon the stream flows into Clairfield Reservoir.

The trail disappears for a bit so you follow a residential street. I saw a Horse.

There's the stream. Still riding on streets.

I peeked over the fence and saw a Muskrat in the stream.

There it is on the left.

There it is swimming away.

Scenic concrete waterfall.

Here's where the trail resumes. You can see where it meets the road in the distance.

Some parts of the trail are old asphalt.

Some are new concrete.

The Creek looks tranquil now but see the line of flotsam on the grassy bank? That's a high water mark. If there's a heavy rain the water can quickly turn into a torrent.

Here's another high water mark. Looks like the creek was at least 20 feet across at the time.

I stopped to hug this tree.

Fancy stair step waterfall right before a tunnel.

Then there's a pool after the tunnel. It's a quiet place to take a break.

Here's some more flotsam & jetsam wrapped around these tree trunks. That water was running high.

A couple weeks ago there was a heavy rain with hail about 4 AM. The thunder & lightning woke me up & I watched it from my back porch.

I bet that's when it happened.Here's my theory on Gulches. I've ridden Lakewood Gulch, Lee Gulch and Sanderson Gulch. They're all kinda steep and narrow and subject to flash floods.

Most of the street crossings are surface crossings.

Here's an exception.There's a tunnel next to the stream.

Probably not a good place to take shelter in a storm.

The trail winds along a little farther.

Then the creek in Sanderson Gulch disappears into this tunnel. The trail goes right to flank the North side of Ruby Hill Park.

Here's the other end of the tunnel.

Then the creek in Sanderson Gulch flows into the Platte River. That's the last culvert, under Platte River Drive.

This is the end of the Sanderson Gulch Trail. Beyond those trees is the Platte River and the Platte River Trail.

The Sanderson Gulch Trail is about 5 miles long. It's a nice side track if you're riding the Platte.

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Moonlight ride on Platte River > Sanderson Gulch

Sunset on the Platte.

Bela Luna.

Night tree.

Sanderson after dark.

Moonlight rides are fun. Some trails close at 10 PM, some close at 11 PM.

Not many things a camera can capture at night but always an interesting experience.

The End.