Carpenter Peak, Roxborough Park, CO, 3/23/14

 Want to see beautiful rock formations, panoramic views of Denver and the Front Range, and wildlife? This is the hike.  We had not started our 6.4 mile hike when we met a herd of deer along the road.

 This moderate hike starts at the visitor center and follows Willow Creek Loop to South Rim trail. Carpenter trail starts with a series of easy uphill switchbacks and then levels out before reaching a bit of a scramble to reach the top.

 View before reaching Carpenter trail.  It was cold and snowy the previous day - the white patches on the picture above are the remainder of yesterday's snow.  Our challenge today: mud on the trail.

Views to the north-west from the peak.  I used my new camera with a 50x zoom.  The snowy peaks were actually a sliver of white with the naked eye.

We visited Roxborough Park during one of our first trips to Denver.  We revisited because we were enchanted by this wonderful place. For pictures of that earlier hike, check the blog "Denver Hike" posted in February 2009.