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Green Mountain s(u)

West of Denver it is pretty clear, where the Rocky Mountain foothills start, and Green Mountains is definitely not part of them. Clearly it is east of that boundary. So why is there this big grassy hill on a flat plain that seems to stretch all the way to somewhere beyond Kansas ? Well, Green Mountain was once at the mouth of a canyon on the rising Rocky Mountains. Here a stream deposit formed a conglomerate rock. Since this is more resistant to erosion, the surrounding sandstones were worn down more quickly, and now we have this large grassy lump next to the initial hogbacks of the Front Range.

This still leaves the problem that this conglomerate is not at the mouth of Bear Creek Canyon, but a thousand feet above it. That's due to the aforementioned Golden fault, which dropped the plains side with Green Mtn on it, down by up to 13 thousand feet. Now that's a hanging canyon ! In reality erosion rearranged and softened the landscape during the concurrent, long erosional process.

Now that we have that problem settled (or at least adressed), let's see what Green Mountain is good for today.  Said mountain is a popular mountain biking and hiking area on the edge of the Denver metro area. Most people drive to one of its trailheads and then spend the afternoon or day, riding the many single track trails up this grassy mount in front of the initial hogbacks of the Rocky Mountains. The profile below takes a little different view. It shows the whole approach from Denver and the Platte River.



click on profile for more detail
01.START-END NORTH: jct Clear Creek Trail - Platte River Trail
02.jct Clear Creek Trail - Ralston Creek Trail
03.jct Clear Creek Trail - Garrison Ave bike route
04.profile leaves Clear Creek Trail to head south towards Applewood area
05.profile turns onto US6 frontage road.
06.US6 - C470 bikepath(shp)
07.western trailhead to Green Mtn area
08.TOP, 6840ft
09.southern trailhead to Green Mtn area
10.profile truns south onto Morrison Rd
11.profile joins Bear Creek Trail
12.jct Bear Creek Trai - Garrison bike route
13.START-END SOUTH:jct Bear Creek Trail - Platte River Trail
9.(9380ft,mile77) START-END WEST: downtown Grand Lake

Approaches

From North. From the Platte to the Green Mountain trailhead is 1000ft climb, ignoring addition climbs due to drops. After that there is only about 800ft to go to climb to the highest point, but in a comparatively minute distance. The profile starts on Clear Creek Trail, and then cuts across towards the C470 bike path. The highest point on that path is a shoulder point to this summit.

On Green Mountain itself the profile follows the main track, which is called Box of Rox trail and is impossibly steep in some places, though lately I get passed by many people riding electic bikes. But there are many single track options to choose from, branching off and absorbing the heavy knobby traffic.

Starting at a point where the profile meets the Green Mountain Summit trail coming up from a different trailhead to the north, the route levels out, and depending on light conditions, shows off the abrupt transition between the plains and the initial hogback hills to the north. Green Mountain is just big enough so that the high peaks appear like a thin lip above the intervening foothills to the west.

The pictures on this page span several decades.

cLiCk on image , arrows , or thumbnails to advance slideshow

From South. (also described upwards) While the profiled route on the other side is wide, on this side it is single track. On this side too, rocks are not in short supply on the trail. The viewshed is direction Denver and the switchbacks are heavily occupied.

         
       
         

         


 



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