14 minutes!? It took me an hour!

  So yesterday Amanda and I got outside and went on a hike. We'd been kicking it around Boulder for 2 weeks and had yet to go into the mountain trail systems. So we planned our trip to Mt. Sanitas. It's just west of the city and easy to get to by bicycle or walk from Pearl Street Mall. Being the planner that I sometimes am I looked up the route online the day before. Apparently, it's a mid level difficulty hike that makes a loop and is an all-around good time. Estimated time: 2 hours. Ok, that seemed reasonable. So we ride our bikes to the trail head and start our hike. It's gorgeous. Nice day, but all I have pant-wise to hike in is blue jeans. Not the best choice, but I made it work. And by that I mean I toughed it out, NOT made jorts.
  I brought along my camera and took a ton of pictures. (As seen below.) We started out and began our climb up to the summit. Now, while there is a path, it is by no means "beaten." Rocks, ledges, other obstacles. We reached the top in 50 minutes. An being the geniuses that we are, we packed the other halves of the sandwiches from the night before. Winning. After our lunch break we began our decent along the "long way" down. Probably even more "technical" than the other side. Anyways, we made it through while stumbling upon a "warming hut" which I can only assume to be used for "medicinal" purposes on those chilly days. We also found a snake sunning itself on the path and then being a little scaredy cat and running off. Also, apparently there was a bear sighting 2 days before we went. What!? BEARS! And of course I tell Amanda that she needs to carry bear mace just in case someone tries to attack her. But to get to actually use bear mace on bears!? Epic.
  We make it down without any more incidents, unless you count hearing a motorcycle engine start and think it's a bear's stomach growling. Not winning. So the day was a good one and today we're sore, but it's good.

The plaque at the summit

"Warming hut"

The snake that was scared of us

  Now that you get an idea of the fullness of this hike, chew on this. Kilian Jornet ran this trail and guess how long it took him to ascent? 14 minutes and 12 seconds. Good grief.