Steve tracked my flight from the Philippines and figured my total travel time from Cebu to Denver, including layovers, was 35 hours. That included 11+ hours in Seoul, South Korea and 6 more in Seattle. Since I flew through many time zones and the international dateline, my lost day resulted in a bad case of jet lag. The fatigue and drowsiness lasting for several days as my internal clock readjusted, but I discovered that hanging out and getting active with several of our blogger friends sped up my recovery.
Several of our RVer/hiker/blogger buddies had converged on the Denver area in late May. These are folks we had met previously during our travels, and the relationships continued via our blogs. We’d met Hans and Lisa of Metamorphosis Road in January of 2013, and John and Pam of Oh the Places They Go in February of 2014. We had also met Sue and David of Belugas Excellent Adventure in February of 2014. It was only Rick and Joanne of RJRV Travels that we finally met for the first time during this stop in the Denver area.
So what do these adventurous folks do on a nice day after not seeing each other for such a long time? Go hiking and get reacquainted – the perfect antidote to my jet lag! We had not hiked with John, Pam, Hans and Lisa previously, but this was the perfect opportunity to do so. There was no shortage of challenging trails in the Golden area, and Lisa picked a good one to get our hiking-starved bodies back into shape.
Mt. Galbraith Loop Trail – This 4.9-mile loop was a good one to acclimate us to the elevation and get the muscles warmed up. It had an initial 1,100 ft. elevation gain, and the scenery was beautiful. Steve and I really enjoyed the hike and the good company. For a more detailed description of this hike, check out John’s account here.
Carpenter Peak Trail – The next day brought no more sympathy for my jet lag, as we tackled this 6.4-mile round-trip trail at Roxborough State Park. It took us to the highest point in the park, and rewarded us with a spectacular view of beautiful rock formations, pine forests and the front range of the Rocky Mountains. The vast expanses of green peppered with sandstone rock formations far below us made this hike with friends a memorable one.
Roxborough State Park is a Colorado Natural Area, and a National Natural Landmark known for its 300 million-year-old red sandstone Fountain Formation that tilts out of the ground at a 60-degree angle.
This trail featured several wildflowers and critters, but these caterpillars really fascinated me. We saw several nests of them along the way.
This was our first time hiking with friends and we really enjoyed it. Time flew by as we talked, laughed and took water breaks – all while snapping pictures along the way.
We capped our second day of bonding with dinner at a local brew pub that Lisa had also organized. We spent hours recounting our recent adventures, and Steve and I were happy to finally meet Rick and Joanne. The evening was pleasant and the company great as we shared stories and had a lot of laughs.
These were just our initial gatherings, and there were more. I can’t even fit all of our fun activities in one post!
Lowes Travels 
I’m so pleased that we finally had a hiking meet up:) It was great being able to spend several days together. We are looking forward to our next get together, hopefully, in the fall:)
Oh yes, We had been thinking about hiking together for so long and finally we hit the trails! Thankfully Im glad I can keep up with you and John. I will be more than ready next time.
Fun times with even more to come 😉
You got that right, too much fun Ingrid that I finally have time to write a post 🙂
What fun y’all are having, meeting up with blogging friends! Great looking scenery in your beautiful photos : )
The scenery here Holly is just beautiful. We don’t mind hiking everyday with all the trails and the views we get from the trails.
I hope our paths cross again in good hiking territory some day!
I would not hesitate to hike next time. I was glad I can keep up with you and Hans 🙂
I’ve been told that hiking and cycling is a perfect way to get over jet lag. It certainly looked like you had a fun get together! Those caterpillars are fascinating. Do you know what kind of butterfly they turn into? The red sandstone formations are beautiful and interesting too. Great pics.
I think you are right. Usually it takes me a week to recover. This time I was already hiking on my third day of arrival. Lots of amazing scenery here in and around Denver.
Boy those sure look like tent caterpillars to me and as far as I know all they do is defoliate the trees. No great butterfly. What a great group you had to help you over some really serious jet lag. Sure wish we could have joined you. I’d love to know the physiology of how hiking can take care of jet lag.
Oh really? no butterflies from those? Oh my we saw a lot of those on our trails.
One day our paths will cross, and will do some hiking. Well, it seems after those two day of hiking I really felt much better, for it usually takes me a week to recover. The exertion and being outside probably hastens my body clock to be in the time zone I m in.
Ah, we loved Golden and the nearby state park when we were there over Labor Day weekend last year. Glad you got your hiking legs back after your epic trip.
Just about anything is better when hiking with friends. So glad you got to meet up with such a great group. 🙂
OMG I cannot imagine 35 hours of travel time. :-((( No wonder you had jet lag!! You did the right thing to get out and move. Being with friends in nature helps everything. Looks like you guys are having a blast — so many friends in one place!