02/21/14 Castle Rock 6319', South Table Mountain 6335', and Green Mountain 6855' #22 and #23

Trail up South Table Mountain with Castle Rock on left

I had planned on spending the night of February 21st in Denver so I left home in the morning to try to climb some peaks near there.  I found the trailhead in Golden first to climb South Table Mountain.  Part of my reasoning to climb this peak was to complete the Golden Quadrangle Map and climb the two ranked peaks on that map.  I had done North Table Mountain nearly one month earlier and climbing South Table Mountain would complete the map.  I was also trying to not push myself too much as my knee had started to bother me a bit on the last few hikes.

Coors Brewery and North Table Mountain

I started up the trail and was pleased with how nice it was.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning and the trail had nice switchbacks that gained elevation quickly.  As I neared the plateau I saw a guy standing out on a rock running what I found out later to be a remote-controlled glider.  I could see it out over the cliffs gliding back and forth.  It was pretty neat to watch.

I topped out and found a trail heading to a high point.  I knew it wasn't the summit of South Table Mountain, but it was a point that would overlook town nicely so I ambled up to the top.  Upon looking at the map later I discovered it was the summit of the unranked Castle Rock.  I took in the views and watched the glider some more before heading back down the trail and trying to find the summit.

Green Mountain from South Table Mountain

Back down on the main trail I found that another trail headed to where I knew the summit to be.  I followed it and found that it passed within five to ten feet of the highpoint.  I left the trail and went and found a register and a summit cairn.

As I had seen another trail leaving from close to the trail I started on I figured I could make a loop out of the day.  I carried on back toward I had first topped out and took a trail that continued on further up top before dropping down a different drainage and then switchbacking down an open slope.  It led me right back to the street I was parked on and only one minute from my car.  It had been a lovely morning.

Top of Green Mountain on left

My next objective for the day was Green Mountain.  I think I wanted to climb this one mostly because I could see it from North and South Table Mountains and it seemed to stand out as one of the first foothills.  I drove from Golden toward Green Mountain and drove around it to Alameda Parkway and found a trailhead.  Since I didn't know the mountain or exactly where I was I asked a guy coming down the trail to point out on the map at the trailhead where we were.

Once I had oriented myself I headed up a trail.  It was a nice trail that climbed quickly and before long I was at a tower near the plateau of the mountain.  From there it was a pleasant walk along a dirt road as it followed the top of Green Mountain.  It didn't take too long for me to determine where the high point was and I headed toward it.  I followed the road as far as I needed and then cut off it toward the west to the summit of the mountain.

View of Denver from Green Mountain

From the top there were good views over to Mount Morrison and Red Rocks, South and North Table Mountains and the peaks around Boulder, and down into Denver.  I enjoyed the views for a bit and then decided to head back.  There was a nice trail network and when I was close to the tower again I was able to take a different trail back down and make another little loop out of the hike. 

Elevation gain:  1325'     Total gain:  30,110'