Dancing between the rocks and the sky on the Dragon's Backbone

 Good morning and greetings from Cheyenne Mountain State Park!

Cheyenne Mountain in the distance ahead with the early morning alpenglow on its slopes.

I started my run on Wednesday (June 9th), just before sunrise around 5:30am from the Limekiln Trailhead.

Immediately once the sun rose, the heat began. The air felt sticky and warm from all the rain we have had recently. The trailhead is at fairly low elevation for our area (6000 feet), so the flora are a combination of high desert plants and montane forest vegetation.

And it was all so green!!!

I started out on the Talon trail. The trails at Cheyenne Mountain State Park are all color-coded and have GPS trail markers with the name and color of the trail, which makes them really easy to follow.

Soon the sun was shining on the rocky hillside ahead of me, where I was headed.

The wildflowers were bursting with color, and even the weeds along the trail were pretty.

Talon trail mainly trends south, following the ridgeline and gradually ascending through the meadow into the forest. I continued onto the North Talon trail, watching the mountain getting closer. North Talon heads due west.

Once in the forest, the wildflowers were abundant! They carpeted the ground with color, mainly florescent blue and bright violet. The camera couldn't even accurately pick up how colorful the flowers were.

The North Talon trail ascends at a steady rate, joining the Dixon trail on the south ridge of Cheyenne Mountain. At this point, you turn north.

At the start of the Dixon trail, the signs warn that you're now entering the wilderness and to be cautious and prepared for the possibility of encountering wild animals.

Dixon trail begins the real climb up the mountain. Although it gains significant elevation, the trail is smooth and well-crafted, with dozens of switchbacks. It reminded me of the Ws on Barr trail.

Soon the views to the south opened up. It is too bad that the air was a little hazy, perhaps because of high winds yesterday. Normally, on a clear day, you can see the Crestones and Humboldt Peak. I was only able to see the Sangres and Greenhorn Mountain, and even those mountains were a bit hazy.

Everything was so green!!

The first views to the south from Dixon trail.

Soon I'd arrived to the point on Dixon trail where bikes and equestrians are required to stop. There was a nice log that was placed by the trail creators so that multisport athletes can tie up their bikes and continue on foot.

Dixon trail continues ascending the mountain, and opens up to a gorgeous meadow near the top, with aspens showing their bright green leaves.

Near this point, there was the site of an airplane crash. Allow me to preface this by saying: I am not searching the Pikes Peak region for airplane crashes! I didn't even know I would encounter this today. But somehow, I've seen airplane crash sites on two adventure runs in a row.

1957 crash site and informational sign.

Beautiful green meadow with an aspen grove to the left.

Soon after the meadow, I turned off the Dixon trail onto the Dragon's Backbone.

This trail was a scramble! It was super rocky and involved a decent amount of route scouting. However, the signage is quite superior - that is why I say route "scouting" and not route "finding." The route is already found and marked, you just have to scout ahead a few meters to see the markers.

The views to the south were really getting good! Too bad the day was so hot and hazy.

The view to the south from the beginning of Dragon's Backbone. 

The marker points to the trail! A little bit of a climb here. The radio tower farm atop Cheyenne Mountain is lurking in the background.

Some of the rocky outcroppings and views from Dragon's Backbone. 

I really enjoyed the scrambling actually (I love rock hopping!) But I was beginning to run out of time. I knew I wouldn't have enough time to get to the viewpoint at Robbers Roost, even though I was within a half mile. It was just taking me too long! I might have had enough time if I'd continued running on the mountaintop through the aspen meadow and gone to the viewpoint that way. But I was happy with my route choice for the day. I continued to the next major outcropping and got a panorama before turning around. 

Cliff top panorama. This is not Robbers Roost, but close enough! 

Top: The viewpoint I was at was marked with a Geographical Survey marker that simply said "CLIFF." Bottom: You can see part of the Dragon's spine that inspired the trail name.

After scrambling back alone the Dragon's Backbone to the Dixon trail, my descent was smooth and fast. I felt like I was jogging right down Barr trail, flying down switchbacks and rolling right along. I still enjoyed how full of blue flowers the whole forest was! What an amazing spring in the southern Front Range. 

When I reached the Talon trail, I snuck a glance back at Cheyenne Mountain from where I'd just been. What a cool run! I can't wait to return with more time and run the whole Mountain Loop trail and get to see Robbers Roost lookout. 

The view back at Cheyenne Mountain ⛰  in the bright sunlight.

After I met with my husband and kids, we took the rest of the day and visited the Royal Gorge. It was a great fun day to go and see the Arkansas River rushing through the canyon.

What an all-in-all great day!

I got 15 miles and 3500 feet elevation. I'd recommend the Talon/ Dixon trails as a good training run that is similar in time and effort to a Barr Camp trip.

This summer is shaping up to be a good one!! Can't wait to share more!