Mount Herman

West of the town of Monument rises Mount Herman, and I recently climbed it. It's about a 2-mile round trip. After parking next to a dirt road, the trail starts climbing up a valley.

The flowers were out in force.

The trail quickly leaves the valley and starts climbing up the ridge.

It passes through a picturesque meadow.

The trail becomes steeper, climbing up a very rocky section.

And it finally deposits you on the mountaintop, where you have views to the east that go on forever, and nice views of the unspoiled wilderness to the west. The red flag is a wind sock for the hangliders that take off from the mountaintop, although there weren't any this time.

Here's the Air Force Academy.

Here's one of the local lakes and the outskirts of Monument.

There were thousands of ladybugs out on the top.

I thought the shape of this dead tree was unusual.

The clouds were starting to build so it was time to head down. Literally as soon as I got back to the car I heard the first thunder, so I left at just the right time.

And finally, here's a view of the road that takes you to the trail head. It's a dirt road with no guardrails.