Colorado Elopement Hikes near Denver: North Table Mountain West Loop (Golden)

Living in Denver, Colorado, offers many perks, including beautiful hiking trails for an elopement within 18-30 minutes. Here’s the first of a series of Golden hikes that I’ve recently recommended to my wedding couples in Colorado as options for a wedding ceremony elopement. I’ve included a review from a past visit and my notes.

North Table Mountain is the high plains of the high plains in Golden, Colorado

North Table Mountain West Loop

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Date: February 5th.

Weather: 33 degrees and sunny at 9:14 am.

Cover: Completely exposed (more ideal for winter and early spring because of the sun).

Time: 9:14 am - 11:47 am.

Distance: 6 Miles total (West trailhead parking lot to Lichen Peak to the east side of the mountain and looping north and then west back to the lot).

Traffic: Low (normally high).

Parking: Several spots available.

Equipment: Hiking boots and microspikes.

Terrain: Definitely a quick climb up from the lot but flat once you reach the peak. Faced 12-20 mph winds on my back until I reached the east side and began looping north/northwest. At that point, I was walking against a not-so-kind wall of wind. Beautiful views of neighboring mountains and Golden. It’s a well-marked snow-covered path, but I could see it being muddy during the late spring.

Difficulty: Easy but the initial walk up may require a cardio baseline.

Colorado Wedding Officiant Notes: While my visit was in the winter, the trail provided a snow-dusted landscape that framed every step. Considering that the mountain is shaped like a table, wedding couples have endless options for a scenic backdrop of the mountains in the west or Golden and Denver in the east. Wind is certainly a factor at times and should be part of the consideration for the elopement. Late winter and early spring will provide hard ground without mud but may require microspikes for traction in snow. Late spring and summer will offer a dry path and quite a bit of sun exposure. An early morning hike is recommended for cooler temperatures. The fall is a perfect season with moderate temperatures and stunning views of changing leaves.

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Many locations on North Table Mountain offer stunning views of Golden and Denver.

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When it isn’t windy, the rock cliff and the views of Golden can provide a perfect backdrop for an elopement wedding in Colorado.

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The west side of Table Mountain provides a private perspective between the mountain and its sisters across the road.

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My Favorite James Clear Quotes and Thoughts (Set 1)

Each week I share a bit of wisdom from author James Clear with my personal training clients in Denver. His book Atomic Habits has inspired many optimal health seekers to create a new routine. While change may be challenging, the right mindset and series of habits can lead to a lifetime of joy, physical prowess and comfort, and less pain. If you like my selections, definitely signup for Clear’s weekly newsletters for more tidbits!

Find new inspiration with a Denver personal trainer. / Photo: Eberhard Grossgasteiger

Favorite Quotes (and Thoughts) from James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

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• "The more you invest yourself in fulfilling work, the more your effort fuels you. The harder you work on a bad project or in an unsatisfying role, the more of a grind it becomes."

• “Life is a series of tradeoffs, and greater results usually require greater tradeoffs. The question is not, "Do you want to be great at this?" The question is, "What are you willing to give up in order to be great at this?"

• Meditation teacher, Light Watkins, on acting your age: "The advice shouldn't be to act your age. It should be to act your spirit. Your age may try to prohibit you from dancing like that, or starting over, or trying something new. But your spirit would never do such a thing. If something feels aligned, your spirit wants you to go for it, whether you're 15 or 85. Acting your age makes you fit in more, while acting your spirit will indeed cause you to stand out—in a bad way to people who act their age, but in an inspiring way to those who act their spirit. Try acting your spirit from time to time, and you can see for yourself which path makes you feel more alive." Source: Newsletter by Light Watkins. (Hat tip to Wes Claytor)

• "Question: “Who (or what) do you need to forgive, so you can move on and live well?”

• "It's only work if you would rather be doing something else. Find a way to carve a career out of what you already want to do."

• “Build small habits. Make big plans. 1) Keep your daily actions small. Strive to get 1% better every day. 2) Keep your daily mindset big. Think about how you can play a bigger game. Start small, but never dream small."

• Painter Mariam Paré, who specializes in making paintings by mouth after suffering a spinal cord injury, offers some advice to her younger self: "If I could talk to myself twenty years ago, I would tell myself to focus on my strengths, and not on my weaknesses; on the things I could do and not the things I couldn’t do; to strive to excel and hone those skills to the point of excellence. That this was the best strategy to secure my future. I would say to myself that the only real obstacles you have are those you create for yourself."

• "If an idea is true, criticism will not destroy it, but strengthen it."

• Interior designer Danielle Colding on the ultimate luxury: "Quality of life is having the freedom to make choices that are not fear based. Whether it’s the ability to choose the kinds of projects I want to take on and can learn from, or the ability to take a month off to travel. Freedom to choose is the ultimate luxury."

• Question: “What is an area you'd like to improve over the next decade? How are you working toward that outcome today? Think long-term. Act short-term.”

• "When researching strategies, emphasize patterns over stories. One person succeeding means nothing. 100 people succeeding is a signal. When explaining strategies, emphasize stories over patterns. People forget numbers and charts. Everyone remembers a great story."

• "When determining the size or complexity of a new habit ask yourself, "What can I stick to—even on my worst day?" Start there. Master the art of showing up. Then advance."

• Poet Jenny Xie on how reading is a form of travel: "Reading is migratory, an act of transport, from one life to another, one mind to another. Just like geographic travel, reading involves estrangement that comes with the process of dislocating from a familiar context. I gather energy from this kind of movement, this estranging and unsettling, and I welcome it precisely because it’s conducive to examination, interrogation, reordering. Travel, imaginative or physical, can sharpen perception and force a measuring of distance and difference." Source: The Self Is a Fiction

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Bridal Bootcamp Exercise Program: Legs/Upper Body/Core (30-40 Minutes)

BRIDAL BOOTCAMP EXERCISE PROGRAM: LEGS/SHOULDERS/CORE (30-40 MINUTES)

Time to be your own personal trainer in LoHi! You still need to exercise outside of your personal training sessions, right??? Perform the exercises in this order. Note the descriptions next to each exercise (e.g., position of the bench or cables) and perform 16 reps for every exercise. Also, perform 16 reps on each arm if you’re performing a single arm exercise. Try to maintain a 140-160 HR (although it’ll fluctuate depending on the exercise). Don’t forget to answer the questions in the “Assessment Section” after your workout. Let’s get you ready for your wedding ceremony in Denver, Colorado!

SUPERSET 1

1st: Prisoner squat
2nd: Pushup with feet on medicine balls (failure)
3rd: Side plank

60-second sprint/30-second break

4th: Squat jumps with a medicine ball at your chest
5th: Pullups/pullup assist machine
6th: Plank with alternating plate lift (extend your arm forward and lift the plate before switching)

60-second jump rope/30-second break

7th: Split squat jump with a medicine ball at your chest
8th: Burpee pushups off of the bench (hands on the edge of a bench instead of the floor to start)
9th: Medicine ball toss at the wall while rotating

60-second Stairmaster/30- second break

10th: Alternating single leg squat with dumbbell hammer
11th: Pushups with your feet elevated on a bench
12th: Mountain climbers with a twist (30 seconds)

60-second break

Push yourself to new levels with a personal trainer in LoHi! / Photo: The Lazy Artist Gallery

SUPERSET 2

1st: Walking lunge with dumbbell press overhead
2nd: Pullup/pullup assist machine
3rd: Cable chopper with a step (alternating sides)

60-second sprint/30-second break

4th: Alternating step-up with medicine ball toss and catch
5th: Pushup with alternating dumbbell lift (see picture)
6th: Alternating toe-touch crunch

60-second Stairmaster/30-second break

7th: Alternating backward lunge with cable row
8th: Squat with the shoulder press while rotating
9th: Alternating leg lift while planking

60-second jump rope/30-second break

10th: Step-up from kneeling position with a medicine ball extension
11th: Pullup/pullup assist machine
12th: Bicycle crunch

Naptime!

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Assessment Section

No fitness or personal training program is perfect. Let’s reflect and adapt! Answer the following questions:

• How would you adapt this training program?

• Which back and chest exercises would you swap out?

• How could you make this fitness program more challenging?

• How would you change the order of the exercises?

• Would you include more breaks in between the sets?

• Would you include an even ratio of back and chest exercises instead?

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Weight Loss Plan Phase 1: Examining Your Situational Experiences with Food

“Knowing is half the battle (I think that’s what someone said once....).”

— Michael Moody, regarding your new weight loss plan

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YOUR GOAL TODAY

Complete the "Situational Experiences with Food" questionnaire below. It’s that simple, right? Unfortunately, not. It actually requires quite a bit of reflection. Even armed with the perfect optimal or weight loss diet your ingrained social or cultural habits will influence you more than you realize. Today’s step may be the most important.

Who’s really in control when eat in different environments? / Photo: Cottonbro

SITUATIONAL EXPERIENCES WITH FOOD

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Your intent isn't to eliminate the eating experience from your life. It's to heighten it from day-to-day (not just on special experiences)! To do this, you must examine your relationship with food in various situations over the 1-2 weeks. While you may need to dig into the memory bank to answer a few of these questions, try to use present examples as often as possible (we are examining your current trends and patterns, after all). By the way, you'll notice reoccurring questions in each category (important for comparison).

Restaurant Eating
-What defines an enjoyable social dining experience IN A RESTAURANT with friends and/or family? Any particular elements? Do you typically order meals that you never make at home? Type of setting, food, drink, people, environment, etc.? Be specific when describing different scenarios. My example: I love sharing a dining experience in a new (neighborhood-size) restaurant with 3-4 other people (6 or more gets too cliquish to me). We order 5-10 different dishes and share them while we taste a variety of exquisite big red wines. No dessert is necessary to complete my experience.
-Do you have a typical eating routine that you follow in these experiences? If so, what? E.g., Mama needs her Old Fashioned before the steak, and compound butter hits the table :) (there goes Mama and her Old Fashioneds again!) Sidenote: My great-grandmother (Nani) always drank a Manhatten before dinner with my great-grandfather.

At-Home Dinner Party Eating
-What defines an enjoyable social dining experience AT HOME with friends and/or family? Do you serve appetizers or other dishes you typically don't day-to-day? Any particular elements? Types of setting, food, drink, people, environment, etc.?
-Do you have a typical eating routine that you follow in these experiences? If so, what?

Vacation Eating
-What defines an enjoyable social dining experience ON VACATION with friends and/or family? Any particular elements? Types of setting, food, drink, people, environment, etc.?
-Do you have a typical eating routine that you follow in these experiences? If so, what? My example: If I'm near a body of water, I'll most certainly order fish or seafood for many of my meals.

Day-to-Day Eating
-What defines an enjoyable eating experience DAY-TO-DAY? Any particular elements? Type of setting, food, drink, people, environment, etc.?
-Do you have a typical eating routine that you follow in these experiences? If so, what? What determines the type of experience you create? My example: If my work schedule bleeds into the evening, the prep time for a meal will diminish exponentially.

In-the-Office/At-the-Laptop Eating
-What defines an enjoyable eating experience while working IN-THE-OFFICE or AT-THE-LAPTOP? And, yes, I said enjoyable. What would an enjoyable eating experience look like while professionally multi-tasking? Any particular elements? Type of setting, food, drink, people, environment, etc.?
-Do you have a typical eating routine that you follow in these experiences? If so, what? What determines the type of experience you create? My example: My meals tend to be served in a pyrex dish next to my laptop so that I can mindlessly fork my veggie mix into my mouth. Insert trough joke here.

When-I'm-Stressed/Tired Eating
-What do you tend to grab when you're stressed or tired?
-How do your portions vary when you're stressed or tired?

Eating with Particular People
-Do you tend to eat differently with different people? If so, describe the differences. My example: Ill eat more plant-based options with my friend Craig than with my buddy Jeff. I may consume more alcohol with Stu than I would with Erik.

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Weight Loss Plan Recap: The Game Plan / Immersive Experience

“Create a business plan for your life and you’ll find a clear direction on your path.”

— Michael Moody, regarding your new weight loss plan

Your New Beginning

I know what you're thinking - "Uh-oh, here's Michael with all of his words again. Words, words, words, etc., etc, nutrition this, nutrition that." Believe it or not, this email is really meant as a quick reference guide. Most important, it will steer our next sets of activities to rewire a new optimal you! Please review it with a careful eye, and then we'll discuss it. If you need motivation, check out The Evolution of My Personal Diet! Don't forget to review the quick resource guide at the bottom!

A sidenote: A diet full of vegetables has evolved from the typical side dish of asparagus next to your piece of Midwestern steak and the salad that was served in the local diner before the main course. Any pivot out of your status quo/routine may feel uncomfortable and you may also feel a bit of uncertainty and frustration. As a former player in the restaurant industry and a long-time food and drink enthusiast, I assure you that the plant options are now overwhelming with flavor and bursting with creativity. I'm not asking you to jump in 100% for the sake of your health. A pivot of 20% may offer incredible dividends, too. Be a researcher and seek out the best of what's out there (just as you may have done with your traditional meat preparations, soups, and stews).

PART 1: ESTABLISH THE WEIGHT LOSS GAME PLAN

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Here's our adaptable game plan for your diet over the next 4 weeks. Please note that many of the phases will overlap.

PHASE 1: Assessing the trends and patterns of you (Week 1)

-Complete the 3-day diet log

-Experiment with several quick and easy dietary changes/pivots
-Complete the taste and texture profile
-Complete the emotional association assessment
-Complete the situational assessment of food choices (e.g. social settings versus when stressed)

PHASE 2: Laying the foundation of eating (Weeks 1/2)

-Establish the dietary anchors based on your "needs" (the "wants" come later)

-Introduce the principles of diet and the science behind digestion and absorption as well as your biological clock and circadian rhythm

-Highlight Fuhrman concepts and principles that relate to your dietary approach.

PHASE 3: Testing (Weeks 2/3)
-Reframe anchors into a pyramid (not your parent's food pyramid)

-Introduction of the 10 phases of dietary change and reassess every 2 weeks (or sooner) based on progress
-Introduction of self-assessment/fostering dietary awareness

-Introduction of several meal plans

PHASE 4: Creating a new normal (Weeks 3/4)
-Create a base meal plan from our observations, tests, books, and many, many resources
-Assess the meal plan every 2 weeks

Time to plant the seed for a new approach to weight loss. // Photo by Ella Olsson

PART 2: IMMERSE YOURSELF

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We're building a new normal, and its time to pull from multiple resources and hold ourselves accountable. Joining vegan, plant-based, and fitness-related social media groups have added another layer of motivation and accountability, though. I'm more likely to choose a healthier plate because I take a photo and share it with the world.

I'm also more likely to maintain a healthier mindset when I'm consistently reading self-improvement and nutrition books. At times, these books are feeding me new information, but the real value is the reminder and the mental structure I maintain while digging in daily. My crazy mind, when tamed, is an incredible force that amplifies the enjoyment of experiences. It drives my endeavors. It could also be a wild beast if not contained. Think about how you want to tame your inner beast.

RESOURCES TO CREATE AN IMMERSIVE DIETARY EXPERIENCE

Indulge in these resources. You're more likely to stick to your path if you immerse yourself with the content and lifestyle!

* Cooking Websites: Cookie and Kate, The Minimalist Baker, Rainbow Plant Life

* The Elements of Being Instagram Page: Check the recipes that Sammy and I have made over the last 12 months!

* Eat for Life book: If you need science to back up alllllllllllllllll of my thoughts on nutrition.

* End of Dieting book: Breakdown on nutrition and meal plans and recipes in the back.
* Tools of Titans book: If you want to learn about the habits of successful people from different industries. Might help to see what other habits people wire to reach their goals.
* Redefine Yourself book: Hahahahahaha.....how did this get on the list? It's a simple guide to help you steer reflection and refine your cycle of awareness, acceptance, and adaptation. That's why!
* Listen to "The Elements of Being" podcast episode #10 with Dr. Fuhrman: If you find yourself saying, "Hogwash," you may want to explore the reasons. Do you wish to change or do want to continue your same habits because it's familiar and easier, though less comfortable?
* Cookie and Kate Cookbook (vegan and vegetarian options)
* The Minimalist Baker Cookbook (vegan and vegetarian options)

* The Game Changers documentary: The documentary dispels the common misconceptions about nutrition through the lens of the active person. I must emphasize an important point here: The principles apply to males and FEMALES.

* What the Health documentary: An excellent documentary that demonstrates the compromised nutritional influences on our life and the power of a plant-based approach.

* Whole-Food-Plant-Based-Diet.com Facebook Group: People posting food pictures, recipes, and inspirational stories.

* Chicago Vegans Facebook Group: Annnnnnnnd more people posting food pictures, recipes, and inspirational stories.

* Train with Michael Moody Fitness!!! Another shameful plug, yes.

Time to plant the seed for a new approach to weight loss. // Photo by Ella Olsson

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