Harvard Gulch - The rest of the story

I have walked west on Harvard Gulch Trail - East , (Harvard Gulch is on both the east and west side of the river.) And I reported that trip in the August 5, 2017 blog, Harvard Gulch. I began at University Blvd and walked down to Rosedale. From University, the Harvard Gulch Trail continues east to Colorado Blvd.

[University Blvd]

The weather is moderating and some of the trees sense the approach to fall.

[Cherry tree at Cherry Hills III]

Winding through residential areas, the Gulch is more for exercise than scenery, but it offers a nice way to walk between two major streets without dealing with heavy traffic, although the trail crosses several streets.

[The trail at University]

A little further east, it enters Robert McWilliams Park, a good sized greenway with a playground, picnic tables, a water fountain, and restrooms with sinks.

[Robert McWilliams Park]

Robert Hugh McWilliams Jr. (1916-2013) was a judge of the tenth circuit U.S. court of appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court.

At one point, the trail briefly becomes a street sidewalk.

[Sidewalk]

There are some interesting houses along the way.

Judiciously placed rocks along the canal are reminders that Harvard Gulch is primarily a drainage ditch.

Near the Colorado Blvd end, the trail changes from pavement to a crushed gravel trail.

Here is where the Gulch emerges from underground behind the Y.

This is a there-and-back trail unless you want to return on nearby Yale or Iliff, where you can see the Chamberlin Observatory. From University to Colorado, it's 1.2 miles with an elevation gain of 56 feet.

Do you know who the parks, streets, and other places in your area are named after. Often, they're not people whose names would be recognized by everyone, but they often have interesting histories.

Harvard Gulch

Actually, the way you design a highline canal is start at the elevation at the beginning and set a course that closely follows the contour of elevation (you know, like the lines on a topographic map) but very, very (very!!) gradually descend from that elevation. The canal follows the "highline". That way, you don't  have to pump the water. Gravity does all the work for you.

There are other canals in the Denver area. Ward canal parallels Bear Creek through Bear Creek Canyon at Morrison.

Denver was built on the high desert so it's understandable that it is concerned with water conservation. Canals are not the only artificial waterways in the area. When Denverites talk about gulches, they mean something a little different from the standard definition. Usually "gulch" is defined as a narrow v-shaped valley with steep walls cut out by a creek or what used to be a creek. The later case would be a "dry gulch". In Denver, gulches are semi-artificial stream beds. Instead of following a contour of elevation, they run straight down the shoulder of valleys to a river. I say "semi-artificial" because the original stream bed might have been diverted by the gulch (as in the case of Bear Creek Gulch, which was modified by the McBrooms to bring water to their homestead), or the stream bed might be widened or lined with concrete to avoid erosion or increase the capacity of the stream. Many of the gulches in Denver play dual purpose. They usually have a trail and a string of parks paralleling them, but primarily they serve to carry runoff water to a natural stream. They are flood control.

Harvard Gulch, East and West are two gulches that Channel water down the South Platte River valley down to the river. I hiked the Harvard Gulch West several times from Harvey Park to Ruby Hill and the river. It's a nice hike.

I followed the Harvard Gulch East today down from University Boulevard to where it disappears underground at Rosedale/Kumming City. Harvard Gulch is named that because it parallels Harvard Avenue on both sides of the South Platte. In this area, most of the streets are named for colleges (as if Denver didn't have enough colleges of their own).  Here are a few photographs.

All the water features are Harvard Gulch. Only a few of the pictures look like the regularly defined "gulch" but Harvard Gulch is rather typical for gulches in the Denver area. The last few photographs are from the high hill in Kumming City Park. The last picture is from Harvard Gulch Park. I liked the view of the thunderstorm coming in. I almost didn't get home in time!