Colorado 13ers
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: CCY Route
The CCY Route – named for the three sequential summits of Mount Chapin, Mount Chiquita, and Ypsilon Mountain – is a pretty but challenging hike in the lesser-traveled Mummy Range of Rocky. Completing this hike means you’ll bag three summits in one day. However, to do so you have to climb up and over and… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: Mount Guyot
August was rapidly approaching and, with it, a fairly intense backpacking trip at high elevation. Hence the two posts in a row about summiting mountains… and the two others that will be coming soon. This was my attempt to regain all the acclimation I lost when I had Covid and whip myself into shape for… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: South Arapaho Peak
Most people who visit Colorado in search of mountains go to Rocky Mountain National Park. Don’t get me wrong; Rocky is incredible and well worth the trip. But there are so many other equally stunning areas of the state. Exhibit A: the Indian Peaks Wilderness just south of Rocky. Over the last four years, I’ve… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: Cupid Peak and Grizzly Peak D
My goal for this summer is to summit more mountains. So far, my progress has been subpar. I always go into the summer with so many plans and an endless list of hikes to accomplish, and inevitably time gets away from me and suddenly it’s almost time to go back to work and I’ve crossed… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: James Peak
About a month after summiting three 13ers in one day, I found myself back in the very same area as I made my way toward the summit of the adjacent 13,294 foot (4052 m) mountain: James Peak. It’s one that I’d wanted to climb for a couple years now, although I don’t know why, out… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: Hagar Mountain
I skipped a hike. I don’t know how it happened, but I did. Back in early August 2021, Chelsea and I summitted 13er Hagar Mountain together. When I got home, I recorded it on my hike spreadsheet. I even started writing this post. But somehow, I never actually finished the write up or uploaded it… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: Mount Bancroft, Parry Peak, and Mount Eva
Sometimes, a hike ends up being more laid back than you thought it would be and goes more quickly than you expected. And sometimes, a hike is far more intense than you anticipated and it takes 8 hours to hike 7 miles (11.3 km). This hike was one of the latter. Chelsea and I set… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: Father Dyer Peak
On so many occasions since moving to Colorado, my fiance and I have been sitting at a lake gazing up at the surrounding mountains, pointed, and said “whoa look, there’s a person up there!” Well… this time I was the person up there, gazing down on half a dozen lakes from a 13,596 foot (4144… Continue reading
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Colorado 13er #3: Mount Audubon
The day began in a fairly typical fashion when it comes to hiking in Colorado: Mount Audubon is a 13er located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado. To reach the trailhead, one must enter through the gates of Brainard Lake Recreation Area, which is (a) gorgeous, (b) exceptionally popular and crowded, and (c) a… Continue reading
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Summiting our Second Colorado 13er: Mount Sniktau
I must admit, within about two minutes of beginning our hike up Mount Sniktau I was regretting our decision. I know summiting 13ers and 14ers requires some substantial climbing, but this hike gave a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘elevation gain.’ The trail basically goes straight up the mountain, gaining 1000 vertical feet (305… Continue reading
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Summiting our First Colorado 13er – Mount Flora
Because of the risk of altitude sickness at such high elevations, we were very careful with our hiking selections during our first summer in Colorado. We worked our way up to almost 12,000 feet (3650 m) over the first few weekends before deciding we felt acclimated enough to attempt a summit hike without getting sick.… Continue reading