The title of this post was supposed to be “Colorado 14ers #2: Mount Sneffels” but, alas, the weather had a different set of plans. In fact, this post and the next two will be a three-part saga of a road trip that didn’t entirely go according to plan. The weather left a lot to be… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Blue Lakes Basin
2020 has been a giant dumpster fire. On that, I think we can all agree. Pretty much everything that's happened this year has been unprecedented. I can only hope that better things are on the horizon for 2021. With all the lockdowns and travel restrictions, I've been more grateful than ever to live in Colorado.… Continue reading A Year in Review: 2020
A couple years back, I started what was intended to be an ongoing series of “favorites” posts. I published favorite national parks lists for both the US and Canada... and then apparently I completely forgot about the whole thing. Recently, I was inspired to make another favorites list by Rebecca of Rebecca Goes Rendezvous (who… Continue reading Diana’s Favorites: Sunrises and Sunsets
The day began in a fairly typical fashion when it comes to hiking in Colorado: Wake up stupidly early (4:00am) so we can find a parking spot at the trailheadArrive at said trailhead very early and claim said parking spotGear up and start hiking Mount Audubon is a 13er located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness… Continue reading Colorado 13er #3: Mount Audubon
This one is being filed in the category of hikes I will probably never do again. It was pretty. It was definitely really pretty once we emerged from the trees. But it was also brutally steep and, frankly, there are less challenging hikes that will get you above tree line. There are two ways to… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Hope Pass
As is often the case, I mistakenly assumed that because this hike was only 5.5 miles (8.9 km) round trip, it probably wasn’t going to be that great. And, as is often the case, I was wrong. Timberline Lake is beautiful! In mid-July 2020, Pat and I headed off for a weekend camping adventure near… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Timberline Lake
The morning after summiting Mount Ida, we packed up our campsite and headed back to Denver… but not before squeezing in one more hike. The hike to Strawberry Lake is only 3.7 miles (6 km) round-trip and the trailhead is a 2.5 hour drive from Denver, which isn’t a very ideal driving/hiking ratio for a… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Strawberry Lake
Summiting Mount Ida turned out to be a ‘third time is the charm’ type situation for us. We wanted to climb it our first summer in Denver, but forest fire smoke severely limited visibility for much of the summer and we weren’t about to walk along the Continental Divide and not be able to see… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Mount Ida
Even as we consistently check hikes off our to-do list, it never seems to get any shorter. And yes, we’re extremely fortunate to have so many options to choose from. I’m definitely not complaining. But it can also sometimes be overwhelming to decide which trail to tackle each weekend. Case in point: this hike. Hiking… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Beartracks Lake
I think most lists of “best hikes near Denver” include Chicago Lakes. It’s not an easy hike – in terms of length or elevation gain – but it’s certainly worth the effort. Which also makes it extremely popular. We arrived at 6:30am on a Saturday morning to find the ample parking lot already approaching full.… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Chicago Lakes
