Colorado

Colorado Day Hikes: Lost Lake

Diana

There are many Lost Lakes in Colorado. Apparently. I didn’t realize this until I just googled “Lost Lake” in an attempt to verify the mileage of this hike and a whole bunch of options came up. Turns out there are at least 7 or 8 of them. Back in the day, people must not have been very good at keeping track of all the lakes. Anyway, on an unseasonably warm February day Pat and I headed out with our friends Kaylyn and Holden to snowshoe to the Lost Lake that’s just outside of Nederland, Colorado, a small town about an hour west of Boulder.

Colorado

Colorado State Parks: Roxborough

Diana

It’s taken me a long time to get around to writing about Colorado’s State Parks. This is partially because we’ve yet to purchase a State Parks pass so they aren’t common destinations for us. The second reason is because I’ve been holding off on these posts until I’ve done a decent amount of exploring at… Continue reading Colorado State Parks: Roxborough

Colorado, Travels

Colorado Bucket List: Isak Heartstone… and some other Breckenridge highlights

Diana

The first time I heard someone mention “the troll” I had absolutely no clue what they were talking about, but a little research quickly uncovered the mystery of this unusual hiking destination. This is one of those silly and cliché and popular bucket list items, but I still feel like it was worth it. Isak Heartstone is a giant troll built by Danish artist Thomas Dambo in 2018 for a Breckenridge art festival. He was then partially rebuilt and relocated (due to his popularity, he needed a new home) in summer 2019. Dambo specializes in making sculptures out of materials that would otherwise be discarded; there are many wooden trolls, as well as other sculptures, in various locations around the world.

Colorado, Travels

Colorado Day Hikes: Kenosha Pass

Diana

Welcome to the first post of our 2020 adventures! For us, the decade began with a winter hike along the Colorado Trail at Kenosha Pass. And while both Kenosha Pass and a hike on the Colorado Trail were things I’d been wanting to check off the list for a while, the biggest excitement of this… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Kenosha Pass

Colorado, Travels

Colorado Day Hikes: Spruce Mountain

Diana

How in the world does one meet people and make friends as an adult? It’s a question I grappled with when we first arrived in Denver. This wasn’t the first time I’d ever moved to a new state; but the big difference between previous moves and this one is that I was moving for school,… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Spruce Mountain

Colorado, Travels

Beer + hiking + fall colors: Upslope Backcountry Taproom 2019

Diana

There’s nothing more Colorado than hiking through beautiful fall colors with hundreds of other people and then drinking some beer in the backcountry. Well, okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. To truly do it Colorado style, you’d have to climb to the top of a 14er before drinking the beer. But they like to make… Continue reading Beer + hiking + fall colors: Upslope Backcountry Taproom 2019

Colorado, Travels

Colorado Day Hikes: Helms Lake

Diana

I feel very fortunate to be a member of the Colorado branch of Women Who Hike, as it’s the most active one. There are always people looking for hiking buddies and, because there are multiple ambassadors, hosted group hikes occur very frequently. I’ve been lucky enough to secure spots in a few of these hikes,… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Helms Lake

Colorado, Travels

Colorado Day Hikes: Square Top Lakes

Diana

Fall arrived late to Colorado in 2019, thanks to the fact that winter persisted in the mountains until early July. Typically, fall colors peak in the mountains in mid-September, but this year they didn’t arrive until the end of the month. And then it promptly snowed all over everything, putting an abrupt end to the… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Square Top Lakes

Travels

Fifty Lakes and a 12,000 Foot Summit – Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Wyoming

Diana

If you read the title of this post and assumed the “fifty lakes” is an exaggeration, let me begin by assuring you that it's not. If anything, it’s an underestimation. At one point, from where I was standing on the Medicine Bow Peak trail, I could see 32 lakes! At an elevation of 12,013 feet… Continue reading Fifty Lakes and a 12,000 Foot Summit – Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Wyoming

Colorado, Travels, US National Parks

Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Thunder Lake

Diana

Obtaining a backcountry permit for Rocky requires similar levels of intensity as many Colorado hiking feats, including summiting a 14er or finding parking at a trailhead or snagging a front country campsite anywhere during the summer. Permits become available each year on March 1 at 8:00am. So on March 1, 2019 at 7:59am, I was… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Thunder Lake