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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 Hikes: South Zapata Lake
Getting Covid at the beginning of July was not part of our summer plans. Especially after successfully dodging it for 2.5 years. I think we both (naively) thought we were among the lucky ones who wouldn’t ever get infected. But it turns out very little can prevent one from getting Covid when a coworker comes… Continue reading
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Montana Summits: Storm Castle Peak
Never ones to waste a day of sunshine, my mom and I decided to squeeze in one last hike before the end of our trip. So we headed down Gallatin Canyon to climb Storm Castle, a 7165 foot (2184 m) summit. This is a fairly popular hike, although somewhat less so than other nearby hikes,… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part VI: Hebgen, Cliff, Wade, and Earthquake Lakes
August 17, 1959. It was a clear, moonlit night in southwest Montana’s Madison River Canyon. Nearly three hundred tourists slept peacefully in various campgrounds and cabins. Nineteen terrifying seconds later, the canyon – and their lives – had been changed forever. At 11:37pm, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake – the largest earthquake ever recorded in Montana… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part V: mining history at Virginia City and Nevada City
On May 26, 1863, six prospectors discovered gold in a region of southwest Montana known as Alder Gulch. Almost overnight, the region went from a secret the men had intended to keep to themselves to a booming mining hub. Settlers rushed to the region, lured by the veins of quartz that contained large amounts of… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part IV: Skalkaho Highway and Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway
When one says the word “highway,” one generally envisions a paved road with two or more lanes and fast speed limits. Montana Highway 38 – the Skalkaho Highway – meets none of these criteria. The present-day path of the Skalkaho Highway is a former trail used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years by Native… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part III: getting lost in the Bitterroot National Forest
I don’t do well when I don’t have lodging reservations for each night of a trip. It makes me anxious. But Lake Como Campground in the Bitterroot National Forest doesn’t take reservations, and we really wanted to stay there, so we were forced to go without and hope for the best. To give ourselves the… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part II: a somber visit to Big Hole National Battlefield
On August 7, 1877, a band of approximately 750 Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) arrived in the Big Hole Valley, known to them as Iskumtselalik Pah or ‘Place of the Buffalo Calf.’ They were fleeing the US Army. For over 20 years, the US government had been stealing their land, which once stretched from western Montana to… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part I: Philipsburg, Anaconda, and the Pintler Scenic Highway
Inspired by our previous Montana roadtrip, my mom and I planned another one this past summer. Our intended theme was a little less history and a little more scenery. The actual theme ended up being ‘where can we go next to avoid the rain?’ But despite the less-than-stellar weather, we mostly made it work. Day… 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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Eight Hours in Laramie, Wyoming
While we were camped at Vedauwoo (if you missed last week’s post, you can read all about Vedauwoo here), we took a few hours out of our day to visit nearby Laramie, Wyoming. Laramie is the third largest city in Wyoming and home to some interesting museums and quite a lot of frontier history. We… Continue reading
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Among the Rocks – Vedauwoo Recreation Area, Wyoming
Vedauwoo [vee-dah-voo]: anglicized version of the Arapaho word bi-ito’o’wu, meaning ‘earth born’ Vedauwoo Recreation Area encompasses a large collection of 1.4 billion-year-old granite outcrops in the foothills of the Laramie Mountains in southern Wyoming. Evidence of human habitation of the area dates back at least 8000 years; it is the native land of the Arapaho,… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Goose Creek Trail
Goose Creek Trail is a 9.4 mile (15.1 km) one-way route in the Lost Creek Wilderness. It is most commonly hiked as part of a popular backpacking loop, as it connects to other trails in the area. Since my friend and I were just out for the day, we only planned to hike about half… Continue reading
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Rafting the Arkansas River through Browns Canyon National Monument
The final day of our Memorial weekend trip was upon us, which meant one thing: whitewater rafting time! We were signed up for a full-day trip on the Arkansas River with Noah’s Ark Rafting. I booked this trip back in January, at which time I debated between Saturday or Sunday and joked that, no matter… Continue reading
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Colorado Destinations: Chalk Creek Canyon, St. Elmo, & Salida
I’m trying something new this year, which is to do a little less research related to our travels. I’m still doing some; I like to know at least vaguely what’s going on and be educated enough to ensure we aren’t going to find ourselves in a situation we’re not prepared for. But I’m learning it’s… Continue reading
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Colorado Destinations: Cottonwood Pass & Buena Vista
Memorial Day weekend in Colorado is a total crapshoot, weather wise. Some years it’s cold and rainy. Some years it’s warm and sunny. Some years it snows. And some years it does all of these things and then some… which, to be honest, is kind of what happened this year. But I digress. Despite the… Continue reading
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History and hiking in the Georgetown-Silver Plume Historic District, Colorado
Like most Colorado mountain towns, Georgetown and Silver Plume were founded by miners. Georgetown was named after prospector George Griffith, who struck gold in the area in 1859. While this triggered a small gold rush, the gold mining operations in the region were only mildly successful due to the relative lack of gold in the… Continue reading
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Colorado Summits: Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain
Let’s begin by answering the obvious question: it’s pronounced mess-tah-HAY. Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain is named for a Cheyenne woman who was also known as Owl Woman. Owl Woman was married to William Bent, a white settler, trader, and co-founder of Bents Old Fort trading post on the plains of Colorado in the 1800s. Their marriage was… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Chicago Lakes (the winter version)
I work with the best people, including quite a few who like to hike. Which means I have lots of hiking buddies! This past spring, we spent a lovely spring Saturday hiking to Chicago Lakes with one of them. Actually, while it was starting to feel like spring on the plains, it was still very… Continue reading
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