CO hikes
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Upper Glacier Gorge Lakes
You know how sometimes you’ve been wanting to do something for so long and you’ve built it up in your head, and then you finally get to do it and it’s not as amazing as you were hoping, and you end up being really disappointed? This was not that. It was, however, something I’d been… Continue reading
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Colorado 14ers #6 and #7: Mount Eolus and North Eolus
It was 4:15pm when my friend K and I trudged back into our campsite after summiting Sunlight and Windom Peaks. We’d been gone for 10 hours, during which time we’d hiked just 6.6 miles (10.6 km) but gained – and then lost – 3750 feet (1145 m) of elevation. To say we were exhausted was… Continue reading
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Colorado 14ers #4 and #5: Sunlight Peak and Windom Peak
I’ll begin by saying this: there are roughly fifty 14ers in Colorado that are easier to summit than Sunlight Peak. Choosing it as my fourth 14er was maybe a little ambitious. I did it. But it was substantially harder than anything I’ve hiked or summited before. I definitely don’t recommend these peaks for anyone who… Continue reading
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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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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Chasm Lake… again
Chasm Lake is, hands down, the best hike in Rocky. I’ve hiked a lot of trails in the park over the past four years, and I keep waiting for another hike to come along and dethrone this one, but that has yet to happen. I’m fairly certain it never will. This past August was actually… Continue reading
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Colorado 14ers #3: Mount Blue Sky
I look up at Mount Blue Sky every single day. It’s the most prominent mountain on the horizon from where we live in the Denver area. Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Chihuahua Lake
As you know if you’ve followed me for any length of time, alpine lakes are one of my favorite things. I hike to a lot of them. So when I say that Chihuahua Lake is one of the prettiest lakes I’ve seen in Colorado, I have a pretty good basis for comparison. Now that I’ve… 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 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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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 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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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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Colorado Hikes: Butler Gulch
Colorado has turned me into a winter person. I swore that would never happen, but it appears I was wrong. As a kid, I never liked winter. It’s cold and dark and lasts way too long. Then I moved out east and my first winter there was marked by 3 giant snowstorms that collectively dropped… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Lower Coney Lake
Lower Coney Lake, located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado, is beautiful. Getting there was awful. This was partly due to weather and partly due to the fact that, all in all, this was not my best day on the trail. My friend, her husband, and I arrived at Beaver Reservoir around 7:30am, and… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Cub Lake
The Cub Lake trail is one we neglected for years. It wasn’t intentional. It just never seemed to be at the top of my list. In the summer, I prefer to take advantage of the nice weather and hike in the tundra. In the spring, this trail is a muddy mess. And shortly after I… Continue reading