CO hikes
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: winter at Sky Pond… again
Is it possible to hike a trail too many times? In some cases, the answer to that question might be ‘yes.’ When the hike in question is Sky Pond, though, and it’s wintertime, I would argue that the answer is very clearly ‘no.’ Back in December 2020, we hiked to Sky Pond with our friends.… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Wind River/Glacier Basin Loop
Normally I’m excited for snowy mountains and frozen alpine lakes and snowshoeing, but this past winter I had trouble locating my enthusiasm. It might have been because winter took its sweet time arriving in Colorado. The mountains ended the year with snowpack that was far below normal, and it didn’t actually snow on the plains… 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 Hikes: Harmonica Arch
I debated with myself about whether to share this hike with all of you, because this wasn’t exactly a typical excursion. Reaching Harmonica Arch required quite a lot of navigation. We climbed very steep hills… and then had to hike back down them, which was extremely slippery. We walked across large rock slabs that were… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Lumpy Ridge Loop
Calling anything “lumpy” is… well, usually not intended as a compliment. But in this case it’s an apt description of the haphazard rock ridge rising above the northern edge of Estes Park, Colorado. Nestled within a low spot amongst the rocks is Gem Lake, the first hike my fiance and I did when we moved… 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 Hikes: Pitkin Lake
This past fall, my friend diagnosed herself with FOMOOL: fear of missing out on leaves. Peak fall colors season is generally sometime in the last couple weeks of September, although it varies throughout the state and depends on the weather. A wet summer followed by a dry fall is apparently the ideal combination… which is… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Lost Man Lake
Last week, I wrote all about our mid-September drive over Independence Pass and mentioned our stop at Lost Man Trailhead to hike to three alpine lakes. This week, it’s time to talk about this hike in more detail and share photos (lots of photos… maybe too many photos) of the lakes and the views and… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: High Lonesome Loop
In general, my day hikes average 8-10 miles (12.8-16 km) in length. Too much more than that and the exhaustion begins to outweigh the enjoyment. But every once in a while, I stumble across a longer hike that sounds like it’s worth the extra distance. With a name like High Lonesome, I was hopeful this… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: North Inlet Trail to Lakes Nokoni and Nanita
Sometimes, you just need a break from reality for a few days. And what better way to escape than with a weekend in the mountains? My fiance, our friend K, and I arrived at the trailhead around 8:00am Saturday morning and right off the bat, things got interesting. We were at the car, making final… 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 Hikes: Isabelle Glacier
Do you ever have one of those hikes where the scenery just blows you away? There’s so much beauty in Colorado that the bar for that kind of awe has been set pretty damn high. But Isabelle Glacier exceeded that bar. Lake Isabelle is one of the most popular hikes near the Front Range, and… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: East Inlet Trail to Lake Verna and Spirit Lake
A while back, my mom and I were signed up for a summer solstice group backpacking trip on East Inlet Trail, with Lake Verna and Spirit Lake as our ultimate destination. Unfortunately, the first day of summer was marked by a massive snowstorm that forced a last-minute change of plans. Fast forward a couple years,… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Herman Gulch
I first hiked Herman Gulch a few years back, a challenging but beautiful outing in the midst of peak fall color season. More recently, my fiancé, my mom, and I completed this hike in the summer and instead of yellow leaves we found ourselves surrounded by wildflowers. So I decided now would be a good… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Silver Dollar and Murray Lakes
My mom and I left home just before sunrise and headed up to Guanella Pass and the Silver Dollar Trailhead, looking forward to a lovely hike to multiple lakes. There are two starting points for this hike… the lower trailhead and the upper trailhead. Had we planned ahead better and driven the Subaru we could’ve… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Flattop Mountain and Hallett Peak
It was a long time coming, but this was the year my friend C and I finally stood atop Hallett Peak! I don’t remember when we originally decided we wanted to do this hike, but it was a while ago. The first time we made plans for it, C had to cancel. The second time,… Continue reading
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Colorado 14ers #2: Mount Bierstadt
I’ve been hiking since I was too young to remember, and in that time I’ve accumulated quite a few hiking accomplishments. But one thing I’d never done in all 30+ years of my life was go hiking alone. In general, I don’t consider myself an anxious person. Sure, I have my moments of anxiety when… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Sandbeach Lake
In Colorado, one can find sand in the most unexpected and/or unusual locations. Much like the aftermath of a day at the beach. Case in point: Great Sand Dunes National Park. Case in point #2: Sandbeach Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Continue reading
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Canyon Country – Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado
By far, most people who visit Dinosaur go to the Utah half of the monument. It’s the side with the dinosaur bones for which the monument is most famous. It’s also the more accessible part of the monument, with developed campgrounds and easy river access. However… what the Colorado half lacks in dinosaur fossils, it… Continue reading