a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
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 those of us who live here know that there are other equally stunning areas of the state. Exhibit A: the Indian Peaks Wilderness just south of Rocky.… Continue reading Colorado 13ers: South Arapaho Peak
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 Savannah, her husband Blake, and I arrived at Beaver Reservoir around… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Lower Coney Lake
In general, my day hikes average probably 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… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: High Lonesome Loop
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 Denver, and with good… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Isabelle Glacier
Since moving to Colorado, Pat and I have managed to go cross-country skiing about once a year. I wish we could go more often, but we don't have our own gear (yet). Fortunately, there's a place not too far away that rents gear for a decent price, and there are some trails in the mountains… Continue reading Diana & Pat’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day of skiing
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
You know how sometimes you set out for a hike and get a bit too ambitious and then spend the last few miles regretting your ambition? This was one of those hikes. It was a 70°F/21°C day in Denver in early March, which meant it was also an unseasonably warm day up in the mountains.… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Lake Isabelle
I saw something on social media a while back about the cycle of summiting mountains, which could very easily be applied to many hikes/climbs/other challenging adventures. It was something along the lines of "Summit mountain → Arrive back home exhausted and swear you’ll never put yourself through that kind of torture again → Recover from… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Cascade Creek Trail to Lone Eagle Peak
Within the first few weeks of our arrival in Colorado, we learned that if you want to find a place to park at any of the trailheads within about a 2-hour radius of Denver, you have to be willing to get there early. And by early, I mean 6:00am. It’s a multifactorial issue. Coloradans are… Continue reading Six of one, a dozen of the other – Brainard Lake Recreation Area, Colorado
Handstands Around the World 