a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
Two years ago, Savannah and I made plans to hike to Tuhare Lakes with our husbands. Two years ago was also an absolutely awful summer for wildfires in Colorado; forest closures, evacuation zones, and suffocating smoke thwarted many plans… including this one. The original plan was to reschedule for summer 2021 instead, but we just… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Tuhare Lakes
This past fall, my friend Savannah 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… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Pitkin Lake
While finally getting to see Independence Pass was lovely, the real reason for our weekend trip was because I had secured us an entrance permit for the Maroon Bells. These two iconic 14ers are the centerpiece of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area near Aspen, Colorado. This was our third trip to the Bells; the first… Continue reading Colorado Bucket List: fall colors at the Maroon Bells
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 Colorado Day Hikes: Lost Man Lake
Like so many other things since we’ve moved to Colorado, this was somewhat of a third time is the charm situation for us. The first time we drove Independence Pass we were en route to the Maroon Bells, but we’d left Denver after work and by the time we made it this far it was… Continue reading Colorado Bucket List: driving Independence Pass
On so many occasions since moving to Colorado, Pat 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 m) summit in the Tenmile Range.
The Spruce Creek Trail to Mohawk Lakes is one of the most popular hikes near Breckenridge, Colorado. Generally, we try to avoid extremely busy trails such as this one. But some hikes are pretty enough that you just have to suck it up and brace yourself for the crowds. We hoped that arriving by 7:45am… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Mohawk Lakes
Judging by the name, one might assume this hike would pass by Missouri Lakes en route to Fancy Pass before looping back to the trailhead… which is somewhat accurate. You do hike past the Missouri Lakes. And you do climb Fancy Pass. And also Missouri Pass. Plus, you hike to Fancy Lake and Treasure Vault… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Missouri Lakes-Fancy Pass Loop
Autumn in Colorado is never going to be the same as autumn on the east coast. We just don’t have as many trees that turn so many vibrant shades of color. But we do have cottonwoods and aspens and willows, all of which turn yellow… usually some time around mid-September. As we probably should have expected, given the utter chaos that was 2020, the status of Colorado’s fall colors was thrown into question when the mountains got a dusting of snow at the end of August. And then another storm rolled in immediately after Labor Day weekend and dumped up to 14 inches of snow. The cold and snow – coupled with the previous two months of drought – meant we were now at risk of the trees turning from green straight to brown. But all hope was not lost.
Sometimes, bucket list items are completely overhyped tourist traps. And sometimes, they’re more than worth the hype. The Four Pass Loop is one of the latter. We’ve seen a lot of incredible places and done a lot of amazing things since moving to Colorado, but this one is definitely near the top of my list.… Continue reading Colorado Bucket List: Backpacking the Four Pass Loop
Handstands Around the World 