a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
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 near Denver, I have a pretty good basis for comparison. So now that… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Chihuahua Lake
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
Colorado has turned me into a winter person. I swore that would never happen, but it appears I was wrong. Growing up in Montana, I never liked winter. It's cold and dark and lasts way too long. Then I moved to Washington for college and, in addition to cold and dark, winters there are humid… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Butler Gulch
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 to WordPress… a fact I didn’t realize until I was sorting through some photos last week. So this is a little (okay, a lot) out of chronological order, but here we go… Hagar Mountain. Pronounced 'hay-gar' or 'hay-gur' I assume, but I actually have no idea.
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
I first hiked Herman Gulch back in September 2018, a challenging but beautiful outing in the midst of peak fall color season. More recently, Pat, 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 time… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Herman Gulch
One really nice benefit to living in Denver is that my mom and I are now only a 70-minute, $100 flight away from each other. As a result, we’re able to see each other a lot more often than when I lived across the country. She does plenty of exploring on her own in Montana… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Silver Dollar and Murray Lakes
Do a google search for “best hikes in Colorado” and you’ll inevitably stumble across Ice Lake within the first 5 minutes of your search. And let me tell you, there’s a reason this hike appears on the majority of such lists. It’s unbelievable! It’s also popular and crowded (let’s be real, most everything in Colorado… Continue reading Colorado Bucket List: Hiking to Ice Lake
Alternate post title: Diana’s absolute favorite hike in Colorado! In a world of Instagram and photo filters and photo editing software, it’s common to see a photo of something that looks too amazing to be real. So it’s reasonable to be skeptical. I definitely was the first time I ever saw a photo of Columbine… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Columbine Lake
Handstands Around the World 