Mountaintop adventures
August 27, 2021
During my recent visit to Mesa Verde National Park, I took a ranger-guided tour of Square Tower House. The “house” consists of a set of stone dwellings built into a cliffside by the ancestral Puebloans. The park contains roughly half a dozen major dwelling sites periodically open to the public in some fashion. Square Tower in particular features the tallest ancient structure in the park.
Continue reading “Square Tower House (Mesa Verde NP)”
August 26, 2021
Colorado boasts an impressive roster of four national parks. Everyone knows Rocky Mountain National Park. It ranks among the most popular in the country, with roughly 4.4 million visitors in 2021 alone. But way over in the southwest corner of the state lies Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde ranks as Colorado’s least-visited, but arguably one of the nation’s most unique.
Continue reading “Mesa Verde National Park”
August 25, 2021
My day began in the tiny town of Ouray. The former mining town sits nestled in a dramatic box canyon deep in the heart of Colorado’s San Juan mountains. The adorable city provides a point of departure for myriad outdoor pursuits, including hiking and ice climbing.
Continue reading “Ouray Via Ferrata”
August 24, 2021
My Sneffels adventure came towards the end of my first year bagging fourteener peaks in Colorado. That was no accident! Sneffels sits, tucked away in the San Juan mountains of Southwestern Colorado. This large, rugged range lies many hours from major metros like Denver. Some of the trickiest fourteeners reside in the San Juans.
Continue reading “Mount Sneffels via the South Slopes”
August 23, 2021
Most folks know Vail primarily as a skiing and winter destination. And few would argue that this storied resort truly shines brightest when dressed in powder. But the “mothership” of America’s largest skiing company offers myriad recreational opportunities year round.
Continue reading “Hiking Vail (Northeast Rim / Ridge Trails)”
August 14, 2021
I arrived the night before in the small town of Alma, Colorado. Alma claims to be the highest incorporated town in the United States. Indisputably, at roughly 10,500′ Alma has the highest altitude post office in the US. I slept that night at the Treeline Hostel, which bills itself as “the highest elevation accommodation in North America” … see a pattern here?
Continue reading “The DeCaLiBron”
August 7, 2021
Mount Yale lies in the heart of Colorado’s Sawatch Range. The Sawatch is the apex of the Rocky Mountains, home to the lion’s share of fourteeners in Colorado, the Rockies, and the Lower 48 in general.
Continue reading “Mount Yale via Denny Creek”
July 26, 2021
When an avid hiker friend informed me she’d be coming through the Front Range this summer, I knew I needed to find a solid hike to show off the Colorado Rockies. I wanted to find something a bit more expansive than the Flat Irons; but also an experience that avoided I-70 traffic and hours of driving.
Continue reading “Isabelle Glacier (Indian Peaks Wilderness)”
July 25, 2021
We arrived shortly before 5 am near the somewhat creepy Henderson Mine. To reach this hike’s trailhead, you leave I-70 along US-40 toward Berthoud Pass. At the first big hairpin turn, before US-40 begins to climb towards the pass, you turn off onto Henderson Mine Road. Two miles down this road, you reach the Jones Pass Trailhead.
Continue reading “Vasquez and Stanley Loop: a quiet traverse along the Great Divide”
July 10, 2021
They say getting there is half the fun. Well, for many high trailheads in Colorado, getting there is half the struggle. Approaching the “summer trailhead” for Grays and Torreys proved no exception.
Continue reading “Grays and Torreys: the Great Divide”