Continue reading “Interactive Schematic: the Colorado Rockies”
Interactive Schematic: the Colorado Rockies
The Manitou Incline and Barr Trail to Barr Camp
Jan 3, 2025
Arrival
I parked in one of the large, paid lots at the base of Manitou Springs. It was 7:45am on a Friday in early January, and the lot was basically deserted. From the lot, I caught a glimpse of a bullet-straight cut through the pines of the nearby foothills below Pikes Peak. That cut was my intended hike that morning: the Manitou Incline.
Continue reading “The Manitou Incline and Barr Trail to Barr Camp”Mystic Island Lake
October 20, 2024
Back to Sylvan Lake SP
It was late October, and we were nearing the end of “dry” hiking season in the Colorado Rockies. The aspens were bare. The bushes had turned orange and brown. And a recent snowfall dusted talus fields on the highest summits.
Continue reading “Mystic Island Lake”Booth Lake and Booth Falls
October 13, 2024
Arrival at Vail Village
I spend a lot of time in Eagle County, Colorado. So it was only a matter of time before I tried the much-hyped Booth Falls trail. The timing was more or less an accident. I’d overheard that this weekend in October was the last for the “hiker express” bus between Vail Village and the Booth Lake/Booth Falls trailhead.
Continue reading “Booth Lake and Booth Falls”Horsetooth Rock Trail
August 18, 2024
Arrival
On my bucket list of “Colorado things” the line item “Check out Fort Collins” seemed to languish near the bottom of the list. And I knew that wasn’t really fair because I’d only ever heard wonderful things about “FoCo”. I’m neither a college student, nor particularly into beer. But it still seemed worth checking out. Plus it was an excuse to stop at the new Colorado Buc-ee’s.
Continue reading “Horsetooth Rock Trail”Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route
August 16, 2024
Arrival
I left my apartment in Denver around 12:30 am, passing bars and sidewalks still populated with the Thursday night crew. I headed northeast, skirting past Boulder before heading into the foothills towards Rocky Mountain National Park. That’s when the rain started. “Uh oh” I thought … “already this is not going to plan.”
Continue reading “Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route”Pacific Peak’s East Ridge
July 28, 2024
Arrival
Around 6:30 am in late July I arrived at the trailhead of Quandary Peak. This is generally a really stupid idea, as Quandary requires a shuttle reservation and a tolerance for throngs of hikers. But my destination was a trailhead at the end of McCullough Gulch Road that apparently still allowed free parking. And so I trundled along the dirt road, past the crowds, and towards the opposite end of the gulch.
Continue reading “Pacific Peak’s East Ridge”Turquoise Lakes (Holy Cross Wilderness)
July 20, 2024
Once More unto the Beav
There are a lot of fantastic hikes in Eagle County, Colorado. I mention this because, frankly, this hike is probably a ways down the list. Don’t get me wrong … Upper Turquoise Lake is a beautiful destination for someone in the mood for a moderately-sloped sixteen mile out-and-back. But that in itself makes it quite a niche experience.
Continue reading “Turquoise Lakes (Holy Cross Wilderness)”Father Dyer Peak and Crystal Peak
July 13, 2024
Arrival
I arrived at the Upper Spruce Creek trailhead, a short winding ways above the community of Blue River. Today’s targets were two moderately popular summits of the Ten Mile Range: Father Dyer Peak and Crystal Peak.
Continue reading “Father Dyer Peak and Crystal Peak”New York Mountain
July 6, 2024
Arrival
I drove along the smooth dirt roads of Sylvan Lake SP, a thousand-acre jewel of a park wedged into the mountains between the Vail and Aspen area. I followed Road 415 along East Brush Creek towards the tiny town of Fulford. Just outside the small townsite, I parked at the Nolan Lake trailhead.
Continue reading “New York Mountain”