Vasquez and Stanley Loop: a quiet traverse along the Great Divide

July 25, 2021

Stranger Things

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.

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Mount Evans via Summit Lake

July 18, 2021

A quick note: Mount Evans is now Mount Blue Sky, named in honor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. That said, the following post refers to the summit by its name as of July 2021. Below, in the original text, I discuss why John Evans is an inappropriate namesake for Denver’s fourteener.

Arrival at Summit Lake

I pulled into the half-full lot at Summit Lake just before sunrise. The forecast called for a warm, cloudless, summer day. After a string of ambitious (and at times failed) fourteener attempts, I was excited for an easy win.

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Ute Trail up Aspen Mountain

June 4, 2021

Hiking Aspen Mountain

Aspen, Colorado needs no introduction. But here it is anyways: a former mining town turned real-estate powerhouse, home to four world-class ski areas. Folks can and do spend entire weeks in Aspen simply shopping and dining and relaxing by glitzy hotel pools. But the outdoor recreation opportunities here are just as jaw-dropping as the nightly hotel rates.

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Devil’s Garden Trail (Arches NP)

June 2, 2021

Arrival at the Devil’s Garden Trail

After entering the park at the crack of dawn, we drove in towards the very back of the main, paved roadway. The Devil’s Garden Trail is easily the biggest “main attraction” in the park. Its many spurs lead to 8 marquee arches, some more accessible than others. You can make this an easy two-mile out-and-back to Landscape Arch and call it a day. Or you can do a full 8-mile journey along the full loop + spurs, making this Arches one true “hiker’s hike”.

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Maroon Lake to Crater Lake (Maroon Bells)

May 31, 2021

Arrival at Maroon Lake

Maroon Lake sits tucked away in the Elk Mountains, just southwest of Aspen, Colorado. A paved roadway winds its way up the narrow valley from town to the trailhead, just above 9,500′ above sea level. The trailhead serves as a portal to the vast Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness—a favorite among backpackers and alpinists alike.

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Mount Sherman via the Southwest Ridge Trail

May 28, 2021

Arrival

I arrived via Four Mile Creek Road, shortly after dawn. I parked just after “horseshoe bend” and the last improved structure, in a large parking lot around 11,400′. Among Colorado’s Fourteeners, Mount Sherman is known for having perhaps the shortest vertical ascent. In summer, the “trailhead” begins at a locked gate in the road at 12,000′. But in late May, you need to park roughly 600 vertical feet further downhill.

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