great day hikes Archives - Page 5 of 7

October 23, 2021December 25, 2023

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.

October 16, 2021October 16, 2021

La Plata Peak

June 20, 2021

Arrival

I left Aspen at 4 am for a winding, 1-hour drive over Independence Pass to La Plata. Deer swarmed the dark, winding roadway on either side of the pass, along with a few goats. I took care to avoid these furry car magnets. Eventually, I arrived at the paved trailhead for La Plata Peak.

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021

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.

September 19, 2021March 10, 2022

Delicate Arch at Sunrise (Arches NP)

June 3, 2021

Pre-dawn Arrival

They say the early bird catches the worm. But in Moab, Utah, the early bird catches brisk hikes to incredible sunrises—and way fewer crowds. And so I found myself breezing past a shuttered entrance booth at Arches National Park around 4:30 in the morning.

September 18, 2021March 10, 2022

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”.

September 12, 2021March 10, 2022

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.

August 13, 2021March 10, 2022

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.

August 11, 2021March 10, 2022

Mount Elbert via the East Ridge Trail

May 15, 2021

Mount Elbert’s East Ridge Trail

Mount Elbert sits in the Northern Sawatch Range, just southwest of Leadville, Colorado. At 14,433′ its summit forms the highest point in Colorado and all of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, only one summit in the lower 48 stands taller (Mount Whitney).

August 2, 2021June 27, 2023

Rattlesnake Arches (McInnis Canyons)

May 2, 2021

Arrival at Pollock Bench

I found myself back in Grand Junction on a Sunday in May for round two of my COVID-19 vaccination. The next morning I’d receive a jab at a local pharmacy before driving back to Denver and the Front Range. Four weeks prior, vaccine appointments were impossible to book in the Front Range and high country, but Mesa County had plenty of free slots. Sadly, as of this writing (August 2021), Mesa County remains largely unvaccinated, with rapidly rising case counts.

But on this Sunday my goals involved something entirely different: a long hike through desert canyons to see the remote and beautiful Rattlesnake Arches.

August 1, 2021August 1, 2021

Mount Bierstadt in Spring (1.8 times)

April 24, 2021

Guanella Pass Road

We arrived in the pre-dawn hours at Guanella Pass campground. Or more accurately, I arrived. My hiking buddy that day decided to camp out in his truck at 11,000′ on this cold, snowy spring morning. I tapped the frosted, translucent glass a couple of times to let him know I arrived. And a moment later, an incandescent glow filled the cab, letting me know he was in fact conscious.