great day hikes Archives - Page 5 of 7

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.

July 30, 2021August 1, 2021

Royal Arch Trail (Boulder)

March 27, 2021

Chautauqua Park

In late March, having lived in Denver for roughly four months, I decided to take my first hike as a bona fide Colorado resident. Until now my weekends had been filled with skiing in the high country and biking around the metro area. But on this warm day in late March, a hike in the foothills seemed in order.

July 19, 2021March 10, 2022

Bumpass Hell via Cold Boiling Lake

October 24, 2020

Cold Boiling Lake

Bumpass Hell forms the largest geothermal area in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The thermal features sit just southeast of Lake Helen, via a short, flat trail. But I decided to access the very popular (and crowded) area via a longer hike with more vertical, from Cold Boiling Lake.

July 12, 2021September 22, 2021

Cinder Cone Nature Trail (Lassen NP)

October 24, 2020

Arrival at Butte Lake

California lays claim to nine national parks, as of 2021—more than any other state. Some parks attract millions of annual visitors: Yosemite and Joshua Tree clocked 4.4mn and 3.0mn visitors, as of 2019. Luckily for NorCal adventurers, Lassen Volcanic flies comparatively under the radar. The park has seen just over half a million visitors, annually, over the past few years.

July 11, 2021July 12, 2021

Mount Tallac Trail (Lake Tahoe)

September 26, 2020

Dawn on the Slopes of Mount Tallac

I arrived at the trailhead shortly before sunrise. It was hot and dry as ever down in the Bay Area. But near the shores of Lake Tahoe was a refreshingly different story. The days were growing shorter. And 6000 vertical feet above sea level, with a chill in the air, things finally felt like a proper Fall.

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021

South Sister

September 4, 2020

An Early Start

The day began well before dawn at the South Sister trailhead. It’s always smart to start a hike as early as feasible. But today this was doubly the case since it was Labor Day weekend and the forecast called for soaring temps by midday. Sure enough the parking lot was already starting to fill around 4:30 am.

September 24, 2020September 22, 2021

High peaks trail (Pinnacles National Park)

California condors soar over sandcastle rock formations in Pinnacles National Park.

June 30, 2020, Pinnacles National Park

Google Fail

The day began long before sunrise, with a 2-hour drive to Pinnacles National Park. This outing would mark my second national park visit in California in only a few weeks. I aimed to arrive at Pinnacles around sunrise, so I could enjoy a multi-hour hike before the temperatures in central California inevitably climbed into the high 90s.