Mahogany Loop | Soapstone Prairie Natural Area Wellington, CO | 04/08/21 | 8.59 miles | 704' gain After returning from an awesome trip to Texas and New Mexico, I was back to the grind of work and bland winter hiking. I was ready for green grass and colorful flowers, and sick of the endless brown …
Dripping Springs Trail | Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument Las Cruces, NM | 04/04/21 | 3.99 miles | 1,187' gain We decided to take it easy on the last day of our trip; sleep in, hike a little, and then slowly make our way back down to El Paso for our 6pm flight. …
Continue reading Dripping Springs Trail | New Mexico | 04/04/21
After an incredible morning at Carlsbad Caverns, we set out on a 3.5-hour drive across New Mexico to our second National Park of the day; White Sands. Home of the world's largest gypsum dunefield, White Sands is also adjacent to the Holloman Air Force Base and the White Sands Missile Range. In 1945, the world's …
Continue reading White Sands National Park | New Mexico | 04/03/21
Bayou Gulch Perimeter Loop | Bayou Gulch Open Space Parker, CO | 03/20/21 | 3.9 miles | 229' gain Kyle and I planned a nice, easy loop around Bayou Gulch Open Space. This open space is mostly prairie, sandwiched between the encroaching city and enduring agriculture. We parked at the main trailhead and walked along …
Elk Meadow Loop | Elk Meadow Park Evergreen, CO | 03/17/21 | 5.10 miles | 666' gain Diana and I had planned a weekday summit of Bergen Peak (9,701') near Evergreen. Both of us had climbed Bergen before (though in summer) and while we knew the mountains had gotten quite a bit of snow recently, …
A fresh snowfall had closed down Kyle's jobsite and he unexpectedly had a Thursday off work. Unfortunately, those of us who work from home don't get snow days, but I was able to finish up my work in the morning and we headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for the afternoon. Neither of us …
Continue reading RMNP: February Mini-Hikes | Colorado | 02/18/21
Dauntless Mine | Pike National Forest Fairplay, CO | 01/31/21 | 6.90 miles | 1,398' gain W: Winter parking, S: Summer parking Okay, okay. The Dauntless Mine isn't really a destination, it's more a pile of rubble. And it certainly wasn't our chosen destination, that was 14er Mount Sherman. Sherman is a good 14er to …
Castlewood Canyon State Park Franktown, CO | 01/23/21 | 8.86 miles | 885' gain On the plains just south of Franktown, CO, hidden among the low hills and prairie grasses, a forested canyon awaits exploration. Invisible until you're right up on it, Castlewood Canyon is an unexpected sight, out of place in an area that …
Continue reading Castlewood Canyon State Park | Colorado | 01/23/21
Mount Falcon Park - Eastern Loop | Jefferson County Open Space Morrison, CO | 01/16/21 | 7.88 miles | 1,796' gain This was a very last minute hike. I texted Allie at 9am asking if she wanted to go hiking - well, now. She was on board so we quickly picked a hike, packed our …
Continue reading Mount Falcon Park – Eastern Loop | Colorado | 01/16/21
The Manitou Incline | Pike National Forest Manitou Springs, CO | 01/09/21 | 4.46 miles | 2,087' gain After being on our bucket lists for years, Allie and I finally got around to climbing The Manitou Incline (aka The Incline). The Incline is a steep - and I do mean steep - hike that follows …
