Big Dominguez Canyon | Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Whitewater, CO | 04/30/21 | 5.71 miles | 215' gain Shortly after our Texas/New Mexico trip, my friend Allie moved to western Colorado for her new job in Telluride. While it sucked that she was now six hours away, a fun bonus was that I could come …
Red Mountain Loop | Red Mountain Open Space Wellington, CO | 04/18/21 | 7.78 miles | 899' gain I've come to enjoy my winter hikes at Red Mountain Open Space. This would be my third visit and the last one needed to have hiked every trail. Most people probably wouldn't think to head to the …
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
Colorado Chelsea 