Tag: camping

Colorado Trail, Day 17: Moose, Mink and a Milestone…Oh My!

· 4 Comments ·

Our tent site has the pleasant sound of a creek rushing nearby, and, with the long day of hiking yesterday and the crazy thunderstorm, we both have the best night of sleep so far on the trail. That’s probably a blessing because we have a challenging day in store starting with a big ascent over Hope Pass followed by a long descent and then a final climb to Lake Ann. It’s our first full day in the Collegiates, and we are anxious to see if they are any more challenging than what we have experienced so far. (more…)

Colorado Trail, Day 16: Westward Ho!

· 2 Comments ·

After a very enjoyable zero day in the Twin Lakes/Leadville area, with our time split between watching the World Cup Final (France beat Croatia 4–2), taking care of laundry, lunch in Leadville and celebrating Alison’s birthday, it’s time to hit the trail again and begin the Collegiate West segment ending in Salida. Thru hikers on the CT have the option of taking the original Collegiate East route or the more rugged Collegiate West route shared by thru hikers on the CDT. Some folks even string the two together to form the Collegiate Loop. We don’t have time for that, so we’ve chosen to tackle the Collegiate West, as we hear it is more scenic, and we feel up for the challenge, especially after a pleasant rest day. (more…)

Colorado Trail, Day 15: Ready, Rogue One!

· 6 Comments ·

I wake up in our lumpy, rogue campsite behind the Visitor Center in Twin Lakes just before 6 am to the sounds of the magpies squawking, the hummingbirds whizzing by our tent and a car pulling up on the other side of the willow bushes that separate us from the Twin Lakes Forest Service parking lot. I listen to all the sounds around us from the comfort of my cozy sleeping bag for several minutes before I remember that today is my birthday! (more…)

Colorado Trail, Day 6: Trail Angels

· 6 Comments ·

Today is an exciting day for us! We have come to our first resupply, and our new friends, Margaret and Larry, whom we only met 6 days ago for the first time, are meeting us at Kenosha Pass to pass on some much-anticipated goodies and join us on the trail for a short bit. So we are up and at ‘em early once again. (more…)

Exploring Olympic National Park

· 2 Comments ·

_MG_3580_1_2

For our last backpacking trip of the summer, we head west to Washington’s enchanting Olympic peninsula to spend a few days exploring the rain forests, beaches and high alpine scenery of Olympic National Park. We’re probably crazy for wanting to do any more hiking after all the miles we’ve put in already this summer, but this time we really have no choice in the matter. (more…)

Backpacking Colorado’s Chicago Basin, Day 3: Damp but Not Done Yet!

· 6 Comments ·

Backpacking Colorado's Chicago Basin_Day 3

It rains all night long, and it is still sprinkling at 6 am when we finally begin to stir. We pack up all that we can inside the tent and then head back to our dryish spot under the trees for breakfast. The tent is soaked! Once we are all packed up, we head down to the river to take a few shots of our lovely watering hole before hitting the trail to catch the train back to Durango. The train stops at Needleton on the way back to Durango at 3:55, so we take our time heading back down the trail trying to notice things that we might have missed when we were coming in the opposite direction. (more…)

Backpacking Colorado’s Chicago Basin, Day 2: Billy Goat’s Gruff

· 2 Comments ·

Backpacking Colorado's Chicago Basin_Day 2

Matt and I are eating breakfast admiring the view from our spectacular campsite when we suddenly hear the gallop of hoof steps fast approaching. I turn just in time to see a giant male goat charging at full speed right at me! I stand up just in the nick of time, and it barely swerves around our tent. Another goat is in hot pursuit, and the two gallop a mere five feet past us and out to the next rock ledge. Almost getting stampeded by two mountain goats sure is a memorable way to get your heart going in the morning! (more…)