Twig Adventures

Month: July 2020

#9 & #10 of 20: Mt. Bierstadt 14,060′ & Mt. Evans/Blue Sky 14,264′

14ers, Short Hikes

06:00-14:00, Friday, 7-31-20CO 14ers: 14 & 15 of 53Distance RT: 10.25 milesElevation gain/loss: 3,900′Starting Elevation: 11,699′Summits: 14,060′ & 14,264′Rank: 38 & 14 of 53Location: Front Range, Guanella Pass Scenic Byway between Bailey and GeorgetownRoute: Mt Bierstadt West slope to Sawtooth ridge to Mt Blue Sky, back down through Scott Gomer creek gully, mostly class 2, Sawtooth section is briefly Class 3. After a sweet ‘3 for’, it was time for another ‘2 for’. To put things into perspective, it took me years to work up to my first five 14ers, then months to do the next 5. With this series (the DeCaLiBron the day before), I knocked out 5 in 2 days! This combo route involved a pretty easy hike[…]

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#6, #7 & #8 of 20: The DeCaLiBron of 14ers

14ers, Short Hikes

06:00-12:00, Thursday, 7-30-20CO 14ers: 11, 12 & 13 of 53Distance RT: 7.5 milesElevation gain/loss: 3,700′Starting Elevation: 12,000′Summits: Democrat 14,148′, Lincoln 14,286′ & Bross 14,172′Rank: 28, 8 & 22 of 53Location: Mosquito Range, West of Alma, CORoute: Democrat >Cameron>Lincoln>Bross…the DeCaLiBron combo clockwise, Class 2 On this hike, I did 3 or 4 14ers in one day, depending on which definition you go by. I’m going with 3, since Mt. Cameron was barely a bump on my radar and counting it would mess up my numbers. 21 in 2020 just doesn’t sound as good, so I’m willing to discount this one. Truly, 3 14ers in one day is plenty enough! Bang for buck, the DeCaLiBron (like marathon, taking the first 2 letters[…]

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Completing the CO CDT Red Line through RMNP

Continental Divide Trail, Short Hikes

Wednesday, 7-22-20Distance RT: 26 milesLocation: Grand Lake, CORoute: Rocky Mountain National Park loop, counterclockwise from Grand Lake A little bit of background: Most thru-hikers use an app called Far Out for navigation and trail intel. For National Scenic Trails, the official trail is notated by a red line. Alternates are depicted with different colors (orange, blue, etc). If you’re a purist, you’re always “on the red line.” I took plenty of alternates while hiking the CDT, especially through New Mexico and Montana. But I tried to be a purist through my home state, dedicated to the red line with the one exception of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) loop. Many CDT hikers bypass this loop (following the orange line to/from[…]

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2020 Colorado Trail Segments 4-7 & Tramily Reunions

Colorado Trail, Short Hikes

Before I get back to the 14er’s, I wanted to provide some highlights from a section hike of the Colorado Trail and a reunios with a Tramily member. Here’s a quick summary of the hike: July 18-21, 2020CT Sections 4-7 (Bailey to Copper Mountain)Miles: 66 To start this hike, I got a ride from my cousin’s house in Denver to the beginning of CT segment 4 at Rolling Creek Trailhead, outside of Bailey, CO. I was meeting up with my friend YoYo on the Trail, who had come to Colorado to finish the CT. I’d first met him back in 2017, the very first day on the CT. We’d hiked together off and on all the way to Twin Lakes.[…]

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Taking a break from 14ers to hike 13ers

14ers, Short Hikes

Saturday 7-11-20 to Monday 7-13-20 Distance RT: 14 miles Elevation gain/loss: 5,500′ Starting Elevation: 9,280′ Summits: 13,423′ & 13,524′ Rank: 252 & 186 of 584 Location: Sangre de Cristos, Southern Colorado Route: Gibson Creek Trailhead (road 172) to Rainbow Trail to Swift Creek Trailhead, return on Lake of the Clouds Trail to Rainbow Trail/carpark. Companions: JR, Maggie & Niki I really needed to spend a weekend in the outdoors and it was JR to the rescue again. He invited me along for a mellow trip with his friends Maggie and Niki from Ft. Collins. The plan was to hike up to the Lake of the Clouds valley in the Sangres and spend 2 nights enjoying the area. I did some[…]

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