kaulua26

2020 Colorado Trail Segments 4-7 & Tramily Reunions

July 21, 2020 kaulua26 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.[…]

Taking a break from 14ers to hike 13ers

July 13, 2020 kaulua26 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[…]

#5 of 20: Mt. Antero 14,269′

June 27, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

Friday 6-26-20 to Saturday 6-27-20 CO 14ers: 10 of 53 Distance RT: 20.5 miles Elevation gain/loss: 5,200′ Starting Elevation: 8,900′ Summit: 14,269′ Rank: 10 of 53 Location: Sawatch Range, Collegiate Peaks, north of Salida Route: Brown’s Creek Trail to FR #277 up to peak, back down Little Browns Creek Trail I’ll start by explaining that this was my first trip combining an overnight backpacking loop with a summit hike the following morning. I didn’t follow the standard route to the top, which is a boring 16 mile RT jeep road walk. I did some research to find that I could hike up one valley, summit, then come back down another valley, making for a much more interesting and scenic loop[…]

#3 & #4 of 20: Mt. Shavano 14,229′ & Tabeguache Peak 14,155′

June 14, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Colorado Trail, Short Hikes

06:00-13:00, Sunday, 6-14-20 CO 14ers: 8 & 9 of 53 Distance RT: 11 miles Elevation gain/loss: 5,600′ Starting Elevation: 9,750′ Summits: 14,229′ & 14,155′ Rank: 17 & 25 of 53 Location: Sawatch Range, Collegiate Peaks, north of Salida Route: Shavano East Slopes then 1 mile ridge hike to Tabeguache, Class 2 Companion: Wind Photos from 14ers.com Suddenly peak-bagging had become a thing I was doing this summer (for various complicated and sad reasons I explained in an earlier blog). Achieving these feats was the positive measure I needed in my life at this time. A short-term goal and focus. A big reward. 14ers.com had become my new shopping list. It’s a webpage outlining all the routes and details of climbing[…]

#2 of 20: Humboldt Peak 14,064′

May 31, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

07:00-17:30, Sunday, 5-31-20 My CO 14er count: 7 of 53 Distance RT: 17.5 miles Elevation gain/loss: 5,350′ Starting Elevation: 8,800′ Summit: 14,064′ Rank: 37 of 53 Location: Sangre de Cristos, Southern Colorado Route: South Colony Lakes 2WD Lower Parking Lot to Humboldt West Ridge, Class 2 Companion: Jolly Rancher (Kevin Parsons) Photo from 14ers.com After I’d recovered from my climb up Pikes Peak, I felt really inspired to do more. What next? I’d been in touch with my friend Jolly Rancher (JR), who lives less than 1 hr from my base camp in Canon City. I met JR while hiking the Colorado Trail in 2017. His amazing Earthship home is nestled in the Wet Mountains, facing the awe-inspiring Sangre de[…]

#1 of 20: Pikes Peak 14,110′

May 21, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

05:45-18:30, Thursday, 5-21-20 CO 14ers: 6th (& 1st) of 53 Distance RT: 27 miles Elevation gain/loss: 7600′ Start Elevation: 6,650′ Summit: 14,110′ Rank: 30 of 53 Location: Front Range, Central Colorado Route: Barr Trail, Class 1 Pikes Peak was the first peak above 14,000 feet (here on referred to as 14er’s) I ever hiked…but only halfway. Back in 2003, I went up with a friend and we got a ride down with my parents. Pikes Peak is one of two 14er’s in CO with a road all the way to the top (the other being Mt Evans and a 3rd, Mt Antero, has a road within a few miles of the top). At the time, it was the hardest thing[…]

A 2020 update

April 28, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Long Trail, Short Hikes

Nov 27th, 2020 Dear blog readers, First, thanks for following! My goal in writing this blog has been and always will be to provide positive and uplifting content about my hikes and other adventures. I strive to focus on the beauty of nature and inspiring elements of human-powered travel. But I felt a brief explanation was in order as a per-cursor to my hiking blog series “20 in 20,” the short stories about the 20 14er’s I climbed in 2020 while “stuck” in Colorado. It’s the “stuck” part I struggled with, because it involved disclosing a painful personal experience. It was my hope that in telling a bit of the story, my own healing process could benefit some, too. 2020…what[…]

2019 CDT & AZT Gear Summary

February 11, 2020 kaulua26 Arizona Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Long Trail

This is a summary post on my gear and stats from my 2019 thru-hikes, combining both the CDT and AZT, since I didn’t change a thing about my gear in between. In fact, I’ve barely changed a thing from my previous 3 thru-hikes. I carried a bit heavier gear in 2019, mainly because I expected some rain and colder conditions. I wasn’t wrong about this. The CDT is high-elevation and therefore a colder and somewhat wetter thru-hike. The AZT was dry but also quite chilly at times, given that we were above 8000 feet during many parts of the trail and also approaching the end of October / beginning of November. I needed my 22 degree quilt and women’s Thermarest[…]

2019 Trail Angel Recognition

February 10, 2020 kaulua26 Arizona Trail, Continental Divide Trail

This is a special post to recognize the many trail angels and trail magic that made my hiking so memorable and cohesive. I’m truly blessed to have had so many positive interactions and made many new friends. I’m amazed and humbled by the kind souls that exist out there. Someday I’ll write a book honoring trail angels and this year gave me so much material to work with. I’ve listed the trail angels and their magic by state. I don’t expect people to read every bit of this post but at least scroll down to the bottom just to realize the sheer magnitude of this kindness. I’m so sorry if I omitted anyone or their contributions, and that I didn’t[…]

2019 AZT Summary and Stats

February 3, 2020 kaulua26 Arizona Trail

For links to each of my daily posts, see here. I thru-hiked the Arizona Trail for several reasons. One, I said I would when I first learned about it while visiting my friend Jon near Phoenix at the end of 2018. And secondly, I wanted to hike from Canada to Mexico again in one season. I finished my thru-hike of the CDT going southbound through Montana/Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and half of New Mexico…long story, see my CDT summary. I finished this journey by hiking all the way south through Arizona. The official CDT is a 3100 mile trail but in reality/practicality, it’s about the same length as the PCT (on account of all the popular alternates). By adding the AZT,[…]

Author: kaulua26