Short Hikes – Page 3 – Twig Adventures

Jackson Hole & the Gros Ventre Wilderness

November 21, 2024 kaulua26 Continental Divide Trail, Great Divide Trail, Short Hikes

We spent a day in Jackson Hole hanging out with other hikers and getting a taste of the town. First we made a visit to REI and Safeway for some provisions. My shoes were pretty shot, but instead of getting new ones (which I couldn’t anyway because no store carries Altra Superiors), I got Superfeet inserts. These actually did the trick in giving me a little more support and cushioning for the remainder of the summer. We met several CDT hikers at the Safeway, then got a ride over to the rec center. We’d determined the cheapest way to enjoy quality time in town was to buy a day pass for $15. So we spent the afternoon taking showers, hanging[…]

After the GDT: Back to the US, Past Glacier, Yellowstone, and onto the Teton Crest Trail

November 20, 2024 kaulua26 Continental Divide Trail, Great Divide Trail, Short Hikes, Teton Crest Trail

The following couple of posts will be more of a summary, combining multiple days in an effort to document some spontaneous section hikes over the 2024 summer. I spent about a week trying to figure out what to do after the GDT, finally making my way back onto a trail. Roughly, my plan was to complete some alternate stretches along the CDT, which I missed in favor of sticking to the main route during my 2019 thru-hike. My strategy pretty much was to wing-it and see what happened. The first goal was getting back to the US. My post on the GDT FB page got the attention of an incredibly kind lady, Lisa, who offered to drive us from Calgary[…]

PNT Bonus Days: Kulshan

December 8, 2022 kaulua26 Pacific Northwest Trail, Short Hikes

Tuesday-Saturday, August 29th-Sept 3rd, 2022Port Angeles to Port Townsend to Whidbey Island to Sedro-Woolley to Mt. Baker to Mt. Vernon to Seattle12 miles hiked, Gain/loss: 7412′ Thanks for sharing in my adventures on the PNT. If you want more, then here it is… a LOT more. Fair warning, this is an exceptionally long-winded post about my bonus peak bagging adventure, plus the days before and after. I recognize that all my later posts from the PNT were overly long, mainly because I wrote them much later off-trail, with access to a real keyboard. But I also had such a fun and exciting time at the very end, I wanted to capture as many of the details as I could, for[…]

#20 of 20: Longs Peak 14,255′

August 19, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

05:00-15:00, Wednesday, 8-19-20CO 14ers: 25 of 53Distance RT: 15 milesElevation gain/loss: 5,100′Starting Elevation: 9,400′Summit: 14,255′Rank: 15 of 53Location: Front Range, NW of BoulderRoute: Keyhole, Class 3 My final 14er of 2020 was a fitting one. I started the season with one of the biggest challenges, in terms of distance and elevation gain: Pikes Peak. I finished on an equally challenging peak, which was also probably my favorite hike the whole season…that’s saying a lot. Interestingly, Longs and Pikes Peak share a connection in that they both sit on the front range, rising over 9,000 feet above the Great Plains. It’s this similarity that resulted in the naming of Longs Peak. In 1820, Major Stephen Long, an Army officer and explorer,[…]

#19 of 20: Quandary Peak 14,265′

August 18, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

06:30-11:30, Tuesday, 8-18-20CO 14ers: 24 of 53Distance RT: 6.75 milesElevation gain/loss: 3,450′Starting Elevation: 10,850′Summit: 14,265′Rank: 13 of 53Location: Tenmile Range, south of BreckenridgeRoute: East Ridge, Class 1 This will be a short post, since so too was the hike. After regrouping briefly in Buena Vista, we decided to go for an easy hike the next morning. Yes, easy as 14ers can get, that is. We also had to be cognizant of the wildfires that were starting to blaze throughout the state. Several 14ers were inaccessible due to road closures on I-70 and 82. We considered Mt. Sherman in the nearby Mosquito Range but it didn’t sound like much fun…too much mining activity and a long dirt road approach. So we[…]

#17 & #18 of 20: Mt Columbia 14,073′ & Mt Harvard 14,420′

August 17, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

06:30-15:30, Monday, 8-17-20CO 14ers: 22 & 23 of 53Distance RT: 15 milesElevation gain/loss: 6,100′Starting Elevation: 9,900′Summits: 14,073′ & 14,420′Rank: 35 & 3 of 53Location: Sawatch Range, Collegiate Peaks, west of Buena VistaRoute: N. Cottonwood Creek Trail to west slopes of Columbia, north and east on ridge to Harvard, back down the south slopes, counterclockwise, Class 2 After a week away from 14ers, I was ready for some more. I joined Sandy the day before, where we did some tubing on the Arkansas River park rapids. We’d found the tube on a hike down Grape Creek, outside of Canon City, a few days prior. We’d taken it to the the river park there, where we had a little too much fun[…]

#15 & #16 of 20: Challenger Point 14,081′ & Kit Carson Peak 14,165′

August 10, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

06:00-15:00, Monday, 8-10-20CO 14ers: 20 & 21 of 53Distance RT: 15.5 milesElevation gain/loss: 6,250′Starting Elevation: 8,850′Summits: 14,081′ & 14,165′Rank: *33-34 & 23 of 53 * Challenger Point doesn’t meet the standard of being a separate peak, but I’ve included it in my count.Location: Central Sangre De Cristos Range, east of CrestoneRoute: Willow Lake Trail to the North Slope of Challenger Point, along the Kit Carson Avenue to Kit Carson Peak, Easy Class 3 Leaving Blanca behind, one thing was sure: I didn’t have the energy to do another 14er the very next day. Like the week before, 2 days in a row was fine, but not 3. We headed to the tiny hamlet of Crestone to regroup and get a[…]

#13 & #14 of 20: Blanca Peak 14,345′ & Ellingwood Point 14,042′

August 8, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

06:00-15:00, Saturday, 8-08-20CO 14ers: 18 & 19 of 53Distance RT: 18 milesElevation gain/loss: 6,800′Starting Elevation: 8,000′Summits: 14,345′ & 14,042′Rank: 4 & 43 of 53Location: Southern Sangre De Cristos Range, east of AlamosaRoute: Lake Como 4WD road to the Northwest Ridge of Blanca, then South Face of Ellingwood, difficult Class 2 After driving a few hours to basically get from the eastern side of the Blanca/Lindsey massif to the western side, with a stop for an early dinner in between, we were staged for a repeat performance. We would hike 5.5 miles up a 4WD road, then conquer the peaks the next morning. The standard routes for the three 14ers in the Blanca massif all depart from Lake Como. It would’ve[…]

#12 of 20: Mt. Lindsey 14,042′

August 7, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Short Hikes

06:30-13:00, Friday, 8-07-20CO 14ers: 17 of 53Distance RT: 13 milesElevation gain/loss: 3,500′Starting Elevation: 10,700′Summit: 14,042′Rank: 42 of 53Location: Southern Sangre De Cristos Range, southwest of GardnerRoute: CR 580 to Upper Huerfano/Lily Lake Trailhead to the Northwest Gully, easy Class 3 Sandy decided to extend her vacation in CO and join me, as there was still plenty to explore. We shifted our focus to the Sangre De Cristo range, with a visit to Jolly Rancher in Rosita and some 14ers to the south. We spent a night at JR’s awesome place for a nice night talking trail. The next day we headed south, taking in one of Colorado’s most obscure tourist attractions along the way. I’ve been going past Bishop Castle[…]

#11 of 20: Mt. Yale 14,196′ & Trail Angels on the CT/CDT

August 2, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Colorado Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Short Hikes

06:30-13:00, Sunday, 8-02-20CO 14ers: 16 of 53Distance RT: 10 milesElevation gain/loss: 5,000′Starting Elevation: 9,400′Summit: 14,196′Rank: 21 of 53Location: Sawatch Range, Collegiate Peaks, west of Buena VistaRoute: Avalanche Trailhead, north on CT, up East Ridge, down Southwest Slopes to Denny Creek Trailhead/HWY 306, Class 2. I was feeling pretty good after my marathon of 5 14ers in 2 days, that is until the 3rd day. Then I felt like this: After Bierstadt and Evans, I decided to head for Buena Vista for the night. The plan was to hike one of the Collegiate Peaks the next day. After dinner and a night tenting at a KOA, I was none too excited about waking up early to hike another mountain. So I[…]

Category: Short Hikes