Four-Wheeling // ADVENTR.co

La Plata Mountains: Kennebec Pass Peaks

Friday & Saturday, August 21-22, 2020

This weekend I knew that the entire state of Colorado was going to be completely covered with smoke from wildfires since it seems like the entire West is currently on fire. After looking at smoke and weather forecasts for the weekend it looked like my best bet to escape the worst of the smoke might be to head down to the southwest portion of the San Juan Mountains, so I thought another visit to the La Plata Mountains would be a good idea. In order to continue my Summer of 12ers I decided to hike to a couple of peaks near Kennebec Pass along the Colorado Trail. It’s been about ten years since the last time I drove up to Kennebec Pass and I was looking forward to spending some more time hiking in this area again.

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Among Giants of the Uncompahgre: Matterhorn Peak

Uncompahgre Wilderness: Between Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn Peaks
Friday & Saturday, August 14-15, 2020

This Sunday Diane and I have a camping permit secured for an overnight backpacking trip to the popular Conundrum Hot Springs near Aspen, but I didn’t want to skip out on hiking at least one new peak this weekend, so I thought I’d try to find something quick and easy to hike on Saturday morning before I returned home to pack for the overnighter. Since I haven’t made it back to the Uncompahgre Wilderness yet this year, and it’s probably my favorite wilderness area close to home, I figured doing something in that area would be a good choice. After looking over my maps I settled on hiking Matterhorn Peak (13,590) which has been on my to-do list for far too long. What better way to spend the morning than hiking in between two of my favorite 14ers!

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Fairview Peak Fire Lookout: Highest in North America

Fossil Ridge Recreation Area & Cumberland Pass Peaks
Saturday & Sunday, August 8-9, 2020

This weekend Diane and I headed over to the Sawatch Range near Pitkin so we could visit the highest Fire Lookout in North America, which is located on the summit of Fairview Peak at 13,214 feet. Last summer I spent a night in the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout Tower and since then I’ve been interested in checking out more of the fire lookouts in Colorado. The highest one in North America sounded like the perfect place to start, especially since I could hike a new 13er at the same time! While we were in the area we also planned to hike to the summits of a couple other peaks near Cumberland Pass so I could continue my Summer of 12ers! It’s been a long time since I spent much time around Cumberland Pass, and to be honest, I don’t really remember being that impressed with the area when I drove through, but I was probably in a hurry to get elsewhere at the time, so I was looking forward to spending a little more time exploring this part of the Sawatch.

Western Edge of the San Juans: Groundhog Mountain

Saturday & Sunday, August 1-2, 2020

After spending Saturday morning hiking along the Calico Trail in the Rico Mountains I wanted to hike one more quick and easy 12er on Sunday morning before I headed back home. Since I’ve been avoiding the busy high peaks in Colorado this summer, I thought I’d make this the Summer of 12ers! After watching Groundhog Mountain on the horizon over the past couple of weeks, I thought it would be a fun to climb Lone Cone’s closest neighboring peak, especially since I figured it probably doesn’t see too many visitors. So after visiting Colorado’s only geyser on Saturday afternoon I drove further west towards the fringe of the San Juan Mountains and found an excellent campsite at the edge of Black Mesa which offered me a great view of the San Miguel Mountains. I ate my dinner and hoped for another spectacular sunset from this great vantage point. I wasn’t let down as the following photos will attest!

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Comet Watching from Bolam Pass

The Headwaters of the Dolores River & Colorado Trail Segment 26
Saturday & Sunday, July 18-19, 2020

This weekend Diane and I headed into the San Juan Mountains to escape the heat of the Grand Valley and spend a relaxing weekend along the Colorado Trail near Bolam Pass. It has been over ten years since the last time I drove over Bolam Pass and I was looking forward to getting back into the area for a little camping and hiking. Plus, with the New Moon this weekend I was hoping for dark skies so I could finally see Comet NEOWISE which has been visible in the sky for the past couple weeks now, but I had been unable to see so far.