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Montezuma Peaks

Colorado Adventure | Sunday – Monday, August 5-6, 2018

After spending the weekend backpacking in the Gore Range with Diane, we parted ways on Sunday afternoon and I headed over to the Front Range near Montezuma to climb a few mountains as I continued my Colorado Adventure. After an early dinner in Dillon I drove up to Loveland Pass on the Continental Divide so I could hike to the summit of Mount Sniktau (13,234). Even though there had been storms earlier in the day and there were still plenty of clouds moving around, the weather was looking favorable for the climb and I was hoping that the clouds interacting with the light would make for some nice conditions. My legs were still pretty tired from our hike back down from Gore Lake in the morning so I was moving pretty slow, but the weather did hold out. However, once I reached the ridge I was struck by some very strong and brutal winds blowing across the Divide and I had to make use of a couple of rock shelters that I passed along the trail.

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Gore Lake Trail

Colorado Adventure 2018 | Friday – Sunday, August 3-5, 2018

A number of years ago I used to take a week off from work during the summer and spend it exploring the mountains of Colorado with my Jeep. Earlier this year I decided that it was time to revive that tradition so I took off the first full week in August and planned to climb some mountains in other ranges besides the San Juans and the Elks. However, before heading off into the mountains on my own, I planned a long weekend backpacking trip with Diane in the Gore Range near Vail. Originally, this was supposed to be a two night backpacking trip on the Snow Pass Loop, but the weather we woke up to on Sunday morning would have other plans for us.

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Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour

Saturday, July 21, 2018

I’ve been driving by the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour near Silverton every summer for over a decade now, and every time I do I always think to myself that I should stop by and check it out sometime. Usually I have other plans and am headed elsewhere, so I never do. Since my family from out of town has been visiting me for the past few days, they wanted to go to the Ouray Hot Springs this morning and then drive over Red Mountain Pass so they could go on the Mine Tour and get dinner in Silverton afterwards. Since Diane and I have been tagging along with them wherever they want to go, we finally got our chance to check out this tour. I must say, it was pretty cool and very informative if you are at all interested in the old mines found in the region. For those who are not familiar, this particular tour lasts about one hour and takes you 1/3 of a mile into the heart of 13,300 foot Galena Mountain where you can follow the vein and see real mining equipment in action. I took a number of photos during the tour that you can check out below.

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Oh-Be-Joyful Creek to Blue Lake

Saturday & Sunday, July 14-15, 2018

So far, this seems to be the summer of hiking to places that have been on my to-do list for a very long time (Highland Mary Lakes & The Devils Causeway), so I figured it was finally time to check out Oh-Be-Joyful Creek in the Raggeds Wilderness near Crested Butte. While part of this hike is commonly done as a day trip, we decided to go for a quick and easy overnight backpacking trip up the valley so we could camp near Blue Lake, which is located in the Ruby Range on a ledge nestled below Scarp Ridge and Afley Peak. I was also hoping to climb a nearby peak in the evening or morning, depending on the weather, and maybe catch a nice sunset, too. I had viewed Blue Lake from above a few years ago when I hiked to the high point of Scarp Ridge and have wanted to get a closer look ever since.

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Coming In Second: Mount Massive

Friday – Saturday, July 6-7, 2018

This weekend I felt it was time for me to attempt my first 14er of the year since the snow had melted of early and the monsoon season hasn’t really picked up yet. After looking at my options I decided to go all out and try to hike to the summit of Mount Massive (14,421) on Saturday morning, which is the second highest peak in Colorado after Mount Elbert which I had already climbed two years ago. I spend Independence Day hiking in the La Sal Mountains to help prepare for the hike by getting a little acclimated to the elevation and making sure I was in good enough shape to give it a try. The hike in the La Sal Mountains went pretty well, although my legs were very sore for a few days afterwards which is very unusual for me. My legs certainly get tired after a big hike, but they’ve never been sore like this before. On Friday afternoon I considered cancelling the trip completely because the weather forecast was predicting early thunderstorms starting around 9:00am on Saturday morning, and even with a very early start I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to reach the summit and get down before they started. In the end, I decided to go anyway and see if I could squeeze the hike into the small window of good weather that was predicted. I figured that maybe I’d even be able to get some nice cloudy photos if the weather wasn’t good for hiking!