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East Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley PassEast Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley Pass

East Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley Pass

Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness | Friday – Saturday, June 26-27, 2026

This weekend I returned to the western side of the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness near Crested Butte so I could get in a nice alpine day hike on Saturday morning. Although I was initially planning to hike in a different area of the Wilderness at first, when I saw that the weather forecast was calling for rain overnight I though it would be a good idea to change up my plans and hike into the East Fork of the Crystal River just below Schofield Pass so I could quickly get up above treeline since I hoped that there might be some low clouds surrounding the peaks on Saturday morning at sunrise. Unfortunately, this weekend was a good reminder of why I usually avoid heading over to the Crested Butte area before Labor Day since getting around before and after the hike was kind of a pain in the ass, but since that’s probably not going to be an option for me this summer I thought I would make an exception and try going earlier in the season.

CONTINUE READINGEast Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley Pass
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Fringes of the Raggeds: Yule Pass to Daisy PassFringes of the Raggeds: Yule Pass to Daisy Pass

Fringes of the Raggeds: Yule Pass to Daisy Pass

Raggeds Wilderness | Friday – Sunday, September 5-7, 2025

This weekend I returned to the Elk Mountains near Crested Butte so I could hike up to two passes in the Ruby Range that have been on my to-do list for far too long, both of which are found along the fringes of the Raggeds Wilderness above the Slate River Valley. Even though I didn’t have the best experience trying to find a campsite near Crested Butte back in July, there are still a lot of places in the area that I want to hike and explore so I decided to give it another shot after Labor Day weekend, which seemed to work out much better this time. As usual, I left from work on Friday afternoon, stopped for a quick dinner in Delta and then took the Kebler Pass Road over into Crested Butte and followed the Slate River up to the Paradise Divide where I found a campsite for the night. It started to rain on and off while I was driving over Kebler Pass which would keep up throughout the rest of the evening. Once I was settled in at camp I spent the remainder of the evening wandering around Paradise Divide when it wasn’t raining.

CONTINUE READINGFringes of the Raggeds: Yule Pass to Daisy Pass
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Mountains of Minerals: Denver Pass to Grouse GulchMountains of Minerals: Denver Pass to Grouse Gulch

Mountains of Minerals: Denver Pass to Grouse Gulch

San Juan Triangle | Sunday & Monday, August 31 – September 1, 2025

After staying home to attend a concert on Saturday evening, I was up early on Sunday morning and headed down to the San Juan Mountains so I could spend the remainder of the holiday weekend hiking and camping in the San Juan Triangle, which is one of my favorite areas to explore in the mountains. After making it over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton, I followed the Animas River to Animas Forks and then continued up the North Fork to Denver Lake. I parked nearby and then started my first hike of the day up the old mining track to Denver Pass. Although I have already hiked most of the peaks in this area and driven all the open roads, I had neglected to hike up to this pass before and was looking forward to finally checking it out!

CONTINUE READINGMountains of Minerals: Denver Pass to Grouse Gulch
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The Elk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia LakeElk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia Lake

The Elk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia Lake

Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness | Saturday & Sunday, July 27-28, 2024

Last year Diane and I had a permit and planned to spend a weekend camping at Geneva Lake in the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness, but after we had driven most of the way to the trailhead we were turned around by a very slick and muddy road and the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend wasn’t looking too good, so we decided to call it a weekend and headed back home instead. I decided to give the same trip a try this summer and grabbed another camping permit for Geneva Lake, but this time Diane was out of town so I invited my friend Jackson to come along with me. I picked up Jackson early on Saturday morning and we drove around the Grand Mesa, over McClure Pass and then followed the Crystal River up to the trailhead in Lead King Basin where we shouldered our packs and started hiking up the trail to Geneva Lake.

CONTINUE READINGThe Elk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia Lake
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Mountains of Minerals: The San Juan TriangleMountains of Minerals: The San Juan Triangle

Mountains of Minerals: The San Juan Triangle

Friday – Sunday, August 27-29, 2021

This weekend it was time for me to head back down to the San Juan Mountains near Silverton so I could hike to the summit of a couple new peaks in the area. The San Juan Triangle, which is roughly defined as the area between Ouray, Silverton and Telluride, is one of my absolute favorite places in the state to explore the high country, and over the years I have been working to hike as many of the peaks in the area that I can. This time I was planning to hike Eureka Mountain and California Mountain on Saturday morning since they are both right by each other and pretty much surrounded by other peaks that I have already hiked. I had actually planned to do these hikes a couple of weeks ago, but that trip was cancelled when I was stopped by a mudslide on my way up to Red Mountain Pass, so I was happy to return this weekend.

CONTINUE READINGMountains of Minerals: The San Juan Triangle
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