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Buckskin Basin: North Lost Trail to Avalanche Pass

Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness | Saturday, August 8, 2026

This weekend I had some stuff I needed to get done around the house on Sunday so Diane and I just headed out for a day hike into the Elk Mountains near Marble on Saturday. Typically I only hike into the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness once each summer, but I guess I have felt like spending more time there this year since this was now my third visit! We left home bright and early on Saturday morning and made our way around the Grand Mesa, over McClure Pass to Marble, and then followed Lost Trail Creek until we reached the trailhead at the mouth of the North Fork. Although it’s been pretty smoky around here lately from many wildfires across the West, the weather forecast was calling for the patchy smoke to clear up after 9:00am and I was hoping that they were correct.

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West Maroon Creek: Maroon Lake & Crater Lake

Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness | Saturday & Sunday, July 25-26, 2026

I can’t believe that it has finally happened! Just like with the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the Maroon Bells Scenic Area was one of those places I thought I would probably never visit because of how popular and busy it can be there- plus there’s also the additional logistics of getting there and being able to park. As I have been working my way through the trails of the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness these past few years, I figured it was finally time to give this area a shot and hike up the West Maroon Creek drainage since I had already booked permits at all of the other areas in the Wilderness with designated campsites except for at Crater Lake. Back in February I was able to secure a camping permit at Crater Lake along with an overnight parking reservation, so this trip was actually going to happen this year! Although I initially hoped that Diane would be able to go with me, she was unavailable this weekend, so I invited Jackson and his wife Amy who both wanted to come along.

Ten Years Later: Ouray Perimeter Trail 2026

Ouray Trails | Sunday, May 31, 2026

I recently realized that it has been almost ten years since I last hiked the Ouray Perimeter Trail, and at that time the entire loop was not even fully completed yet. Although I have hiked all the newly created segments since then, I had not hiked the entire loop in one shot again and was interested in finally doing that. Plus, since Ouray is celebrating its 150th birthday this year I though that this would be a great way for me to partake in the sesquicentennial celebration in my own way! So after spending the night just outside of Montrose I was up well before sunrise and made my way into Ouray so I could get an early start hiking the Perimeter Trail around town.

Ouray Trails: Portland Trail & Old Horsethief Trail

Ouray Trails on Memorial Day | Sunday – Monday, May 24-25, 2026

After leaving the Paradox Valley on Sunday afternoon, I went for a scenic drive across the Uncompahgre Plateau to Montrose and then headed south to Ouray so I could start off my summer hiking season in the San Juan Mountains since the snow is melting out early this year. I arrived with plenty of time to get in a late afternoon hike near town, so I started from the Baby Bathtubs Trailhead just below the Amphitheater Campground and planned to hike a loop up the Portland Trail, since it’s one of the few trails near Ouray that I had never hiked before.

The Grand Canyon: Pipe Creek to Diamond Creek

Wednesday – Wednesday, April 8-15, 2026 | Low CFS: 8,030 – High CFS: 8,660

Less than a week after returning from a great rafting trip through the Grand Canyon from Lees Ferry to Pipe Creek Beach at the bottom of the Bright Angel Trail last year, I called up and booked the second half of the trip for April of this year so Diane and I could finish what we had started. Although Arizona River Runners wasn’t running their usual Hiker’s Special trip this spring, their sister company Grand Canyon Whitewater was offering the same trip, so we booked with them since it’s the same company- just with a different name on the sides of the rafts. On this trip we would be hiking down the Bright Angel Trail and then following the current of the Colorado River all the way down to Diamond Creek over the course of seven days, and we were looking forward to seeing this part of the canyon! However, as I have mentioned in the previous two Trip Reports, I had been battling a pretty bad cold for the past week and a half and was finally getting over it right as we left to drive to Arizona on Wednesday, so I was a little concerned about the hike down into the canyon since I hadn’t been able to do much hiking for the past couple of weeks, but I figured it would be OK since the hiking was all downhill…

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Tag: waterfalls

Buckskin Basin: North Lost Trail to Avalanche Pass

West Maroon Creek: Maroon Lake & Crater Lake

Ten Years Later: Ouray Perimeter Trail 2026

Ouray Trails: Portland Trail & Old Horsethief Trail

The Grand Canyon: Pipe Creek to Diamond Creek