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Tag: wilderness

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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The Flat Tops: Trappers Lake to Big Marvine PeakThe Flat Tops: Trappers Lake to Big Marvine Peak

The Flat Tops: Trappers Lake to Big Marvine Peak

Flat Tops Wilderness | Friday – Saturday, June 19-20, 2026

This year for the Juneteenth holiday Jackson and I headed up into the Flat Tops Wilderness for a quick overnight backpacking trip so I could finally hike to the summit of Big Marvine Peak, which is something I’ve wanted to do since the first time I laid eyes on that peak jutting out from the top of the plateau from a distance. I had actually planned to hike to Big Marvine Peak with Diane when we backpacked to the Marvine Lakes about three years ago, but things didn’t quite go as planned on that trip and we ended up just staying in the Marvine Creek drainage, so I was looking forward to trying again, but this time coming from the opposite direction. We left home early on Friday morning and made our way to Meeker, then followed the Flat Tops Trail along the White River to the Wall Lake Trailhead located just above Trappers Lake, where we began our hike.

CONTINUE READINGThe Flat Tops: Trappers Lake to Big Marvine Peak
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La Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire LookoutLa Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout

La Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout

Overlooking the Four Corners | Friday – Sunday, June 12-14, 2026

A few weeks ago I was able to reserve a night at the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout Tower when the reservation system was moved over to Recreation.gov without very much notice. Diane was not able to come with me on my previous visit to the Fire Tower and I have wanted to take her back ever since, so we planned an extended weekend in the La Plata Mountains around this stay. It’s kind of hard to believe that it has been almost six years since my last visit to the La Platas, so I was definitely overdue for a return! We left home early on Friday morning and took the San Juan Skyway over Lizard Head Pass to Rico and then followed the Dolores River to Hillside Drive which we turned up and followed to the end. From the end of the road we hiked up the Hillside Connector Trail and Grindstone Trail until we reached the Highline Trail, which is part of The Colorado Trail, and then followed it across the top of Indian Trail Ridge.

CONTINUE READINGLa Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout
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Deep Black: East Portal Trail to Deadhorse GulchDeep Black: East Portal Trail to Deadhorse Gulch

Deep Black: East Portal Trail to Deadhorse Gulch

Black Canyon of the Gunnison | Saturday, May 30, 2026

After floating a short segment of the Gunnison River through Delta on Saturday morning, I returned home in the afternoon to drop off my rafting gear, took a quick shower and loaded up my camping gear into the 4Runner since I had made a last minute decision to hike the Ouray Perimeter Trail first thing on Sunday morning. I figured that on my way to Ouray I could spend the rest of this evening at the East Portal deep in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison since I had not been down that way in over a decade and there was a short hiking route just downstream from the campground that I had not hiked before and was interested in checking out.

CONTINUE READINGDeep Black: East Portal Trail to Deadhorse Gulch
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Deep Black: The Warner RouteDeep Black: The Warner Route

Deep Black: The Warner Route

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park | Saturday, May 16, 2026

After hiking into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison last year via the Gunnison Route I believe I said that I wouldn’t be interested in hiking any of the other Inner Canyon routes into the canyon, but I guess I lied because earlier this year I had the strange desire to give another of the Inner Canyon routes a try. Currently the only other route that is open from the South Rim is the Warner Route because of the South Rim Fire last summer, so back in early April I grabbed a Wilderness permit on Rec.gov so I could give this one a try. Of course, not only is this route the longest one at about 2.75 miles each way, but it also has the most elevation change at over 2,700 feet! I asked my friend Jackson if he would be interested in joining me this time and thankfully he was up for the challenge! We left home bright and early on Saturday morning and were on the trail from the Warner Point Trailhead shortly after 7:00am.

CONTINUE READINGDeep Black: The Warner Route
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