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Tag: wildlife

Top of the Rocky Mountains: Mount ElbertTop of the Rocky Mountains

Top of the Rocky Mountains: Mount Elbert

Mount Elbert & Missouri Mountain
Friday – Sunday, September 16-18, 2016

After only hiking one new fourteener this year, I knew I had to get out this weekend to at least try to get another one or two in before snow started sticking around in the high country. It’s been a couple of years since the last time I visited the Sawatch Range, so I thought it would be a good idea to head that way for a change. Then I figured that I might as well go for Mount Elbert (14,433), the highest peak in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. It’s second only to Mount Whitney (14,508) in the contiguous United States.

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Tellerico Trail to Corcoran PointTellerico Trail to Corcoran Point

Tellerico Trail to Corcoran Point

Labor Day | Monday, September 5, 2016

Since we ended up cutting our backpacking trip in the Uncompahgre Wilderness short by a day, I was free to go on an evening hike on the Tellerico Trail in the Book Cliffs for the Labor Day holiday. This trail has long been on my to-do list of local hikes and it was finally time to get out and do it. I figured that since the trail came very near to Corcoran Point (7,352) at the top, it would make a good destination to turn around at. Part of the reason I chose this trail is because it’s close to home, but I also hoped that since it’s not too popular I would’t run into anyone else on this busy three-day weekend. That was a good call since I didn’t see another person the entire evening. This trail definitely does not see much traffic, and because of that there are many sections of the trail that have been washed out a bit. There were certainly a few sections that I needed to be extra careful on.

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Rabbit Valley ExploringRabbit Valley Exploring

Rabbit Valley Exploring

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

I drove out to Rabbit Valley near the Utah state line after work this evening to spend a few hours exploring some of the area. I ended up driving a few backroads in the area I had not been on before and visiting a couple of overlooks and then I hiked down into Ruby Canyon from the rim on an old cattle trail. I also visited a few small petroglyphs and pictographs that were found in a shallow alcove that contained some lithic scatter nearby. It was a nice way to spend the evening and I didn’t see another person until I was back near I-70.

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Ruby – HorsethiefRuby - Horsethief

Ruby – Horsethief

Friday – Sunday, August 19-21, 2016

After spending a few days on the San Juan River for the past few years it was beginning to look like I wouldn’t be getting on the river at all this year after some possible plans had fallen through. I really wanted to get at least one river trip in this year, so a couple of month ago Jackson and I planned a weekend trip with our friend Chris on the Colorado River through Ruby and Horsethief Canyons since it’s a great float and very close to home.

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Lone Eagle Cirque in the Indian Peaks WildernessLone Eagle Cirque

Lone Eagle Cirque in the Indian Peaks Wilderness

Friday – Sunday, August 5-7, 2016

After spending the past few weeks and weekends in Illinois, Wisconsin and Salt Lake City, it was finally time for another backpacking trip in the mountains of Colorado. The Lone Eagle Cirque has been on my radar for a long time and earlier this year I finally decided to secure a camping permit at Crater Lake for this weekend. Who knew that this would be a weekend full of heavy rain, storms and low clouds? We went anyway with hopes for the best and maybe even a nice sunset…

CONTINUE READINGLone Eagle Cirque in the Indian Peaks Wilderness
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