Adventure Travel Photography Blog
One of my favorite “holidays” is Halloween. With COVID, the parties were non-existent and the status of trick-or-treaters was unknown, so I made the most of it with a Halloween hike. I’m thankful my friends Mike and Paula could join me at Matthew/Winters Park. We connected several trails to make a 4.4 mile lollipop loop.
HAPPY HIKING!
For the first time since Memorial Day, I finally got to reconnect with Jim, Diana, and Danelle to hike Kettle Ponds. My fellow hiking buddies, along with Zoe the dog, were staying up in Breckenridge Saturday night. Annie and I arose early Sunday morning to meet them in Silverthorne, CO at the trailhead.
HAPPY HIKING!
With the wildflower and fall foilage hiking in Breckenridge complete, and the weather getting a bit cold for 14ers in my opinion, hiking to mines is a good option. There are several mine hikes near Breckenridge of varying levels. Some are even popular for snow shoeing as winter approaches.
HAPPY HIKING!
I had the pleasure to join a handful of ladies on a hike on Sheep Creek Trail this past week. Amazingly, despite having driven the 285 Corridor countless times, I hadn’t heard of this trail or turned off into this National Forest Area outside of Fairplay, Colorado.
HAPPY HIKING
With our property located near Bailey, I have hiked most of the out-and-back surrounding trails off 285 and Guanella Pass. As a result, I have been trying to mix it up with different combinations on trails. Today, my friends, Tanya and Jimmy, joined me in a point to point which combined a portion of Rosalie Trail with Abyss Trail.
Up until the State of Colorado created the app, COTREX, I wasn’t sure how long the hike would be. Now, however, hikers may use the measurement tool to calculate distances. Admittedly, I still faced some user error, as upon proposing it to my friends, I came up with 8+ miles and 12+ miles. I’m still uncertain of the exact length as our watches indicated a 10 mile hike.
HAPPY HIKING!
Every time I pass through Minturn and Vail, I tell myself, next fall I will hike there. Due to previous travel and mistiming my visits, I wasn’t able to take full advantage of the magnificent fall foliage until this past week when I hiked Grouse Lake Trail.
Not only did I enjoy amazing fall colors, I took VANgo on her maiden voyage, all be it only as a cargo van for now, not a decked-out camper. VANgo handled the roads nicely and has some get up and go power. It will be interesting to see how she operates when she is filled to the brim! I’m looking forward to the full build which will start in December because camping was a little cold! But I digress.
HAPPY HIKING!
Watanga Lake is located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Arapaho National Forest. It is named for a Southern Arapaho Chief who lived in the late 1800’s.
I tried hiking to Watanga Lake a year ago in June and there was too much snow to even get to the trail junction. This year, I waited until late July and hiked the Roaring Fork Trail to the lake with my friend Tina. This was our third and final hike while visiting Grand Lake.
HAPPY HIKING!
Bowen Lake may be reached from two different trailheads. One trailhead is located in Rocky Mountain National Park and the hike is 16.2 miles. The other trailhead is located in Arapaho National Forest off of County Highway 455. The distance from this location to the lake is a more reasonable 9.3 miles.
HAPPY HIKING!
Having been to Steamboat Springs a handful of times over the last several years, I have accumulated a list of hikes from easy to moderate that are great for most visitors. The hikes range from 0.5 miles to 8+ miles and the majority are easily accessible.
The trails are listed below:
FIND OUT MORE!
Steamboat Springs, also known as Steamboat or the “boat”, is located in Routt County, Colorado and has a population of approximately 13,000. The town came by its name during early times when trappers heard a chugging noise and thought a steamboat was coming down the river. Upon discovering the sound came from the surrounding natural hot springs, they named the settlement Steamboat Springs.
Today, the small, mountain town is popular tourist destination for both winter and summer activities. While I have visited Steamboat in the summer, winter and fall, this post focuses on things to do during the warmer months.
EXPLORE!