1. Heading Home

    Published on April 16, 2017

  2. Lighting Tree

    Published on April 16, 2017
  3. Photo may contain: Plant, Nature, Outdoors, Abies, Fir, Tree

    Wildflower

    Published on April 16, 2017

  4. San Juan Wildflowers

    Published on April 15, 2017

  5. Not pictured: sheep

    Published on April 15, 2017

  6. Knock and Laura

    Published on April 15, 2017

  7. Creek or waterall?

    Published on April 14, 2017

  8. Segment 26

    Published on April 14, 2017

  9. Columbine flowers

    Published on April 14, 2017

  10. Red and Green Mountains

    Published on April 13, 2017

  11. Colorado Night Sky

    Published on April 13, 2017

  12. Indian Trail Ridge

    Published on April 13, 2017

  13. Taylor Lake

    Published on April 12, 2017

  14. Morning View

    Published on April 12, 2017

  15. Hailstorm

    Published on April 12, 2017

  16. Dinner Spread

    Published on April 11, 2017

  17. Gudy’s Rest

    Published on April 11, 2017

  18. Black Slug

    Published on April 10, 2017

  19. Snow Mesa Thunderstorm

    Published on April 9, 2017

  20. Pine Beetle Epidemic

    Published on April 9, 2017
  21. Can you find the pika hiding in the rocks? It’s easier when you can hear them squeaking and running around gathering flowers.

    Find the Pika

    Published on April 8, 2017
  22. While trudging through overgrown shrubbery covering the trail, we ran into a beautiful bull moose chomping away.

    Bull Moose

    Published on April 8, 2017

  23. Storm Pitch

    Published on April 7, 2017

  24. White-lined Sphinx

    Published on April 7, 2017
  25. The CT follows alongside, and eventually across the winding Cochetopa Creek. Lots of cows hanging out along the creek too, enjoying the fresh greens.

    Cochetopa Creek

    Published on April 5, 2017
  26. A cow herd grazing very majestically in Segment 19.

    Majestic Cows

    Published on April 5, 2017
  27. Two crows hanging out above an aspen grove.

    Crows

    Published on April 4, 2017
  28. Knock chats with some cows wandering around our camp.

    Cow Chats

    Published on April 4, 2017
  29. A totally innocuous sign on a tiny fenced off area of the prairie.

    Not ominous at all

    Published on April 3, 2017
  30. Probably the longest view of the trail ahead we had on the CT. Some where ahead of us is a group on horseback. Even crazier, we’d heard there was trail magic hiding further ahead, and we found it!

    Colorado Prairie

    Published on April 3, 2017
  31. Us: Tree, let go of that trail marker. Tree: No! (August 2, 2016)

    Colorado Trail Marker

    Published on April 2, 2017
  32. Thru hiking frequently isn’t glamorous. One of the lowlights of the Colorado Trail was walking through cattle pastures, on a path that was also frequented by horses. So yeah… there was a lot of poop. Oh, and sometimes, your water source is right in the middle of that cow patty filled pasture! Yay for water filters. (August 2, 2016)

    Cow Paths

    Published on April 1, 2017
  33. Certain sections of the CT are popular with equestrians too. We criss crossed with a large group one day, and caught up with their surprisingly large camp the next morning. (August 2, 2016)

    Horses

    Published on March 31, 2017
  34. At the end of the Collegiate West, we met back up with the Colorado Trail in Segment 15. We were really happy we took the advice to do the West instead of Collegiate East - thoroughly amazing views the whole way, but could since it’s so high in elevation, could be really nasty without good weather. (July 31, 2016)

    Collegiate West Complete

    Published on March 30, 2017
  35. Buckets, Gil and Knock taking a break after a climb. The elevation here is around 12,500 feet, near where the Continental Divide crosses the CT in Segment 5 of the Collegiate West. (July 30, 2016)

    Buckets, Gil and Knock taking a break after a climb

    Published on March 29, 2017
  36. Really glad we got more experience at high elevations above tree line in Coloroado! Expecting to see a lot more of this kind of environment on the PCT this summer. (July 30, 2016)

    Knock and Colorado

    Published on March 28, 2017
  37. Knock hiking just north of the Continental Divide in Segment 5 of the Collegiate West. (July 30, 2016)

    Collegiate West Segment 5

    Published on March 27, 2017
  38. Buckets and Gil hiking near Bald Mountain in Segment 5 of the Collegiate West. (July 30, 2016)

    Bald Mountain

    Published on March 25, 2017
  39. Camping with Buckets and Gil at Boss Lake in Segment 5 of the Collegiate West. (July 29, 2016)

    Boss Lake

    Published on March 24, 2017
  40. Knock shimmying across a closed bridge at the beginning of Segment 5 of the Collegiate West. (July 29, 2016)

    Bridge Closed

    Published on February 16, 2017
  41. Gil, Buckets and Knock in Segment 4 of the Collegiate West. (July 29, 2016)

    Collegiate West Segment 4

    Published on February 15, 2017
  42. Knock hiking in Segment 4 of the Collegiate West with Gil and Buckets. We hiked alone for most of the CT, so we really enjoyed our days hiking with them! (July 29, 2016)

    Hikers Assemble

    Published on February 14, 2017
  43. Early on in Segment 3 of Collegiate West, we came across a sizable bit of snow, and I decided it would be fun to try and glissade down 10 feet or so. It was pretty fun, until I went over some rocks. Not pictured is the resulting gash on the outside of my thigh that we had to immediately improvise a bandage for. Six months later, I still have a pretty good scar there. (July 27, 2016)

    Glissade Incident

    Published on February 13, 2017
  44. Segment 3 of the Collegiate West was a day we’d been nervously anticipating for a while. It’s 15.9 miles long, and almost entirely above 12,000 feet. The whole thing is above tree line, so the only option is to do it all in go. Fortunately, we had great weather. Started with beautiful blue skies, and the clouds that did move in didn’t bring rain. Hiking above tree line is a weird thing. Bad weather moves in fast, so even when things look good, I’m nervous. But the sights and the beauty of it is incredible. Our only other experience being exposed for this long was the Presidential range on the White Mountains. A lot of days of hiking are forgotten or blend together, but these are two that I feel like I remember every hour of. (July 28, 2016)

    Collegiate West Segment 3

    Published on September 22, 2016
  45. Knock climbing up Cottonwood Pass. The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness ends in a broad alpine meadow, full of wildflowers. Cottonwood Pass is accessible by car, so I was a little surprised nobody else was hiking here on such a beautiful day. (July 27, 2016)

    Collegiate Peaks Wilderness

    Published on September 21, 2016
  46. Looking south from Lake Ann Pass, you can see Lake Ann nestled among the mountains.

    Lake Ann Pass

    Published on September 19, 2016
  47. My favorite wildflower we came across - skypilot! Ella told us about this flower so we’d been keeping an eye out for it. They only grow above 10,000 feet, and seem to be rarer than most of the wildflowers - we only saw them once on our hike. (July 26, 2016)

    Skypilot

    Published on September 17, 2016
  48. Knock traversing the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. We learned to try and get through any sections above tree line before 1 PM, since storms are more likely to roll in then. Gray skies all day make the “do we go over this pass now?” math more difficult.

    Collegiate Peaks Wilderness

    Published on September 8, 2016
  49. Tarp Camping

    Tarp Camping

    Published on September 7, 2016
  50. Collegiate Peak Wilderness

    Collegiate Peak Wilderness

    Published on September 6, 2016
  51. Hope Pass

    Hope Pass

    Published on September 4, 2016
  52. The Colorado Trail spends 8 miles or so circumnavigating Twin Lakes. A lot of it is road walking, but there are some cool sights, houses and yurts peppered along the way.

    Twin Lakes Yurt

    Published on September 3, 2016
  53. Knock rips apart our giant lump of homemade dried fruit to put in tortilla + peanut butter + trail mix dessert wraps for lunch. Note we are hiding under the tarp for lunch since there was a looming storm, and we weren’t excited to hike up Hope Pass in bad weather.

    Trail Lunch

    Published on September 2, 2016
  54. Sharing couscous with Nightmare and Pine Cone Mama in Twin Lakes.

    Twin Lakes Resuppy

    Published on September 1, 2016
  55. We took a side trail to climb Mount Elbert, and were treated to a wonderful view of Twin Lakes. Mount Elbert is the highest point in Colorado at 14,440 feet, and the second highest point in the continental US. We woke up at 5 AM to start the climb, and there were already dozens of people on their way up. It was our first 14er, and gave us some humbling perspective on altitude.

    Twin Lakes from Mount Elbert

    Published on August 31, 2016
  56. A hiker and his dog we met just south of the Tennessee Pass Trailhead. We leap frogged back and forth on the trail for a bit, and this dog just kept running between us, checking it out, veering off to check out some smells, then sprinting back to other person. Being a hiking dog sounds exhausting.

    Tennessee Pass Trailhead

    Published on August 30, 2016
  57. A ptarmigan chirps next to the trail, trying to distract us from her chicks. In the summer they are brown to match the rocks, and moult to white in the winter to match the snow.

    Ptarmigan

    Published on August 29, 2016
  58. Abandoned bunkers at Camp Hale, where the 10th Mountain Division trained during World War II. Note the warning sign for unexploded ordinances in the area.

    Camp Hale Bunkers

    Published on August 28, 2016
  59. Wildflowers and vistas seen coming down Kokomo Pass. Not pictured are the flies EVERYWHERE.

    Kokomo Pass

    Published on August 27, 2016
  60. Our first marmot sighting in Colorado! These little guys are common above timberline. They run around the rocks squeaking a lot, earning them the wonderful nickname “whistlepigs”.

    Marmot

    Published on August 26, 2016
  61. Janet’s cabin pokes from above the treeline on Searle Pass.

    Janet’s Cabin

    Published on August 24, 2016
  62. Knock climbing Searle Pass, near Copper Mountain.

    Climbing Searle Pass

    Published on August 24, 2016
  63. Hikers walking the switchbacks into Breckenridge.

    Breckenridge switchbacks

    Published on July 25, 2016
  64. A moose grazing in the forest as we approach Breckenridge.

    Moose!

    Published on July 24, 2016
  65. A stretch of trail in Segment 6 where trees have been clear cut due to the pine beetle epidemic.

    Pine beetles

    Published on July 24, 2016
  66. Cute (creepy?) gnomes someone has decorated the trail with on Segment 6.

    Gnomes

    Published on July 24, 2016
  67. Part of our new gear is a two person net tent from Yama Mountain Gear - lightweight and helps keeps the mosquitos away.

    Yama Net Tent

    Published on July 24, 2016
  68. Knock at Kenosha Pass - our first venture above treeline on the Colorado Trail.

    Kenosha Pass

    Published on July 23, 2016

  69. Wildflowers!

    Published on July 23, 2016
  70. Cattle grazing in a six mile stretch of meadow in Segment 4.

    Segment 4 - Cattle

    Published on July 23, 2016
  71. Aspens in Segment 3

    First Aspen Grove

    Published on July 23, 2016
  72. Walking back from Leadville urgent care.

    It’s not lupus

    Published on July 22, 2016
  73. Durango - an adorable pack llama we met in Segment 3.

    Durango the Llama

    Published on July 22, 2016
  74. Wildflowers in the Segment 2 burn area.

    Wildflowers in the Segment 2 burn area

    Published on July 22, 2016
  75. Umbrellas proved very useful in Segment 2, which features a waterless ten mile stretch through a burn area.

    Burn Area

    Published on July 22, 2016
  76. The South Platte River, marking the end of Segment 1.

    South Platte River

    Published on July 22, 2016
  77. To my surprise, Colorado flora includes cactuses.

    Cactuses in Colorado

    Published on July 21, 2016
  78. Waterton Canyon in Segment 1 of the Colorado Trail.

    Waterton Canyon

    Published on July 21, 2016
  79. A herd of long horn sheep graze in Waterton Canyon.

    Long horn sheep in Waterton Canyon

    Published on July 21, 2016