Category Archives: Hikes & Scrambles

The Barr Trail – A Pikes Peak Trail Run

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The Barr Trail on Pikes Peak is one of those routes that has been on my list for years and years, but for one reason or another, I just hadn’t done it yet. But not for lack of trying. I had a few cancelled dates along the way. I even drove all the way down to Manitou Springs a few years back, only to realize I had chosen the day of the annual Pikes Peak marathon to try to do my climb. Whoops. A slog through some open space in Monument was a pretty sad consolation prize that day. Keep reading…

Willow Lake Never Disappoints

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4th of July fell on a Monday this year, and I found myself in the Sangres for the holiday weekend. The forecast was not especially enticing for Sunday, so John and I made a single peak objective for the day: unnamed 13,546, adjacent to centennial Adams and next to scenic Willow Lake. The night had been rainy and the dawn revealed an overcast gray sky. While not cheerful, it made the long approach from the trailhead much more cooler and enjoyable than my prior two visits. Keep reading…

Calling It a Season on Grays

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It’s been a long ski season. A decent one though all things considered, featuring a bit of a roller coaster in terms of snowpack totals and capped off by a temperamental, dusty spring. Some good days were had, but these days I seem to find myself looking forward to the green valleys, raging creeks and dry trails of summer earlier and earlier. I’ve also always been a fan of defined endings to seasons and activities, as there’s simply too much to do in the Colorado outdoors to risk getting burned out on any one thing. So with all that being said, for me at least, it felt like the right time to take the planks out for one final ski and call it a season. Keep reading…

A Few Good Days in April

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It’s no secret that this year’s spring season has been a temperamental one in terms of weather, snowpack, and ski conditions for just about every skier in the state who doesn’t enjoy absolute freedom of schedule. The high country has been continuously raked by winds and dust storms throughout most of April and into May. Our snowpack ended up being nothing to write home about (slightly below average and with some aspects and ski lines never really coming into condition). Keep reading…