**Wow, that was fast! A foster from DMK Rehoming will be taking Scarlett in. Thanks Outdoor Beginner readers!**
Showing posts with label colorado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colorado. Show all posts
Trail Review: St. Mary's Glacier
St. Mary’s Glacier is a bit of a hidden gem, so I’ve been a little reticent to share it here. They actually removed the “Glacier” part from the highway sign so fewer people can find it, but I guess I’ve come to terms
with the fact that I’m okay with (potentially) ruining that. It’s definitely a hike you should do once, if not to
say you’ve seen/been on a glacier, than for the spectacular views (although
this is admittedly a common theme in hiking in Colorado).
On the topic of common themes, this was also a heck of a hike for me as a beginner. However,
it is one of many trails that are tough,
but doable. I’m a big believer in taking
as many breaks for water/getting oxygen as you need. The point of hiking is
to enjoy your beautiful surroundings, so why put pressure on yourself to get
done AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. It’s not a
race.
Elevation is always a factor for what to wear while hiking,
but this is particularly true at St. Mary’s. It is WINDY. We went in mid-September, while
it was still quite hot in Denver, and were bundled. As always, dress in plenty of layers and carry a backpack to
carry them as you peel them off on the way down.
Finding St. Mary’s does
require some driving on non-paved roads, which can get a little rough. Take the St. Mary’s exit of off I-70,
after passing through Idaho Springs (which, by the way, is the mother of
all post-hiking lunch options. Hit up Tommy Knocker’s Brewery, BeauJo’s Pizza,
or Smokin Yard BBQ. All are epic). It’s about an hour drive, depending on
traffic.
Jog A Dog at Denver Animal Shelter
Do you live in the Denver area? Do you have a mild to moderate obsession with dogs? Do you enjoy walking and/or running? Would you like a Thursday night activity that keeps you from binge-watching Netflix on the couch with a
Trail Review: Gem Lake in Estes Park
This out and back trail was the first
hike I ever did after moving to Colorado. The elevation in Estes Park is no
joke, so if you're new to town like I was, plan on taking lots of water and
lots of breaks. It was slightly demoralizing that a very small fluffy white dog
lapped me on this trail, but the views along the way will help ease that pain.
Multiple breaks will help ease the pain of your lungs screaming for air.
On that cheery note, you hook up with the Gem Lake trail after parking at the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead. It's about four miles round trip. We hit it pretty early on Labor Day weekend and still found parking, but it was jammed by the time we got back. As with every Colorado trail in the summer, you're going to need to wake up early.
Lumpy Ridge is an hour and a half away
from Denver, right outside of Estes Park. The trip is easy now that all the
highways have been repaired from 2013 flooding, and is super scenic. You also
get to go through Lyons, which is a super cute mountain town. It’s your halfway
mark to Estes, and always a good place to stop for food or gas.
The Sweatiest I've Ever Been in March, aka My First Snowshoeing Trip
After several weekends of hibernating with Netflix on my couch, I decided to be a real Coloradan and embrace winter. I have been cleared to walk as much as I want to, so I taped up my ankle and hit the trail!
I was actually really pleased by how well the basics I learned from REI served me, except for one giant thing I forgot. POLES. Please don't try to snowshoe without them - your legs will thank you.
Thanks to Google, I found Bent Gate Rental in Golden, where my boyfriend and I rented out snowshoes and got powder tails put on them all for $24, which coincidentally is the price of one rental at REI. REI killed it with the basics of snowshoeing class, but their rentals are super pricey, so if you're headed in the direction of Golden, Bent Gate is your best bet. Jax is near Fort Collins, and there's an even cheaper place up in Estes Park if you want to hit RMNP.
Anyways, Bent Gate is right on the way to Golden Gate State Park, where we were headed, and also next door to the one of the best pizza places EVER. If you don't stop at Woody's after a long day on the trail, you are a fool.
Golden Gate is another wonderful state park within an hour from Denver. It took us a little longer since we went to the main entrance of the park for some trail recommendations, and then had to drive all the way around to the trailhead at Rifleman Phillips Campground. Apparently, you can just drive to the campground straight from Denver:
What we did instead was stop at the Visitor's center and then went west, north, and back east to get to the trailhead (yellow circle). Our drive is outlined in blue. Obviously much longer, but the drive was really pretty and stopping at the Visitor's Center was great for us first-timers.
I was actually really pleased by how well the basics I learned from REI served me, except for one giant thing I forgot. POLES. Please don't try to snowshoe without them - your legs will thank you.
Thanks to Google, I found Bent Gate Rental in Golden, where my boyfriend and I rented out snowshoes and got powder tails put on them all for $24, which coincidentally is the price of one rental at REI. REI killed it with the basics of snowshoeing class, but their rentals are super pricey, so if you're headed in the direction of Golden, Bent Gate is your best bet. Jax is near Fort Collins, and there's an even cheaper place up in Estes Park if you want to hit RMNP.
Anyways, Bent Gate is right on the way to Golden Gate State Park, where we were headed, and also next door to the one of the best pizza places EVER. If you don't stop at Woody's after a long day on the trail, you are a fool.
Golden Gate is another wonderful state park within an hour from Denver. It took us a little longer since we went to the main entrance of the park for some trail recommendations, and then had to drive all the way around to the trailhead at Rifleman Phillips Campground. Apparently, you can just drive to the campground straight from Denver:
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| The full version of this map can be found here on CPW's website. |
Trail Review: El Dorado Canyon State Park
In the spirit of working off the countless amounts of carbs I (happily) took down on Thanksgiving, I spent my Black Friday hiking with my better half in El Dorado Canyon. Despite the less than encouraging name, the Rattlesnake Gulch trail was a perfect post-Thanksgiving day hike.
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The best part about El Dorado Canyon State Park was that (like Staunton State Park) its less than an hour from Denver. The drive is super easy, except for the fact that the last mile of road isn't paved. As long as it's not super muddy or bad weather (why would you be hiking in that situation anyways?) you should be fine, even if you don't have four wheel drive. There was a Camry parked next to us that presumably survived the drive up and back.
November's Adoptable Adventure Dog: Charlie
Worth Your Time: REI's Snowshoeing Basics Class
2015 will mark the first time I don't migrate to Florida for the winter in several years, so I'm super excited to spend this winter trying out snow sports. I tried both downhill and cross-country skiing once last year, so not only am I excited to learn more about those sports, I'm pumped to try out snowshoeing so I can hit the winter sports trifecta.
Step one of my foray into snowshoeing was REI's Snowshoeing Basics class at my local store. The class was free and definitely worth my time. I highly recommend it to any fellow beginner as a great complement to your outdoor education journey (that sounds very Colorado-ey of me, doesn't it?).
Since hitting the trail myself, this blog has become a mash-up of the REI class plus my own experience as a first-time snowshoer. The REI class gave me a really solid foundation of knowledge, so I definitely encourage you to check it out for yourself - classes run throughout the winter. Worst case scenario, you get a 20% off coupon to use and you found out you don't want to attempt snowshoeing.
Step one of my foray into snowshoeing was REI's Snowshoeing Basics class at my local store. The class was free and definitely worth my time. I highly recommend it to any fellow beginner as a great complement to your outdoor education journey (that sounds very Colorado-ey of me, doesn't it?).
Since hitting the trail myself, this blog has become a mash-up of the REI class plus my own experience as a first-time snowshoer. The REI class gave me a really solid foundation of knowledge, so I definitely encourage you to check it out for yourself - classes run throughout the winter. Worst case scenario, you get a 20% off coupon to use and you found out you don't want to attempt snowshoeing.
Hiking the Eastern Side of Rocky Mountain National Park
Now that I've finally gotten around to writing this blog,
there may be limited time for you to take advantage of the trails in Rocky
Mountain National Park. There were snow flurries in the mountains today, so get
out there while you still can!
The entrance to the eastern side of RMNP is right outside of downtown Estes Park. Now that Highway 36 is completely restored after last year’s flooding,
the drive is an easy and scenic hour and a half from Denver.
Staunton State Park, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...
I’ve been to Staunton Stake Park twice, and I’m already in
love. When my parents visited from Maryland a few weeks ago, I needed an option
for hiking that wasn’t too far from Denver. It also had to offer doable trails
for people living essentially at sea level. Staunton has all of this (and you
don’t have to sacrifice views!). Not only did my parents survive the trip, but
our friend Leah who legitimately lives AT sea level (the Florida Keys…lucky
lady!) also enjoyed an excursion at Staunton.
Staunton is one of Colorado’s newest parks (like really new
– it just opened in May 2013) and it does not disappoint. It's less than an hour from Denver, and the drive is not only
gorgeous but easy. Totally manageable for tentative mountain drivers and the park is easy to find.
Campground Review: Platte River Campground in Pike National Forest
I’ve had this idea in my head for a while about camping on
the river. I was envisioning a very zen experience with riverfront camping –
waking up and opening up the tent to be right on the water. The fact that I
learned it’s actually a horrible idea to pitch a tent that close to water
(flooding, etc.) is irrelevant, but in my quest to camp on the water, my
boyfriend and I decided to try out a weekend at the Platte River campground in
the Pike National Forest.
Beginner's Guide To Whitewater Rafting - It's Not As Scary As It Looks
When my boyfriend first proposed (I just realized I got a LOT of family member's hopes up with those first five words) the idea of going whitewater rafting, I thought he was insane. I envisioned the experience being something like this:
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| Uhh no thanks I think I'll pass on drowning today. Photo by Colorado Adventure Center |
Campground Review - Green Ridge Campground at Shadow Mountain Reservoir
Campground descriptions usually read like a foreign language to the beginner camper, so without further ado here is my first campground breakdown for my fellow newbies. More to come...including campgrounds outside Colorado! Yes, I did go camping a few times before moving here. And by that I mean three times. One was really more of an RV park. Anyways...here's what you need to know before you go to Green Ridge Campground!
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| There is a 100% chance that red spot is at the tunnel before Idaho Springs. |
The Definitive Guide To A Concert At Red Rocks
While an outdoors concert venue may not traditionally fall under "experiencing the great outdoors," the lack of information about going to a concert at Red Rocks led me to write this after my first concert last night. Hope this helps, future concert-goers!
Step 1 – Get There Early
Head down
to the town of Morrison to wine and dine yourself (or in my case, margarita and queso myself) before the show. The concert started at 6:00 p.m., and we left the
Capitol Hill area of Denver at 2:00. We drove into Morrison and hit our
favorite Mexican restaurant, Morrison Inn (so Mexican sounding!), to enjoy some
margaritas and things covered with queso.
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| Photo courtesy of Yelp |
Where To Find Moose and Not Get Trampled – Beginner's Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park
Seeing some meese (yes I know, that’s not actually the
plural of moose) has been on my outdoorsy bucket list for well over a year. It
first started when I went to work an event in Vermont and realized that was
prime meesey habitat. After leaving Vermont without seeing so much as a
squirrel, I shelved my moose ambitions and thought I’d wait until next year.
Until I moved to Colorado. Seeing moose was now a real
possibility again, and when my boyfriend returned from REI with a trail that all
but guaranteed a moose sighting, I was thrilled. We were going camping for the
weekend just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, and the lovely volunteer
at REI had pointed out a few trails just inside the park that were extremely meesey.
After breaking camp at Shadow Mountain Reservoir (learn more about the campground here), we headed into the park for the day with our fingers crossed to hopefully
spot a moose. I have a slight huge obsession with animals, so I was on
the edge of my seat with my head swiveling around in hot pursuit of a moose.
And then I saw him. At first, I thought it was a large horse, but upon
realizing it had antlers and was most definitely a moose, I let out a
high-pitched shriek for my boyfriend to pull over. His ear drums were a necessary casualty. It was a REAL. LIVE. MOOSE.
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