Mountain Monday- Mt. Zirkel 12, 180'

Mt. Zirkel is the highest point in Routt County and to get to the top of the peak, it is a multi-day hike. I made it up to the saddle in roughly 3.5 hours, but time got the best of me and I had to turn around before making it to the peak. The hike is a roundtrip of 17.2 miles, from the standard route. I've always wanted to do this hike and stay overnight at the Slavonia Mine (the mine is now abandoned, but it does still have a few remnants in the area), which is what most do when they try for the summit attempt. The mine is also a great place to stop and eat some lunch.

The hike to the mines is challenging (but doable if you leave early), gaining several thousand feet (it evens out once you reach the red dirt trail. I did this hike in late July, but luckily most of the snow had melted off and the two river crossings were not too bad (just bring some watershoes)! 

I'd also recommend coming prepared for any type of weather, as the you don't have much service out in the Zirkel Wilderness and it can change in a matter of minutes. 

Overall, the trail is very well marked (however, don't expect to see many people once you leave Gilpin Lake), but still remember to always bring a compass and map. This hike is great once you get your hiking legs underneath you and the snow has melted (think August or early September). 

Mountain Monday- Pearl Lake

Ugh Monday hit me like a load of bricks today. We got some snow here, so no outdoor running for me this morning and tomorrow morning it's expected to be in the low teen's, so I may have to suffer through another treadmill run again (but at least i CAN run- am I right?!?). 

There's no better cure for the Monday blues than reminiscing on one of my favorite WINTER hiking/ Yurt trips to Pearl Lake State Park (it's around 30 minutes NORTH of Steamboat)! We rented the Yurt for one night in February and it was beautiful there! They have twoyurts on the lake that are available for rent year-round and we stayed really warm and cozy inside. It was so great to wake up in the morning and be able to take our snowshoes out for a little hike around the lake with our coffee. The road getting out there definitely is an AWD-type of road, but it's really well-marked and there's ample parking (either in the Winter OR Summer). 

We've done the hike around the lake (around 3 miles round trip) several times in all different seasons (definitely don't recommend going when it is muddy out), but there's something serene about the wintertime out there. Everything seems quieter and more peaceful than the bustling Summer days. 

Also having a fire outside in the winter is not something we get to experience everyday! What a treat that was...

The hike is very gentle and I would highly recommend for almost anyone of any age (you always have the option to turn around as well, so you can go out as far as you'd like!). 

What is your favorite State Park?

Ever stayed in a yurt? 

Favorite wintertime activity?

Mountain Monday- Mt. Elbert 14,440'

Hello from Maine! I knew you are waiting on the edge of your seats for my Mtn Monday post and I didn't want to let you down! Forgive me for any funky misspellings or odd format views- currently writing this post from the Newark Airport during my 3.5 hour delay (insert eye roll)!  

I wanted to share with you my first 14er that I hiked several years ago (SOLO!) because although it was the highest 14,000 foot mountain in the Rockies, it's also one of the easiest! This hike took me roughly 4.5 hours and I started it around 8am (later than I would recommend)! My skaters had a competition in Vail, so I decided to take advantage of that and drive the 1.5 hour drive from Vail to Leadville!  

The scenery almost the entire hike was stunning (I hiked it in mid-July), but it was definitely pretty crowded!  

There was still snow everywhere on the actual hike and the road out to the trailhead was pretty rocky dirt roads (I drove slow and my civic made it out there just fine).  

I would say that in-shape older children could do this hike and I'd recommend trying to score one of the campsites along the road that leads to trailhead (so you can get an early start). Also if you can swing to do it during the week, when there are less crowds, I would!! It's a great beginner 14er (it still is very challenging) and make sure to give yourself 5-6 hours to complete the full  7.6 mile round trip . 

not my dog but look how cute?!?!

Happy Hiking!​

Have you ever hiked a 14er? Have a favorite?​

Any must-do hikes for Fall that you would recommend?​

Favorite way to pass time in an airport?​

Mountain Monday- Mt. Bross 14,172'

Recapping our hike up Alex's first fourteener (mountain summit that is over 14,000') and my second, Mt. Bross! The entire hike up is 4.5 miles and is relatively easy (no major rock scrambling), however it still is challenging because the altitude causes more exertion and heavier breathing than normal. We did this hike in middle of July last year and started around 5:30 in the morning (we had headlamps, but it soon got light enough that we didn't need them). There is an established old dirt mining road that you follow almost the entire way up to the summit (a small rock scramble up to the actual summit), which makes it nice and less stressful than others. We also only met 2 other people on our entire hike, so it was really quiet! 

We hit the summit around 9am and the weather was still perfect, so we were able to get a few good pictures. It's amazing that there was still so much history and mining machinery still there. There was also a for-sale sign on the mountain-how amazing would that be to purchase your own fourteener?!

I would highly recommend this for those who are looking to get a fourteener under their belt, but not excited about the possibility of rock scrambling or meeting crowds of people (there are a lot hikers on most 14,000ers during Summer weekends). We drove from Vail to the parking lot of the mountain and it took us around an hour and a half. There are not many places to camp close to the summit, so that is also something to consider. The majority of the hike is above treeline, so remember it would be dangerous to start the hike if weather even has the possibility of turning bad. 

Mountain Monday- Flat Top Mountain & Hooper Lake

Happy Monday! Yesterday it was just Stella and I (Alex was working at an outdoor show in Telluride since Thursday) and we had a craving to drive up to the mountains to go for a hike and check out all the Fall colors, so we headed up to the Flat Tops Wilderness (about 30 minutes away). It's gotten SUPER chilly over the past few days and dips into the low 30's at night. We also got our first snowfall in the higher elevations (above 10,000') on Friday and Saturday! This hike did bring us up above 10,000' and we did get to see some snow! Stella was really excited and loves snow. I don't think she'd do too well if we moved to the beach....oh well. I guess we'll save that for another life!

This hike brings you to either up to the top of Flat Top Mountain or to Hooper/ Kenner Lakes and over the saddle of Flat Top Mountain. Our goal was to get to the lakes, but we only made it to the first one (Hooper) before deciding that it was getting a bit late and the clouds were not looking too happy (so we turned around after that). You gain over 1,500' of elevation over the 2.5 miles to the lake and it was definitely tough! We met a few hikers along the way, including two gentlemen who said they lost their dog up there last weekend and said that he is wearing a collar if we find him. It always makes me really sad when I hear of someone loosing an animal (especially in the wilderness) because I could never imagine how terrible that must be! We never saw his dog, but I kept thinking of him the entire hike (and also kept Stella on a leash because well... just in case).

We came across a few ponds on our hike (which Stella loves to wade in) and finally made it up to the saddle and the views were incredible. It really is so beautiful out there and we came across many snow spots! There was even a snow ridgeline on the top of one of the mountains that I think is still from last winter (it must never melt). We also came across two backpackers who said that they got caught in a pretty bad snowstorm Friday evening and even had some snow showers this morning! 

After we took in the views (around 2 miles in), we headed down the ridgeline (on the other side) in search of the lakes. Unfortunately, there was a sign missing so the trails to get to the two lakes wasn't well marked (another reason why we decided to turn back after finding the first lake). I think that it's much more common to come across trails that are more remote here in the rockies as opposed to hiking trails back in the White Mountains of NH (they're very well marked/traveled). 

We left the lake and stopped at the top of the ridgeline to eat lunch and rest for a bit (around 4 miles in). It began to SNOW, so that was our cue to head down from the higher elevation. When we started to hike back down from the saddle, the trail began to get covered with snow and we couldn't see the footprints well enough to follow the trail and ended up bushwacking a small section! It was really scary and I honestly could see how some hikers can get lost when snowstorms come along on remote trails. Luckily, we saw the trail down below and just took a diagonal path (and honestly maybe a shortcut) to get back on it! Phew! That was pretty intense and shortly thereafter the snow stopped and we hiked back down to the car. 

This hike was SO beautiful and it was just under 6 miles for us roundtrip (but we only went to the first lake and definitely took a shortcut on our way back down). I highly recommend doing this and bring some friends (and a map)! You generally have pretty poor service for most of the hike (until you get to the saddle), so keep that in mind and have a plan b if you do get lost or stuck in a snowstorm. Hopefully the weather will get warmer because I'm not ready to go straight from summer to winter just yet!

Did you do any adventures this weekend?

Any fun runs or races that you did?!

Last hiking trip- good or bad experience? Have you ever gotten lost?