Mountain Monday- Rabbit Ears Peak

Rabbit Ears Peak is a must-do hike in Routt National Forest (20 minutes outside of Steamboat Springs, CO). It gains ~1,046 feet over 2.7 miles to the top and can get really busy come summertime! It also has some of the best wildflowers on any of the hiking trails in Routt County. I'd recommend doing this hike in either mid-July or August and start early (to beat the crowds) or later in the afternoon, if it isn't too hot out. It's also a pretty decent hike, so maybe not the best 'first of the season' hike. I'd recommend on planning to do this hike over 4 hours, leaving 2 hours to go out and maybe an hour and a half to get back (30 minutes up at the top). The last hike to the ears (made of volcanic rock), is really steep so don't get discouraged and know that there is loose gravel, so not the best for older/ unfit/ young children (directly before the final ascent there is a great viewpoint and I'd recommend stopping there if you're struggling). The views up at the top are incredible! This could also be a great trail running option (challenging). 

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?

Smith Lake

On Sunday, we hiked to Smith Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness and it was so beautiful! This was a very gentle hike (less than a mile out), but very remote- we were the only ones out there. I think next time we definitely need to do a picnic at the lake or carry out a blow-up paddle board. We came across two small bogs and it had minimal elevation gain. I would HIGHLY suggest doing this hike with either small children or those older relatives. 

Backpacking on the CDT

Last weekend we went backpacking on the Continental Divide Trail to the 6 Fishing Lakes in Routt National Forest and it was amazing! We had previously done this hike (but camped on a different lake this time) and last year, it was raining/lightning almost the entire time. We got lucky and had spectacular weather the entire time! 

We decided to begin our hike earlier than we normally do backpacking (we typically don't start our hike until 2 or 3pm, but went out at around noon) and this gave us so much time in the afternoon to just relax and read and fish. We set-up our camp 3.5 miles into the trail at the 3rd lake we came to (Lake Elmo) and were the only ones there the entire time. The trail passes by our campsite a bit, but it was nice to have some passersby once and a while and still feel like we had the entire place to ourselves. 

At first, I was a little skeptical towards backpacking as being out in the woods by yourself and far enough away from anything & everything is a bit scary, but this trip was SO wonderful it really began to change my outlook towards backpacking. I also think this is a great trail for beginning backpackers (I've gone on maybe 10 backpacking trips & still consider myself a beginner) because it's not so remote that you feel helpless if something were to go wrong, but it's also a good distance from anything. 

We arrived to our campsite by 2 and cooked up some lunch (we typically just pack along some snacks and a few mountain houses to make clean up easy and keep our packs light) then set up our tent and relaxed! I think I probably read about 100 pages in my book on the trip and we saw maybe 30 fish jump (but sadly caught nothing...I'm beginning to think that there's some consensus between all the fish to not latch onto just our pole because others around us ALWAYS catch something). We also saw a giant moose pass about 200 meters by our campsite- it was so out of the blue that I didn't even have my camera on me to take a picture!

Sunset views from our tent

The views were so wonderful and my photos definitely do NOT do it justice! We got up the next morning around 7:30 and I headed out for my solo trail run shortly afterwards. I ended up getting stung by a bee on the top of my ankle about a mile in, but luckily I had my compression socks and that really kept the swelling down and I managed to get in 4.5 miles and reach the final 6th fishing lake, Long Lake (the biggest one) at an altitude around 9,200 feet (we camped at an altitude of just over 10,000 feet). 

The wildflowers were in bloom throughout our entire hike and the trails were really well maintained (it's a popular mountain biking trail as well). I'm so glad I was able to fit in some trail running because that's been on my wishlist to do for a while. This trial is also part of both a 10k that our local running series puts on (I'm thinking about signing up) and their annual 50/100 mile trail run! It's pretty cool to say that my training run was along these routes, as well as on the CDT. 

Overall, this was a perfect backpacking weekend. We got back to our car around noon on Sunday and that gave us the afternoon to do (what seemed like) a million loads of laundry and meal prep for the week ahead. HIGHLY recommend doing this as a backpacking trip if you're ever in Northwest Colorado- you can tie it into a loop hike for higher mileage (10 mile or 20+ mile round trip) if you want to. Happy hiking and trail running!

Road Trip Recap Part 3- Vermont

We left NH and headed off to Vermont to spend the next few days with Alex's parents. After visiting with them for a bit, we headed to Massachusetts to spend the night with Alex's brother and sister-in-law!

It was about a 2.5 hour drive to VT from Maine and then about a 2 hour drive to MA. We spent the night eating a fantastic barbecue dinner with chicken and corn-on-the-cob and playing some yard games! We left their house the next morning around 10 to get back to Vermont to spend time with Alex's parents. 

First stop back in Vermont- THE VERMONT COUNTRY STORE! This was my first time visiting and this store is amazing- everything you have ever thought New England was/is wrapped up in one place. 

They had a food truck outside and we had one of the most fantastic burgers ever. After shopping around (they also have a ton of free food samples inside, so I definitely recommend coming hungry) for a bit, we couldn't resist getting a black raspberry ice cream to share!

They were also having a tent sale when we arrived (I think it is still going on through the month of July) and I scored a beautifully knit Woolrich sweater for less than $20! 

We also couldn't resist not getting a kissing photo in the Kissing Bridge!

His parents live in a small southern Vermont town called Springfield, which is REALLY cute and you should definitely go visit! We went to the Hartness House for dinner that night (they were having live music- we made a reservation) and Alex & I split their Cheddar Cheese Potatoes & Fig Balsamic Pizza! The pizza was to.die.for. 

On Friday, we headed out bright and early to go for a hike up Mt. Ascutney. We drove up most of the mountain and it was a 1.5 mile hike up to the fire tower, where you had a fantastic 360 degree view of all the surrounding mountains (even Mt. Washington)!

We made the hike a full loop by taking the Hang glider trail on the way back (which is totally tree covered and we could never see how any hang-glider could get through the thick forest). It was definitely a pretty rugged hike (hello Vermont rocks), but totally worth it!

After we got back, I headed out for a run when I saw a short window of opportunity (everyone wanted to shower/get ready for lunch) and did a quick 30 minutes! It's so much fun to explore a new area (as long as it is safe) outside. I managed to sneak a peek of this horse eating the grass through the open window.

The run was definitely super hilly!

3.25 miles to round out our last day in Vermont! The last part of my run was downhill and I felt super badass to sprint past this 10 or 11 year old trying to run and keep up with his friends. 

We left the next morning around 7 to head on our way to Canada!