Mt. Elbert and Browns Canyon, Colorado - Hiking and Rafting

Roger and I planned an 11 day trip to Colorado to do some hiking, rafting, and camping leading up to the 4th of July holiday weekend.  We left Salt Lake early Thursday morning and made the 7 hour drive to Leadville, CO where Roger had reserved a vacation rental.  Leadville, the highest city in the United States, sits at an elevation of just over 10,000 feet and is surround by some of the tallest mountains in Colorado.  One of those mountains, Mt. Elbert, is Colorado's highest peak and was our first adventure for the trip.  We met up with Roger's nephew Stephen and friend Jared later in the afternoon and planned our hike for the next morning.  Thankfully, everyone was OK with an early start to avoid afternoon thunderstorms and we decided on a 5:00am start time.

Roger, Stephen, and Jared at the trailhead

Mt. Elbert is not a technical hike and does not require any special climbing skills, just a good amount of fitness to deal with steep climbs at high elevation.  Not long after the hike began, we broke through treeline around 12,000 feet and made the relentless climb upward as the sun rose over the horizon.  It was a crystal clear day and the temperature was perfect for hiking.  There were a few false summits and patches of snow, but no other difficulties along the way.  I was a little surprised how easy it was to reach the peak, and excited to be the first person on the summit that day.  The panoramic views were spectacular!

Roger and Stephen pass above treeline

Approaching the summit of Mt. Elbert

Just me and my shadow on the summit

14,440 elevation on Mt. Elbert

Leadville was having a BBQ and Brew Festival on Friday and Saturday, and while BBQ is not my thing, brews certainly are!  It was a fantastic reward after hiking to the summit of Mt. Elbert and a fun way to spend the afternoon on Main Street.

Downtown Leadville

BBQ and Brew Festival in Leadville

Afternoon storms

BBQ and Brew Festival in Leadville

Stephen and Jared headed to Denver on Saturday while Roger and I had a full day to explore Leadville before heading to Buena Vista for the night.  We decided to take a trip on the Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad for the afternoon.  It was a relaxing 2.5 hour out-and-back trip along the north end of the valley with great views of the headwaters of the Arkansas River.  We also spent some time at the Leadville Mining Hall of Fame and Museum to learn more about the mining history of the area.  It had some interesting exhibits with a very pro-mining perspective, as to be expected in a town that exists because of mining.

Leadville Colorado and Southern Railroad

Leadville Colorado and Southern Railroad

Roger enjoying the views

We made the quick drive down to Buena Vista on Saturday afternoon and spent the night in a hotel as I fretted about our next adventure.  We met up with American Adventure Expeditions on Sunday morning and spent the day white water rafting on the Arkansas River.  Due to the exceptional snowpack and heavy Spring runoff, the Arkansas River was running extremely high.  Our morning trip took us through Browns Canyon and the typically moderate rapids were a lot more exciting than usual.  I'd had enough rafting by the time we exited the river, but Roger was up for more fun and spent the afternoon on another section of the Arkansas River.  Our river guide was great and I had nervous fun, but mellow river floats are definitely more my style.

Rafting on the Arkansas River

Rafting on the Arkansas River

One of the bigger rapids in Browns Canyon

After all of the river excitement, we headed a little farther south and camped along Chalk Creek.  It was a beautiful canyon and the campsite was right next to the river.  Unfortunately, rain moved in just after we set up camp and continued through most of the night.  There was no relaxing around the campfire with good beer, just sleep, and listening to the sound of the rain and the river.  The next morning we packed up camp and made a stop at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort a few miles down the road from our campsite.  It was a nice facility with a couple of pools of hot spring water, but nothing special.  The nicer pools near the main resort building cost extra money and colored wrist bands segregated the regular guests from the exclusive pool guests.  After soaking and sunburning for a few hours, we jumped back in the car and headed off to our next Colorado adventure.

Chalk Creek Canyon

Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort

Santa Fe, New Mexico - Sightseeing

Most of my vacations involve sleeping in tents and outdoor adventures like hiking or biking.  Every once it a while it is nice to have a more relaxed break, stay in a hotel, and enjoy some luxuries like great restaurants and other more touristy activities.  Roger and I decided to spend the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area checking out some of the local sights and culture.

After the quick flight to Albuquerque from Salt Lake on Thursday afternoon, we grabbed our first New Mexico-style meal at El Patio before making the one hour drive up to Santa Fe.  New Mexico is all about the red and green chili, and we started the trip off right.

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe

After a great breakfast on Friday morning at the Santa Fe Baking Company, we headed north to Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort and Spa for a full day of relaxation.  The hot springs were wonderful and there were several pools of varying temperature to enjoy.  They offered a "mud area" where you could cover yourself in mud and bake dry in the warm sun and I took the opportunity to get my first professional hot stone massage at the spa.  The day started off sunny and warm, but storm clouds were building as we were finishing up for the day.  The drive back to Santa Fe was a stormy one and the thunderstorms continued throughout the evening.

Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs

Mud bake at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs

Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs

Food is an important part of New Mexico culture and we enjoyed a fantastic New Mexico-style breakfast at Cafe Pasquals on Saturday morning.  The weather was looking stormy for most of the day, so we decided to walk around Santa Fe and check out the local farmers' market as well as some of the many galleries and museums that the city is known for.  The worst weather of the day hit as we were exploring the Canyon Road galleries, but this gave us an excuse to linger and enjoy the art.

Breakfast at Pasquals

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Santa Fe Farmers' Market

New Mexico State Capitol

 Canyon Road

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

New Mexico Museum of Art

We headed north on Sunday morning to check out the town of Taos and see some other important sights along the way.  We took the scenic "high road" on the way up to Taos and made our first stop at El Santuario de Chimayo, one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the United States.  The church was built in 1816 and the dirt from a small hole within the building is said to have healing powers.  After leaving Chimayo, we continued north through Taos and on to the D. H. Lawrence Ranch where the author made his New Mexico home.  The ranch is normally closed to the public, but it was open for the holiday weekend.

El Santuario de Chimayo

Truchas, NM on the High Road to Taos

 D. H. Lawrence Ranch

D. H. Lawrence Memorial

After leaving the D. H. Lawrence Ranch, we traveled back towards Taos and made a stop at the Taos Pueblo.  The Taos Pueblo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States and is believed to be nearly 1,000 years old.

Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the historic town of Taos and checking out some of the many art galleries.  Before heading back to Santa Fe on the "low road", we made a side trip to the Rio Grande River Gorge.  It was an impressive sight and definitely one of the highlights of our day trip to Taos.

Taos Plaza

Taos

Rio Grande River Gorge

Rio Grande River Gorge Bridge

After a lot of sightseeing and indoor activities, we decided to spend Monday hiking and exploring at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.  Before making the one hour drive south to the monument, we made a quick stop at the Loretto Chapel to see the famous spiral staircase that some believe was built by St. Joseph himself after the Sisters of the Chapel prayed for nine days for someone to help them.

Loretto Chapel staircase

The weather was perfect when we arrived at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and we spent the rest of the day hiking around the unusual rock formations.  The trails were short and offered some spectacular views of the surrounding landscape after climbing above the "tent rocks".  Before heading back to Santa Fe, we drove on a gravel road for a few miles to a quiet, less visited area of the monument where a Veterans Memorial can be found.

Slot canyon

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

View at the Veterans Memorial in
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Before flying out of Albuquerque on Tuesday, Roger and I spent the afternoon driving around to some of the locations used in the Breaking Bad television series.  It was a fun way to finish up a great trip.  A big thanks to Roger for a fantastic time in New Mexico.

White Family house

aka Los Pollos Hermanos

Horseshoe Lake - Challis National Forest, Idaho - Backpacking

Backpacker Magazine published a "Rip and Go" article in their September issue about Loon Creek and Horseshoe Lake in central Idaho. The article caught Jake's attention (probably because of the pre-selected food menu that came along with the complete how-to guide for this hike) and he decided we should do the trip. Despite my constant efforts to drag people across the deserts of Southern Utah, I occasionally give in to these green alpine hikes because they are always better than the other option - no backpacking trip at all. I enjoy exploring new places and since none of my previous outdoor adventures had taken me to Idaho, I agreed it would be a perfect trip for Labor Day weekend.

We left Salt Lake Friday afternoon and headed to a town called Stanley where we planned to camp for the night. The drive was about 6 hours and we passed through some very nice towns as we approached Stanley. Not the typical small podunk towns scattered throughout Idaho - these were high class, high end resort towns in the Sun Valley area. It was immediately decided that this place was worth additional trips to check out the towns. We camped overnight in a developed campground just south of Stanley and awoke the next morning to find ourselves surround by gorgeous jagged mountains (the Sawtooth Range) and Salmon River flowing through the valley.


The Sawtooth Range near Stanley, ID

Taking down the tent in the morning

The Sawtooth Range and the Salmon River

We made a brief stop in Stanley to see the town and get some coffee before making our way to the trailhead. The town had some amazing views of the Salmon River and Sawtooth Range, and seemed to be filled with cabins and homes catering to wealthy people on fishing vacations. I bet it absolutely sucks there in the winter, but it certainly looked like a gorgeous place to spend the summer. The road to the trailhead was rough, winding, and steep. By the time we made it to the ranger station where the trail started it was already early afternoon.


Jake in Stanley, ID

The Salmon River

Ready to start the hike

The hike followed Loon Creek for about 9 miles up to Horseshoe Lake. Several river crossings added to the adventure, and a hot spring along Loon Creek made for a good rest stop. The hot spring was a bit on the shallow side, and not extremely hot. I tried to love it, but it was just OK.


The first river crossing

Trying to love the hot spring

Taking a break

Arriving at Horseshoe Lake at sunset

We spent Saturday night and all of Sunday at Horseshoe Lake. We decided to hang around the lake and relax instead of exploring any farther because the weather seemed a little stormy on Sunday afternoon. It got fairly cold (a hint of winter in the air at 8,000 feet!) but there were just a few passing showers at night. It was decided that Jake and I have very limited knowledge of card games, and Jake's whiskey wasn't the best I've ever had.


Horseshoe Lake

Horseshoe Lake

Happy tent near Horseshoe Lake

Horseshoe Lake

Jake makes sure the bears don't come looking for dinner

We headed back to the trailhead Monday morning for the journey back to Salt Lake. Between the hiking and the driving, it was a very long day, but very much worth it.


Jake is a big fan of this picture

End of the hike

Heading back to Salt Lake