Old Man Bull

If you are like me and into survival stories, I highly recommend Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston.  It is his personal account of his experience in Blue John Canyon, UT.  It gives great personal insight into his experience over his 127 hour entrapment in the canyon.  He goes into detail about his experiences before the situation, and state of mind throughout the entire ordeal. His insight about mountain philosophy and way of life is incredible.  While reading this book, you can't help but want to get outside and share in his passion for the outdoors.

1/17/2012 Jones Pass Hiking Party:  Aaron, Dan, Chris 4mi, round trip Moderate This is a great snowshoe trail relatively close to Denver.  The trailhead sits at approximately 10,500' and when there's little snow in Denver, this place got it's fair share.  From the city, take I-70 west to the Empire exit.  Take US 40 towards Winter Park.  As the road makes it's first swooping right hand turn before heading up to Berthoud, turn left off of US-40, and follow signs to the Jones Pass parking lot. There is no fee, nor any bathrooms in the parking lot.  The trailhead is clearly marked, and seemingly the trail is maintained based on the presence of a snowcat parked off trail.  Follow the trail, when it splits, bear right up a steep climb, and follow the well trodden trail all of the way to the gulley.  It was very windy and cloudy once we got out of tree cover, but from other folks' pictures, looks like great scenery on a clear day.

7.24.2011 Mt. Elbert, Standard Route Climbing Party:  Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden (1 st ), Kelsey Breen, Kathryn Young, Katie Lewis, Scarlet, Henry & Oscar Colorado High Point 10 miles round trip Strenuous After working a full shift at the Hyatt, left Denver at 2330 and met up with the rest of the party who had already set up camp at Elbert Creek campground, near Leadville.  After a quick kiss with Amanda, and breaking camp, we were on the trail at 3:00am.   Smiling and pumped at the trailhead! We quickly got on the trail, all 8 of us, and started making our way through the never ending forest.  This part of the trail is pretty daunting, and we all agreed on the way back down, its best we didn’t see this part of the trail during the daylight hours.  The truth is, it is a huge climb from the parking lot to treeline.  Without seeing the terrain too well, you just know you are climbing, and climbing, and climbing.  You fi...

7.19.2011 Lone Eagle Peak via Mirror Lake trail Climbing Party: Aaron Dover, Danny Whelan and Mike Dolan Lone Eagle Peak I will start off by saying that an active outdoor enthusiast in our hiking party said “I’ve lived in Colorado my entire life, and have never heard of this place.” We got a late start in the day, leaving Denver at 9am to miss rush hour traffic.  It worked…we cruised through the city in no time, and turned off I-70 heading west towards Lyons and eventually made our way through Rocky Mountain National Park.  Mike was visiting from Boston, and Danny wanted to show Mike RMNP.  It was pretty sweet, but a long detour to finally getting into Grand Lake.  Trail Ridge Road is a traffic jam with a million dollar view.  We stopped short of the visitor center and took the most scenic pisses of our lives off the side of the road.  After RMNP, we got into Grand Lake, and found the trailhead to Mirror Lake, wasted no time and hit the ol’ dusty a...

7.6.2011 Double Fisting Climbing Party: Solo Grays Peak and Torreys Peak as you come out of Steven's Gulch This was one of those hikes that gets you going right out of the gate.  After arriving at the summer trailhead from Denver, the altitude is readily noticeable.  Got on the trail at 5:05 am.  The trailhead sits at 11,280’, and the first portion of the hike from the parking lot through Stevens Gulch is definitely a challenge.  It is probably one of the most gorgeous approaches I can think of, and makes you wait to see the mountain or mountains you are about to hike.  After gaining the first portion of the hike alongside Stevens Gulch alongside the Kelso Ridge, Grays and Torreys come into view. Looking back down Steven's Gulch The peaks appear farther away than they actually are.  Its time to put your head down and keep plugging.  Once you get to and cross a large stream, you can tell you are nestled into the shoulder of the mountain, and...

6.14.2011 The Eye Opener Climbing Party: Solo Quandary Peak seen from the road on the way home Before deciding to try to make a run at Quandary, read the trip reports, and decided it would be best to get a pretty early start on the mountain to avoid post-holing on the way up. It seemed Quandary was in great shape and that soft snow was the big issue to look out for. Left trailhead at 4:10 am, after arriving from Denver. It was my first time making a night hike, and it was a great experience-one I will not soon forget. Signage at the trailhead depicting gain, taken after hike. The first portion of the hike through the woods seemed rather tame, and I found that in the dark, the biggest problem I was having was staying on the trail! There were several places along the trail where it seemed it could've gone in 2,3,4 different directions. I soon realized that the best approach to figuring where to go was to rule out spots where vegetation was not disturbed. It worked out fi...

8.12.2010 Mt. Bierstadt (14,060’) and the Sawtooth Ridge Climbing Party:  Aaron Dover, Lauren Voelker Had been hiking in the 8,000-12,000 range since moving to Colorado in November 2009. I finally decided I wanted to try a 14er and did my homework and thought that Bierstadt/Sawtooth/Evans would be a good route to do. I recruited a friend who hadn't climbed a 14er either and we decided to give it a go. We made one attempt two weeks earlier and were forced to abort the mission due to heavy thunder and lightning activity on the summit. We swallowed our pride and returned back to the Guanella Pass parking lot. Two weeks later, we returned to the TH better prepared and earlier in the day. We started on the trail at about 6:15 after waiting out a threatening morning cloud. The trail through the willows over the boardwalk was rather uneventful, crossed the creek without incident, and made our way up onto the ridge of Bierstadt. Summitted Bierstadt at around 10, and contemplated movi...

So, I am new to blogging, and had been keeping a running journal of some of my mile high (or higher) exploits.  After seeing what others were doing with blogs, I thought this would be the best way to share some of the adventures and discoveries made in this wonderful part of the country, and encourage others to do the same. I came to Colorado in the fall of 2009, lived in an apartment in Capitol Hill and instantly grew to love the city of Denver.  I weighed in at a portly 230lbs, which was not worn well on my 5'10" frame.  I distinctly remember being given a walking tour of the city from my room mate and great friend Wil.  After the two mile walk downtown, my feet were tired, and blistered from a routine walk into the city and around the neighborhood.  Apparently my body was not used to such activity, and was more accustomed to a more sedentary day job and activity regiment.  Everything in my new life was an exercise, from lugging groceries home, to walki...