Passport to Outdoors

Link to All Photos from hike to Huron Peak This was yet another year of Peak Challenge charity hike supporting Griffith Center for Children in Denver. This year the chosen peak (14er) was Huron Peak near Leadville, Colorado in the Sawatch Mountain Range of the Colorado Rockies. We spent the night in Leadville after having a group dinner. Our group of 13 had a fantastic start to the hike with crisp mountain air and clear blue skies.  2 miles in, we reached the real trailhead to Huron Peak. Initially we couldn't locate 5 people in our group as they started the hike 2 miles ahead of us. They had driven their truck on the rough 4 wheel drive road. Eventually we caught up to them. There were a whole lot of people camping in the woods and many were headed up the mountain along with us. The initial part of the hike was through wooded forest with wildflowers and also a stream crossing. We were surprised to see couple of people hiking down at this early hour. They mentioned that they h...

Link to all Photos from Hike up to Neva Lakes A new weekend and a new hike up to Neva lakes in Indian Peaks Wilderness through Colorado Mountain Club. We got to the 4th of July trailhead a few miles deep on a bumpy road behind the town of Eldora at 8.15 a.m. There were twelve of us in the group. After the customary introductions and instructions from the trip leader, we started up the trail at 8.40 a.m. The initial part of the hike is through wooded forest. This is peak wildflower season and they were indeed in full bloom everywhere. There was blue skies, streams flowing past by, distant snow clad peaks and wildflowers in a variety of colors. We had to cross streams multiple times. In a little over an hour, we were above tree line in the tundra. We saw remains of an old mine. After around 30 minutes, we were at a point where we had to break off from the main trail and find our way up towards the lakes. This involved navigating through huge boulder fields, talus, multiple snow fields, s...

  All Photos from Lake Charles & Mystic Lake Hike The very thought of waking up at 3.30 a.m. for any activity instills a measure of laziness for sure. But if it has to be a hike up to an alpine lake in a remote wilderness area high up in the mountains then I am always game.  Holy Cross Wilderness is in the western part of Colorado between Vail and Aspen. This early morning drive from home took around 2.5 hours with a pit stop in between. The Aspen chapter of the Colorado Mountain Club organized this 4th of July hike. We met up in the town of Eagle and then car-pooled to the trailhead which is right next to Sylvan Lake State Park. The weather was beautiful with blue skies. The hike is through a lush forest of aspen and coniferous trees. I just love the smell of forest trees and bush. Its addictive. There is a gentle stream flowing past by all along the trail. The floor is carpeted with so many different kind of wildflowers this time of the year. After an ascent of around 19...