Colorado Archives – GlassMountains Trip Reports

Colorado and Utah Peaks, June 2013

July 9, 2013 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Late June seems to be a good time to visit the high peaks of Colorado. Then the snowpack is diminishing, the days are long, and the threat of summer thunderstorms is not yet a daily concern. In June of 2013 I visited several Colorado and Utah Peaks, specifically Mount Sneffels, Wilson Peak, and Kings Peak. I had a good time exploring more of Colorado and seeing Utah’s High Uintas for the first time.

Mount Sneffels

I began by driving to Ouray, Colorado and up into Yankee Boy Basin to get access to Mount Sneffels (14150′). This was my first trip with my Jeep Wrangler, and I was glad to have its clearance and traction on the rocky and trenched access road. I camped above the “first parking area”, leaving the rest of the road up to the upper trailhead for the next day.

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Hiking Colorado Fourteeners, October 2012

October 27, 2012 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Linda and I visited Marty in Lakewood in early October, camping while there at nearby Bear Creek Lake Park. The weather in Lakewood was cold and wet at first, but when a few days of dry weather arrived I spent three days hiking Colorado Fourteeners while Linda bicycled in the Lakewood area.

Quandary Peak

On Sunday, October 7, I drove to the McCullough Gulch Trailhead, then car camped above the Quandary Peak Trailhead. The evening was cool, but I enjoyed relaxing and preparing dinner wearing my down jacket. That night I enjoyed my winter sleeping bag and slept comfortably in the cold night.

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Ride the Rockies 2002

February 2, 2010 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In July 2002 Linda and I joined friends on Ride the Rockies, a supported bicycle camping tour traveling a loop through Southwest Colorado.

Our friend Doug Parrow had a goal to ride through all of the US states. He learned of the Ride the Rockies bicycle tour organized by the Denver Post. This tour chooses a different route in Colorado each year. It is limited to 2000 bicyclists by a lottery system. Doug learned that up to ten people could pool their applications and nine of us from Salem and Bend Oregon applied in one packet: Doug, Mel, Ken, John, Joanne, Alan, Roger, Linda, and myself. In March we learned that we had been selected.

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