Colorado: Hiking with Friends

Nine of us that often hike together in western North Carolina decided to venture further afield and planned a weeklong hiking adventure in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area of Colorado. I am so grateful to the friends that took on most of the planning, required reservations and also picked me up from my motel in Gunnison. Also, fun for Vic and I to celebrate our birthdays during this adventure. German chocolate was our yummy birthday cake. Our base of operations was an attractive 7-bedroom home 12 miles outside of Gunnison. There were some issues with the property though it suited our needs overall. A 4WD jeep was rented and Brian secured the generous loan of his Denver brothers 4WD Suburban. There were a wide range of ages, though most of us fell into the “seasoned” hiker category but with 2 very personable young folks among us.

Hike 1: Oh Be Joyful Trail A scenic but somewhat bumpy drive took us to this popular trailhead and campground just beyond Crested Butte. We started off strong but all of us soon felt the effects of the high elevation and slowed our pace.

The destination was the beautiful Blue Lake. Five of us were able to reach it, others struggled with the elevation and wisely listened to their body’s cues and didn’t push on. This out and back was 13 miles with 2062′ of ascent.

Hike 2: Baxter Gulch Trail Looking for a trail at a slightly lower elevation we settled on this fairly new trail just before Crested Butte. It switched back up to fairly level hiking on a well graded shady path. We didn’t run into too many other hikers though it seemed to be a popular mountain bike trail that could be rode all the way into Crested Butte. We stopped at a scenic lookout for lunch then backtracked to our vehicles. 10.6 miles with 2069′ of ascent.

Hike 3: Black Canyon of the Gunnison More of a sightseeing trip than a hike though we did walk to many lookouts. Brian and Spreadsheet brought this amazing national park to our attention, so we were eager to explore. Although possible to hike down to the river, a permit is required, and it looked difficult and treacherous. Rivaled the Grand Canyon in my opinion! Really enjoyed this one!

Love this photo of the core group of adventurers that I hike with most frequently! Who hikes depends on personal schedules and of course, others often join.

Hike 4: Frigid Air Pass Spreadsheet, Brian and I were eager to venture into the Maroon Bells wilderness beyond Crested Butte though others not so much. Since we had 2 vehicles we decided to split up and the others chose another hike. This area became my favorite and is definitely on my list of areas to revisit in the future. The going was tough with a tricky and long drive to the trailhead, hiking above tree line and to top it off, we got rained and sleeted on which caused us to abandon our planned route and head back down to below tree line early. Despite the difficulties, the views and wildflowers were spectacular! Celebrated my birthday doing what I love best and what brings me such great joy! 9 miles and 1953′ of ascent.

Hike 5: Caves Trail to Point Lookout We rejoined forces for this hike though not everyone chose to go as far as some and that was the beauty of hiking with this group. We had choices and everyone got to hike their own hike as they say. Highlights were the caves that were viewed pretty early on and then a nice meander up to lunch with a view. 8.9 miles with 2408′ of ascent.

Hike 6: Hasley Pass/West Maroon Pass Those of us that hiked in Maroon Bells were eager to return and this time joined by Oscar and Mae who were inspired by our excitement from our last hike up there. This time the weather cooperated, and we were able to complete a great loop that took in Hasley and West Maroon Pass. Magnificent!!! Many thanks to Oscar who shared some of his excellent photos with me.

I felt tired, breathless, and my heart seemed to be beating a tad faster than normal on this hike so elected to relax at our lodging for the chosen final hike the following day. I still had some additional hiking to do to complete the Colorado Trail, so this was a sensible choice for me. Everyone enjoyed the nearby hike, and the day of relaxing definitely restored me and I was ready to resume hiking the Colorado Trail after my friends dropped me off in Buena Vista on their way back to Denver.

What a wonderful week of hiking with friends! I feel very fortunate to have found such a terrific group that share my passion for the hiking life!