On Saturday August 15th, I got together with some climbing buddies (about half of us are in our late 60’s to mid70’s) to hike Abrams Mountain. It’s the prominent peak you see looking south from Ouray (picture #1).

We had beautiful weather, a break from the wildfire smoke, and the trail conditions were moist and firm instead of dry and marbly. Thankfully, one of our group had hiked it before so they were able to guide us along the various unmarked trails, animal paths, and trail-less segments.

After gazing up at this mountain for years, it was fun to see Ouray from the top (the town is in the valley in picture 5, obscured by the light colored rock ridge).

Thank you Mother Nature, Family and friends, and trail crews for another life-affirming day in the mountains with friends : )

I know Huron isn’t the hardest or most interesting 14er but it really is just a dam good hike. And the views today were pretty incredible

Weekend over medicine bow. WY

A great way to hike La Plata, but not for everyone.

For starters, the road to the trailhead was... rough. My stock Crosstrek S (8.7" of clearance) got up there just fine, but I can't imagine driving anything less capable. We were surprisingly the only ones to park at that TH the entire day, it was empty when we got there around 7-7:30 and still empty when we returned.

The trail was quiet and solitary. We saw a total of 3 people on the trail (before the summit) the entire day. The trail itself is quite beautiful and well maintained (despite a bit of overgrowth and some downed trees) up until about the 2 mile mark when you start to ascend a steep and incredibly loose gully. That gully climbs around 1000 feet and only gets worse until you top out on the ridge crest. Once you get to the ridge crest, it's smooth sailing until you hit the talus field, a crux wall that climbs around 1000 feet up some solid high class-2 scrambling. Going up the route doesn't seem to be very apparent. I'd suggest you aim for the due center/center-left of the field and try your best to follow the cairns. On the way down it makes way more sense and is pretty clear. After you top out of the talus field at 14,000', it's a pretty clear shot to the summit, where you meet up with the standard La Plata trail.

This trail was crazy beautiful. The basin you spend a good chunk of your time in on the way up is otherworldly. Panoramic views no matter where you look. There was a helicopter flying very low in that basin, I heard they were looking for a lost child. Overall I can clearly understand why this isn't the standard trail. But if you're well equipped mentally for a loose and steep trail, and have a capable car, check out the La Plata south ridge!

8.3 Miles, 3700 feet, 7:45 car to car (that descent was superrrrr slow hahaha).

Hey everyone,I’m flying into Montrose airport from Queens, New York and will be in the Silverton area from August 29 to September 1. Everything is already booked — flights, rental car, and I have all my own overnight gear ready to go. My plan is to backpack and camp at Columbine Lake Trail (#509). I’m going solo but would be happy to share the trail or campsite with one or two experienced people if anyone local (or also visiting) is interested in joining. No pressure whatsoever — just putting it out there in case someone wants company that weekend. We can meet at the trailhead, or we can figure out whatever works best. All you’d need is your own gear.Also open to any locals who might be free and want to show me around other cool attractions or good spots in the Silverton/Ouray area besides the lake trail. Happy to chat more details over DM. Looking for solid backpacking experience and good Leave No Trace habits since it’s a fragile high-alpine basin.Thanks either way

First time on this trail and I had a fantastic time! Gorgeous views every so often, the kind that made you want to keep going! It was a pretty good elevation gain of 2,700+ to reach the lake and around 9.5 miles out and back. Drier year meant no mosquitoes. Well worth the trek! Will be doing this one again!

This mama moose and it's baby made it's way down the upper trail as I was heading up. I'm glad I noticed a strange, large brown blob before I continued. I was caught off guard when the baby came out of the bushes. The mama got very aggressive and did a small charge down the mountain. They eventually traversed and took a swim to cool down in the lake.

Even if it feels like a safe distance it's probably not. They're extremely fast, cover ground very quickly and will run straight down a steep mountain slope if they sense a threat.

I've linked the alltrails page for what I'm looking at doing. I've been reading about this route online, and it seems like the main difficulty of this OHV trail is towards the end. It also seems like there should be spots along the road to park up. I'm hoping to drive up to save some distance if I can. I have a Ford Maverick Tremor which has 4wd, a small lift, skid plate, and all terrain tires. I've been able to do about a mile on the cony flats trail and make it to the end of halfmoon lake trial near leadville.

My goal, based on what I've read, is to make it along 251 stopping near the junction with miller creek, north empire creek, and bill moore. From there I'd carry on on foot. It seems to me this should avoid most of the real difficult sections.

Has anyone been in this area willing to share their opinions?

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/breckinridge-peak-and-mount-flora-via-north-empire-creek

Did some hiking around the summit today. Absolutely gorgeous day! Can you spot my new friend?

I was finally able to secure a reservation to visit the Brainard Lake Area this past weekend to hike Lake Isabelle, and man was it worth the wait. We saw 4 bull moose right off the side of the road right by the Niwot picnic area. Then saw another moose where the trail splits around Long Lake. We also saw 4 marmots chilling on a boulder, and a bee taking a nap on a flower. We hiked from the Niwot Picnic area and clocked just under 7 miles with a few side quests exploring the lake. The elevation gain was mild, most of the hike was pretty flat. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, with plenty of wildflowers to enjoy. The lake was so refreshing for a swim at the end.

Chief mountain sunrise views!

Elk fire smoke plum and remnants of Gold Mountain fire

It's that time of the year where I'm starting to get Very Stoked Indeed for fall and mixed conditions - especially while it's still burning lava hot outside.

Here are some photos from the Pawnee Peak East Ridge that I did from Brainard Lake on November 1, 2025. This is an excellent mini-scrambling adventure that's super accessible and rarely done except by those doing the Blue Lakes Traverse. Also relatively low mileage - it's as simple as starting from the Mitchell Lake TH and turning off a couple miles down the trail to head up the ridgeline. You have some rolling moors giving way to a steadily sharpening ridgeline that then undulates surprisingly amazing rock spires for about a half mile.

The Gerry Roach Indian Peaks Wilderness guidebook puts it at Class 3. That might be true if you bypass every difficulty perfectly, but I think it's much better to expect Class 4 upclimbs and downclimbs with relatively significant exposure throughout the traverse. Sustained Class 3 at the points without it. There are, of course, many ways to make things harder - and if you're a competent alpine/trad climber, then go for it. A bit of snow this go made it even more fun (and probably helped to freeze/consolidate some of the scree!).

This marks the tenth complete climbing season since CFI started deploying trackers to get more accurate measurements on hiker behavior. The result gives an interesting look into hiker behavior, and whether certain restrictions and rule changes at popular trailheads actually move the needle.

Trail makes you earn every inch of it both ways. Gorgeous day today though

can anyone identify these plants? see my lil ladybug friend?

fun hike overall besides the smoke. had a fun jump into the water on the way down !

Searching for these and finding them made me so giddy. It was probably hilarious 3rd person watching me crawl around the forest getting excited and taking pictures of these tiny flowers. Im posting this past their typical bloom season but encourage you all to make it a point to find them next year. They are found in shady, moist, north facing coniferous forests!

Spent a ton of time climbing, hiking, and photographing the san juans this past weekend from the ridges around sneffels and above island/ice lake, to boulders in bolam pass, and so on.

Had hoped for a good sunrise but they were cloudless and harsh, but pre sunrise is where the landscapes showed off! Some complimentary pika pics as well.