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Best hikes near Denver


Prophet Zacharia

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Two things my wife and I enjoyed a long time ago were the Georgetown Loop and driving up Mt Evans.  Neither were hikes though!  For hiking we hiked up to see one of the last glaciers, probably gone by now, and it wasn't much fun anyway because the scree was very hard to talk on.

https://www.colorado.com/articles/colorado-scenic-byway-mount-evans

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16 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

Two things my wife and I enjoyed a long time ago were the Georgetown Loop and driving up Mt Evans.  Neither were hikes though!  For hiking we hiked up to see one of the last glaciers, probably gone by now, and it wasn't much fun anyway because the scree was very hard to talk on.

We ski At Breckinridge and Copper fairly regularly, so we know that area a little. While I have heard that the Leadville area has some beautiful hiking, I fear the snowpack will still be too deep at altitude in late May. 

What’s a better town to visit on a day trip? Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs? Or Boulder?

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2 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

We ski At Breckinridge and Copper fairly regularly, so we know that area a little. While I have heard that the Leadville area has some beautiful hiking, I fear the snowpack will still be too deep at altitude in late May. 

What’s a better town to visit on a day trip? Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs? Or Boulder?

I spent a couple of days in Colorado Springs on business and it’s a nice place but lacking personality.   

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7 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

We ski At Breckinridge and Copper fairly regularly, so we know that area a little. While I have heard that the Leadville area has some beautiful hiking, I fear the snowpack will still be too deep at altitude in late May. 

What’s a better town to visit on a day trip? Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs? Or Boulder?

Boulder. 

Snowpack too deep, yes, Leadville is summer only.  In fact anything approaching 10K ft is gonna be windy as hell and probably really chilly  

 

5 hours ago, Further said:

RG used to live in Boulder, he should be able to get you pointed to some hiking & biking.

How far a hike?  How strenuous?

I say enjoy Boulder and have some fun. Stay below 8,000 ft and you should have absolutely beautiful weather.   

A lot of the visitors just go to Chautauqua for a quick hike, I used to live by Mt. Sanitas and hiked there with my dog almost daily.   Switzerland trail is a nice one and you will feel transported and not so much like a helpless tourist.  Do that one. 

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On 4/26/2019 at 12:57 PM, Prophet Zacharia said:

Or should I just go skiing? Going to Denver for Memorial Day weekend. Had Stones tickets, but their concert was postponed. Ideas of how to spend a presumably beautiful holiday weekend?

I did enjoy Garden of the Gods.  But that is not a "big" hike or even full day. But it was near Pikes Peak - so could do a two-fer.  On the other hand, Fort Collins has a nice river trail to ride, and can do a self-guided brewery tour on Zagster bikes. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
41 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

Any guess as to how much snow they got on Tuesday and what the conditions may be this weekend? Does it melt quick?

Weird weather this year.  I talked to my buddy tonight, said they got three or four inches of really heavy wet snow, brought down some trees, but mostly branches. I am sure it is gone in town, but you might have an ok amount in the shady bits at higher elevations.   You should have good conditions by Saturday, but couldn't say for sure without being there.  Like I said, strange year, normally you would be having fantastic weather by now.

Where are you now, and how mobile are you?  I know a mountain range that gets a couple of inches of precipitation a year, the next mountain range  to the west sucks up almost all the rain and snow, and it is a massively beautiful drive there and a fun and cool town for after.  Let me know what you are thinking and I can get you details. 

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12 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Weird weather this year.  I talked to my buddy tonight, said they got three or four inches of really heavy wet snow, brought down some trees, but mostly branches. I am sure it is gone in town, but you might have an ok amount in the shady bits at higher elevations.   You should have good conditions by Saturday, but couldn't say for sure without being there.  Like I said, strange year, normally you would be having fantastic weather by now.

Where are you now, and how mobile are you?  I know a mountain range that gets a couple of inches of precipitation a year, the next mountain range  to the west sucks up almost all the rain and snow, and it is a massively beautiful drive there and a fun and cool town for after.  Let me know what you are thinking and I can get you details. 

We fly in on Saturday. We had Stones tickets, but that got postponed until August. So we have a hotel in downtown Denver Saturday and Sunday night, and a flight out on Monday at 5 pm. The Switzerland trial seems ok given it’s largely a Jeep trail and unlikely to be inpassable due to snow, but we don’t want to slog through a foot of snow for 8 miles.

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1 minute ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

We fly in on Saturday. We had Stones tickets, but that got postponed until August. So we have a hotel in downtown Denver Saturday and Sunday night, and a flight out on Monday at 5 pm. The Switzerland trial seems ok given it’s largely a Jeep trail and unlikely to be inpassable due to snow, but we don’t want to slog through a foot of snow for 8 miles.

We will have a rental car and nothing else to do on Sunday other than hike, and drink beer. We’ll stop at a dispensary on Saturday.

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51 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

We fly in on Saturday. We had Stones tickets, but that got postponed until August. So we have a hotel in downtown Denver Saturday and Sunday night, and a flight out on Monday at 5 pm. The Switzerland trial seems ok given it’s largely a Jeep trail and unlikely to be inpassable due to snow, but we don’t want to slog through a foot of snow for 8 miles.

Jeep trail?  Not where I have hiked.  Sandy soil drains well, but if it was a late thaw then there could be more wet than I am thinking.  

You know who would know best?  Neptune Mountaineering is my guess, or any of the local climber types.  There are a few climbing wall places in Boulder that will know about the approaches, they would be easy to contact.  If all else fails, the flagship REI in Denver would have some general ideas about what might be best. 

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I'm doing a very short hike tomorrow.  I'm watching my 11 year-old nephew Adam and we're taking Jake - who is his dog - for a few mile hike in Patapsco State Park and cross the swinging bridge (twice!). I'll hold Jake by his harness and Adam and I will keep Jake in the middle between us:

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

You must REALLY REALLY REALLY like the Stones. Do you have back stage passes?

What’s not to like about the Stones? I saw three shows during their last US Tour. I think it was their best performances since the 1972 tour (not that I was there, but I’ve heard the discs). They’re sober, and not promoting some crap album. Would see any time. And happy for my Southwest companion pass this year, all flights my wife takes with me are FREE.

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4 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

I did Red Rocks trail one day, and Clear Creek trial in Golden the other. Both were nice, and perfect for our time limits. Went to a Rockies game on Saturday night. Ate Mexican food for almost every meal. A nice trip. Will be back in August for 14 hours for the Stones show.

At least you made the best of the weird weather.  

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3 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

What’s not to like about the Stones? I saw three shows during their last US Tour. I think it was their best performances since the 1972 tour (not that I was there, but I’ve heard the discs). They’re sober, and not promoting some crap album. Would see any time. And happy for my Southwest companion pass this year, all flights my wife takes with me are FREE. 

What's the flight times for SW from Pitt to Denver and then back? 3 hrs each way? Add in 30 min checkin/security, the drives to and from the airports, and AYAYAYAY :runcirclsmiley: 

I won't go to a concert if it is more than 1 hour drive away. 15 minutes away is preferable. 

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3 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

What's the flight times for SW from Pitt to Denver and then back? 3 hrs each way? Add in 30 min checkin/security, the drives to and from the airports, and AYAYAYAY :runcirclsmiley: 

I won't go to a concert if it is more than 1 hour drive away. 15 minutes away is preferable. 

A) It’s the Stones. I drove to both Detroit and Buffalo to see them.

B.) It’s Denver

C) It was a three day weekend

D) I’d have otherwise been in Erie

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Just now, Prophet Zacharia said:

A) It’s the Stones. I drove to both Detroit and Buffalo to see them. 

B.) It’s Denver

C) It was a three day weekend

D) I’d have otherwise been in Erie

I get the CURRENT trip - ie you had tickets, made a plan of it, and the show got cancelled but you still enjoyed yourself.

I don't get the fly-show-return thing.  That's how I know you love the Stones more than almost anything else! 

And don't disparage Erie!

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8 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I get the CURRENT trip - ie you had tickets, made a plan of it, and the show got cancelled but you still enjoyed yourself.

I don't get the fly-show-return thing.  That's how I know you love the Stones more than almost anything else! 

And don't disparage Erie!

My tickets are still valid, and I bought from a broker so a refund would be difficult and not recover all costs. So... the crazy story is I am going to the outer banks the day after the make-up show is scheduled. So I am dropping my kids and dog at my sister’s, driving to Norfolk, flying to Denver for the show, then flying back to Norfolk the next morning. Will be in the OBX before dinner on our first beach day. My sister will bring my kids and dog to the beach.

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1 minute ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

My tickets are still valid, and I bought from a broker so a refund would be difficult and not recover all costs. So... the crazy story is I am going to the outer banks the day after the make-up show is scheduled. So I am dropping my kids and dog at my sister’s, driving to Norfolk, flying to Denver for the show, then flying back to Norfolk the next morning. Will be in the OBX before dinner on our first beach day.

SUPERFAN!!!!!

Enjoy the show.  I'm just being a East Coast Type A azz (or whatever RG's persona was). Hope they play all the hits - and loud!

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8 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

I wouldn’t decline them, to be sure!

I was backstage at a Dave Wakeling show. Yeah, it was fun hanging with his family and such, but I would have liked to have seen the show with the GP.   I think I may not be a backstage guy, maybe. 

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