BBQ and Backpacking

Last year this same weekend, April and I took our first overnight backpacking trip together to Dunraven Glades in the Comanche Peaks Wilderness Area west of Loveland, CO. To commemorate our great year of adventures, we headed back to the same area for a mellow 3mi hike into some National Forest campsites along the North Fork of the Big Thompson River.

But first, we stopped in Loveland to check out their annual BBQ Festival... we are as much suckers for real Q as we are for camping. Although it lacked a bit of the magic and quality that we found at the Frisco BBQ Fest, it was a fun afternoon all the same.

And Loveland's a pretty neat town with some history and "personal" heritage

After lingering/waiting for some afternoon t-storms to clear out of the mountains, we drove west to the trailhead to begin the quick and 'easy' 3mi hike to the campsite. The evening was perfectly quiet and pleasant and still, except for the steady rushing of the river nearby. Flows all around the state are extra high this year with all the snowmelt runoff and frequent rainstorms the past couple of weeks. No better background noise to fall asleep to!

We spent Sunday day-hiking further west into Rocky Mountain National Park territory before packing up and heading back out to the car in the evening. We only got a few minutes of light rain and not-too-threatening lightning, although there was weather swirling further east on the plains. Luckily, we dodged the storms perfectly this weekend.

Rocky Mt NP- Emerald Lake

My National Parks annual pass expires at the end of March, so we took a jaunt up to Rocky Mt NP for a snowy hike to Emerald Lake at 10,200ft. Beautiful day in the high country. I'd done this hike back in August and it was cool to see both seasons in full effect.

Rocky Mt NP- Deer Mountain

Itching to get out of town, I drove up to Rocky Mt Natl Park for a quiet solo hike up Deer Mountain. Not much snow on the Front Range yet, so no need for the snowshoes I brought along. Blustery snow front blew in as I reached the summit, snapped a couple quick shots and jammed back down. Nice hike, nice workout, nice Saturday afternoon.

July 10-11, 2010 -- backpacking near the Big Thompson River

A mellow 3.5mi hike in along the north fork of the Big Thompson River, through Dunraven Glades area northwest of Loveland. Really nice trek, the weather held and we enjoyed a beautifully silent night in the woods. April's first ever overnight backpack trip... and she loved it.

cozy campsite on Natl Forest land

After hiking out Sunday, we popped into Rocky Mt Natl Park for an afternoon hike up to The Loch, a beautiful lake at 10,200ft. Some blustery storms were swirling and spitting, but luckily no lightning or heavy rain.

The Loch

June 11-13, 2010 --- Strawberry Park Hotsprings

April's getting old, so we packed up and hit our favorite hotsprings retreat to celebrate her birthday! Chilly, rainy weather made for a super cozy weekend. A steady diet of decadent yet simple food on the grill and tasty wine makes for general good livin' in these parts.

We tried to drive home over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mt. Natl. Park, but the same storm that brought rain to the hotsprings had also brought snow to the high country and the road was closed higher up due to ice. However, we drove in partway, and were able to hike towards the headwaters of the Colorado River.

Colorado River

A few miles further up, the river is barely a creek and you can straddle the mighty Colorado. I'll have to make it up to the actual headwaters someday, but today we got chased back to the car by an approaching t-storm.