Anglemeyer Lake Backpacking

Anglemeyer Lake Backpacking
North Cottonwood Creek trail into Horn Fork Basin + Bushwhacking to Anglemeyer Lake
Trailhead Elevation: 9,887 ft.
Distance: 3.59 mi. (each way)
Elevation Gain: 1,399 ft.

Hike In
Start Time: 3:29pm
End Time: 6:01pm

Hike Out
Start Time: 9:06am
End Time: 11:14am

Trip Report:
As with all good vacations plans changed. We had come into this trip hoping to take Sunday and Monday to hike into the Holy Cross Wilderness and then summit Holy Cross on the second day. The weather on Sunday July 15 changed all of that. Nobody wanted to be backpacking and camping in the rain that night. Nonetheless, we had hauled my family's backpacks and gear all the way out west and we still wanted to take my kids out to backpack before heading home.

Tenmile Traverse

Frisco -> Mt. Royal Trail -> Mt. Victoria -> Peaks 1-10 -> Breckenridge Ski Resort
Trailhead Elevation: 9,094 ft.
Distance: 16.63 mi.
Elevation Gain: 7,423 ft.

Splits:
Start Time: 4:39am
  To Peak 1 -- 2:33:46
  To Peak 2 -- 33:47
  To Peak 3 -- 1:14:16
  To Peak 4 -- 59:19
  To Peak 5 -- 19:52
  To Peak 6 -- 41:08
  To Peak 7 -- 43:44
  To Peak 8 -- 16:33
  To Peak 9 -- 48:07
  To Peak 10 -- 49:08
End Time: 2:54pm -- a total of 10:15:49

Our splits help tell the story of the challenges of the Tenmile.  You can see how the technical terrain from 2 to 3 and from 3 to 4 really slowed things up.  The timing from Peak 5 to 6 was merely about the distance.  From 6 to 7, as well as 8 to 9 and 9 to 10 the timing was all about the 800+ foot climbs (and with Peak 10, our haste to beat the weather).

Mt. Elbert 2018

Mt. Elbert
Northeast Ridge route (Standard)
Trailhead Elevation: 10,064 ft.
Summit Elevation: 14,433 ft.
Distance: 10.18 mi. 
Elevation Gain: 4,370 ft.
Start Time: 6:23am
Summit Time: 10:11am (43 minutes on top)
End Time: 2:16pm

Trip Report:
We found ourselves heading to Mt. Elbert today after having to be adaptable in our vacation's planning. Yesterday was essentially rained out and forced us to scrap our original plans. We wanted to backpack into Holy Cross but doing so in the rain didn't seem all that enticing. This meant Sunday was lost to us. On the other hand, it freed up Monday for a fun dayhike. My oldest son Luke hadn't been up Elbert yet and we decided this would be a fun repeat for us older guys. I had previously been up Elbert in the winter in 2012 and in the summer in 2005. Our winter hike went up the East ridge while the original summer hike went up the standard Northeast ridge.

Quandary Peak Traverse + Fletcher Mt.

Quandary Peak Traverse + Mt. Fletcher
Blue Lakes Reservoir Approach to Mt. Fletcher + Quandary West Ridge + Quandary East Ridge
Trailhead Elevation: 10,842 ft.
Blue Lakes Dam Elevation: 11,707 ft.
Mt. Fletcher Elevation: 13,951 ft.
Quandary Peak Elevation: 14,265 ft.
Distance: 9.81 mi.
Elevation Gain: 3,928 ft.
Start Time: 6:18am
Fletcher Summit: 8:59am (12 mins)
Quandary Summit: 11:17am (19 mins)
End Time: 1:15pm

Trip Report:
My brother David and I were looking for a thrilling challenge today that would put us on a peak with a good weather forecast. Our original plan was to ascend La Plata Peak by the classic Ellingwood Ridge but the forecast was less than favorable for a challenge that demands perfect weather. Instead, we decided on the West Ridge of Quandary which had a more favorable forecast and a less-time consuming demand.

Rankin Ridge Trail (Wind Cave NP)

Rankin Ridge Trail
Trailhead Elevation: 4,751 ft.
High Point Elevation:4,992 ft.
Distance: 1.35 mi. (my Forerunner 230)
Elevation Gain: 225 ft. (my GPS)
Start Time: 3:30pm
End Time: 4:00pm

Trip Report:
Wind Cave has a number of nice, mostly short trails that are worth checking out. If I had a few days and time I would love to see them all. Some of the rolling prairie mixed into the forests of the southern Black Hills would make for fantastic landscape. I wanted to get a hike in somewhere in this beautiful park and in my typical style, I found one that hit a high point. I also needed something short in length to fit the family schedule for the day. The Rankin Ridge trail would check all the boxes for today.

Window & Notch Trails (Badlands NP)

Badlands National Park

Window Trail (7/11/2018)
   Trailhead Elevation: 2,651 ft.
   Distance: 0.27 mi
   Start Time: 7:41pm
   End Time: 7:53pm

Notch Trail (7/12/2018)
   Trailhead Elevation: 2,651 ft.
   Distance: 0.85 mi
   Elevation Gain: 93 ft.
   Start Time: 7:43am
  End Time: 8:30am

Trip Report:
Window Trail - July 11, 2018
This is a very short trail from the parking lot along the east entrance road to the Badlands. There is little to be known or needed for this trail other than to start at the sign in the lot and enjoy it. Signage does warn this could be rattlesnake country so one should be observant to stay on trail. We were on a boardwalk entirely and walked it out to its completion at the "window" where we were greeting to a panoramic view. This trail offers a nice introduction to the amazing terrain of the Badlands. We had an extra surprise as a the sighting of a young rabbit which was munching near the trail. He didn't run away as we stopped and gave us a few minutes to check him out. To the north as we returned to the car we were treated to amazing views of the setting sun.

Minnehaha Falls

Minnehaha Falls
Distance: 2.70 mi. (my Forerunner 230)
High Elevation: 829ft. 
Low Elevation (River): 693 ft.
Start Time: 12:49pm
End Time: 2:45pm

Trip Report:
Minnehaha Falls Regional Park is a treasure right in the heart of Minneapolis. While you're hiking on its trails you would never know you're in the midst of the city just a few miles from the airport. The views give wonderful seclusion from the city and the only interruptions are the nearby sounds of traffic. While on a 3 day stay in town with my wife Sarah enjoying a conference I took my boys on a hike here after looking for just the right hike without having to drive far. I put in just a little prep figuring out just how many different paths were available and how to access the falls themselves, and I researched the best places to park and that did it. I settled on an easy to access lot that would give us some reasonable distance to enjoy before reaching the falls. There are certainly places one can park that are much closer if the falls are the only destination. The parking lots are all pay lots but it was only for $1/hour which seemed reasonable for our simple hike today.