Thursday, July 1 - The Adventure Begins
Direct flights are the bomb… and United Airlines “usually” has them from any airport. I usually fly United if I can not get a direct flight on Delta. A 4:00 p.m. Eastern flight out of Fort Myers RSW lands you in Denver just after 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time.
I was staying at my aunt's house in Boulder (Skier Suz) which is about 45 minutes from the Denver airport. Like we talked about in our previous episodes, Denver and Boulder are the two biggest and most fun cities in Colorado if you are NOT planning on driving into the mountains. Colorado is also the hub of breweries and exceptional BAR FOOD. My personal favorite grub hub is the Southern Sun on Boulder’s famous Pearl Street. This particular restaurant is currently closed for COVID-19, but have no fear, the Southern Sun has a sister restaurant called Mountain Sun that is super close. The Chorizo Burger and the Spicy chicken sandwich are my personal faves. Plus the craft brews are to die for!
Friday, July 2 - Beware of Bear
After some hot tub and coffee, the plan was to drive into the Mountains for some epic hikes. The best hike to hit if you are on your way to stay up at a summer ski resort is St. Mary’s Glacier. This hike is right off the highway, but keep in mind, GPS may take you through the mountain roads if there is bad traffic. My tip would be to get up early and head out Friday morning or Thursday night, especially if it is a holiday weekend. Traffic can turn a 2 hour drive in a 3-6 hour drive. If you choose to take the “mountain road” shortcut, DRIVE SLOW and KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD. The scenery is breathtaking but not meant for the driver! The roads are steep and winding and the speed limit never exceeds 35 mph. Watch out for other cars as you go around every corner and if you are afraid of heights… maybe let someone else drive (or close your eyes)! If there is rain, drive slow, and if there is snow and/or ice, stay on the highway. Also, always rent a car with all wheel or four-wheel drive in the winter. In fact, if you can afford it, it pays to rent a four-wheel in the summer because on some hikes, like the Mayflower Gulch (our hike from July 3), you can drive the first couple miles of the hike.
If you type in St. Mary’s Glacier on your GPS, it will take you past the parking spots so keep your eyes peeled. Bring one dollar bills for the $5 all day parking. The hike begins just north of the lot. If you don’t have ones there is a super cute and very tasty little restaurant called Two Bears Tap and Grill off the highway that is 30 minutes away from the hike. Stop your long drive to grab some grub and booze. I recommend the wings (parm garlic and thai chili), as well as the cheese curds! Their seasonal brews are great. Was this the most appropriate meal before a hike? Nope. But if you have a strong stomach, go for it. They also have salad (lol). On the subject of food, bring snacks for your hike, water and some type of electrolyte drink (like Gatorade etc).
St. Marie’s Glacier was an amazing first hike and my personal favorite solely because of the breathtaking views of the glacier, lakes and the surrounding mountains. About 10 minutes into your hike, you will come to a fork in the road. If you want a more chill path, go right. It will take you to the lake and you can picnic, relax, and even swim if you have no fear of freezing water. After hiking to the lake, you can go further up and hike next to one of the glaciers. The hike is a few miles and will take you 1-2 hours depending on how often you stop. If you go left, you can hike above the lake and make it to the top of the glaciers. This is the most amazing view. FYI - beware of bears and lightning. There is a bear cave on one of the traverses, however black bears are skittish and do not usually come near crowded trails.
Hiking Tips:
Before you go on any hike, check the weather, bring layers and extra pairs of clothes (especially rain coats), as well as bags for your phones in case you get caught in the rain. Download the lightning App, and keep in mind, you are an easy target for lightning if you are on top of a mountain! Depending on the hike, get hiking boots for good ankle support on long hikes and trail running shoes for lighter shoes or/and if you like to trial run/jog. There are also certain hikes meant for night hiking but most hikes are not meant for night hiking. Make sure you give yourself enough time to get down before dark (i.e. if your hike is 2 hours, give yourself 3-45 min two to get down).
Also, keep in mind, Colorado Altitude is tough and gets tougher as you go up into the Mountains. If you are not acclimated, drink TONS of water before, during and after your hikes (even if you do not feel thirsty) and bring toilet paper on your hike because you will have to potty (lol)! Be smart with Altitude. If you have time, do a front range hike first, before you head up further into the mountains. This will help you acclimate easier and keep you from getting altitude sickness. Also, bring gum on your hike to keep your throat wet! If you are an ambitious expert hiker (so not me), you can continue hiking to the famous James peak (about 14 miles). Another great hike right next to St. Marie’s is Crater Lake. Bring Begay or Icy Hot if you are planning on hiking 3-4 days straight and/or you are not an avid hiker.
When the hike was over we headed up to Copper Mountain (the end of the line of ski resorts). To finish off our day, guess what we ate…bar food. The Dillon Dam brewery is a must try dinner spot on your trip into the mountains. Their nachos and french onion soup are amazing. Bojous pizza is another great joint on the way up.
Saturday, July 3 - St. Can’t Hike
On Saturday morning, Mike, Sebbie, Jess and I rose early for another great adventure. We got up early because a) it is not as hot, and b) trials are less crowded in the morning. We drove over to Mayflower Gulch, which is about a 15 minute drive from Copper. The cool part about this hike is that it is long but not super steep, and you can drive the first half of it (the boring half). So we drove up to the valley and hiked the rest of the way up, in the gulch. The view was breathtaking because you are hiking up sharp rocky mountains with a view of the beautiful valley that stretches into green and brown rolling mountains. Along the hike, you can find an old mine shaft, some snow and ice as well as many cute spots and rocks to sit on, have a picnic around and take cool pics!
After this hike, we trotted back to the car and stopped at Leadville on our way home. Leadville is a beautiful historic town– famous in the adventure community for the Melanzana headquarters. Melazana is an outdoor clothing company that manufactures and sells all of their outdoor clothing under one roof – in downtown Leadville. The company uses only U.S.-made parts and fabric. So we got some ice cream, waited around for them to place some merch on the racks, and headed back to Copper Mt. for a party! Many mountains usually have festivals for the ski slopes’ closing weekend, Labor Day weekend, and 4th of july etc. In this case, Center Village at Copper had a Party with tents, food, and a Sublime tribute band.
Sunday, July 4 - Independence Day!!!
July 4 was EPIC (not the ski pass)! We woke up, and traveled back down to Boulder, stopping at Georgetown to tour the unique historic homes, grab more ice cream (a recurring theme), and to grab some CO merch. Georgetown is one of the many historic towns that you see along the drive back out of the mountains. Unique aspects include: a year-round Christmas store, old fashion churches, and an energy museum. They also had a whip show going on with actors dressed up as old westerners.
Once we arrived back in Boulder, we met up with my friend Gabby Schuck and headed to hike the front range at Chautauqua park. There are many cool hikes around Chautauqua and the area is warm and grassy. The red rocks are beautiful and if you hike high enough you can see the entire city!
Some other fun hikes around Boulder include; Skyscraper Reservoir (north of Boulder), and Settler (a night hike).
Monday, July 5 - Back Home!!!
On Monday our excellent adventure came to a close; but not before we swung by the Denver Biscuit company first! Heads up; order from them online and at least 1 hour ahead of time because they are always slammed, especially on the weekend.
One de-recommendation: United Airlines. United (because of bad weather) moved my direct flight from 6:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. with a connection in Houston. I tried to call and my customer service rep spoke hardly any english... Good thing we checked in on our phones before our flight!
We landed in Fort Myers safe and sound to tell the story of our excellent July 4 Colorado adventure!
