I usually start my mornings slow when I’m backpacking: waking up whenever my body chooses and letting the sun warm the air before I start moving. When I started hiking the Colorado Trail this time around, I knew that would not be the case, I was trying to cover more miles than I usually do in an attempt to finish the 485 mile trail in 14 days. Early starts were a must, and I while I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the predawn starts, the long days were challenging. I ended up completing the trail in just READ MORE
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A Spring Ski Traverse of the Colorado Trail
On April 9th Mark and I set off from the Waterton Canyon trailhead to attempt a spring ski traverse of the Colorado trail. Less than a month later on May 6th, we arrived at the southern terminus of the 486 mile trail in Durango! The most remarkable part of this experience is that there is no brief way to describe it, thus the lengthy blog post. (Take note of the different pages on this post and be sure to click through all of them to see photos from the whole trip and read about it from start to finish!) At READ MORE
Let’s go for a walk in the snow: Mark and I set out to ski (and hike) the Colorado Trail
Mark and I are setting out to do a ski traverse of the Colorado trail: a 486 mile trail that stretches from Durango to Denver. We will resupply every 3-5 days with the help of some friends who have graciously agreed to help us out. We are planning about 25 days total from start to finish. Although Mark and I have both done long distance treks before, the snowy element provides an extra challenge on this endeavor. We have spent this winter refining our winter camping skills and dialing in gear to use on this trip. We have been planning READ MORE
Sleeping in the Snow: Some More Experiences Learning to Winter Camp
Mark and I have spent a couple more nights in the snow as we continue to refine our winter camping system. While we won’t say winter camping is easy for us just yet, every time we go out it feels more manageable. Right now, the biggest challenge that we have been encountering is balancing comfort at camp and the weight in our packs. Winter camping requires a fair bit more gear than summer backpacking, but we are doing our best to keep pack weight to a minimum to make it easier to hike faster and spend more time in the READ MORE
Back to blogging!
After a longer break than I expected, I am restarting my blog. I have even put a little more attention into my site this time! If you followed my Continental Divide Trail blog, I hope you’ll enjoy what I have to offer here too! I also hope you continue to read along as I grow this website! A quick update on me: Right now I am working as a ski instructor and enjoy lots of time hiking and skiing in the snow. Besides AT touring, I was gifted a pair of skate skis to use for the season so I READ MORE
Raft guiding Browns Canyon
Last summer I worked as a raft guide on the Upper Arkansas river in Salida, Colorado. While I had been introduced to whitewater in college, I came into the job with very little experience rafting. I started working after two weeks of guide training, but the training never ended. Like many things, the more I learn, the more I realize I have to learn! I’m looking forward to the upcoming summer to continue developing and improving upon some of these skills. I had a great go as a first year guide, keeping busy at work and enjoying the company of READ MORE
Wet, Hot, Kayaking Summer
Written by Mark Johnson Do you ever wonder what your face would look like under the pressure of certain life threatening danger that can only be prevented by vigorously heeding the commands of your fearless leader while simultaneously trying to squeeze out a fearful little toot? I do not, thankfully, because I have a photo of myself making that face. Disregard the my boatmates who appear to be simply having fun splashing their way down the rapids. This photo perfectly captures the dualistic nature of paddling on whitewater; it is quite fun, and quite scary. And it’s fun to be READ MORE
Riding the Monarch Crest
The mountain biking on the Monarch Crest is well known, but the first I heard of it was from Mark. Almost as soon as I got my mountain bike he was talking about riding it, and I heard a lot about what a great ride it was before I ever made it out there. In fact, I think every time Mark talked to me about the Crest the riding got better: first it was the best riding in the area, then in the state, then the country, it’s best ride in the world! Mark’s contagious excitement finally found us with READ MORE
Sewing Bicycle Bags
When Mark and I bought our tandem we briefly consider purchasing custom frame bags to use the bike’s double sized frame as storage. After a little thought and reflection on cost we realized that we would be better off sewing the bags ourselves. I had sewn my own tarp for backpacking and had a little bit of sewing experience. Mark had no sewing experience, but I was confident that he would be a quick learner. I was first inspired to sew my own gear when I read Ray Jardine’s Trail Life, an informational book about long distance hiking. Jenny and READ MORE
Why Tandem?
When I was hiking the CDT, Mark got the idea that we should plan a bike trip together. Maybe, he thought we should do it on a tandem. I had never ridden a tandem before, but I was on board with the idea. We talked to many of our friends about the idea and received a fair amount of skepticism along with some outright abhorrence at the idea. From the dramatic to the mundane, we heard and read all sorts of reasons not to buy a tandem bicycle: “it’ll ruin your relationship,” “won’t you get bored staring at his sweaty READ MORE