The Herbert Glacier trail is an easy 4.5 mile trail about 16 miles north of the Mendenhall Valley in Juneau Alaska. The trail is a compacted gravel trail which many people bike. It follows the Herbert river up to the Herbert Glacier. Pond Along the Trail Near the end of the trail, we left it and walked across a wash, crossing a couple of streams, to get closer to the glacier. Herbert Glacier We came upon the main flow of the creek feeding the Herbert River and were not able to cross it so we went up along it. This part of the hike included a bit of rock scrambling and going through bushes. It was a welcome challenge after the smooth trail. Creek by the Glacier We did not find a place to get across the creek, so we did not get the glacier itself, but we had some close views of it. We also looked at the class 5 rapids in the creek. Layers in Herbert Glacier Herbert Glacier The main trail is great if your looking for something easy with great views at the end. Most oth...

I haven't posted any 14er hikes this year, so here's one. Three of us hiked up Mt. Yale, about 10 miles west of Buena Vista, Colorado, in early-mid October. It is one of the collegiate peaks in the Sawatch Range. At 14,196 it is the 21st highest mountain in Colorado. Colorado did not get much rain this summer, but in October the skies started to open up. The mountains had a nice dusting of snow making for some nice views when we were there. We started at the Denny Creek Trailhead and went up the Southwest Slopes - the standard route. The trail roughly follows Denny Creek until the one turn we had to make. There the trail got a little bit steeper. The further in we went, the steeper the trail got. Near treeline we started going though the snow. It never got more than a few inches deep. A GPS track of the route helped out where we couldn't see were the trail went. There is a reroute on the trail starting just below tree line, but with the snow it was hard to follow and we end...

This trail starts from the Rainbow Lakes campground, crosses into the Indian Peaks Wilderness and quickly climbs above treeline. The trail goes along the border of a restricted area where part of Boulder's water supply comes from. Looking Up the Valley at the Divide The trail continues to climb until about 12,600 feet where it levels out. After about a mile and a half of going along this ridge, I came around a corner and saw South Arapaho Peak. South Arapaho Peak I had seen it from a distance, now it was right there. When I saw it that close I knew had to climb it, again. Even before getting on top of the peak, the views were great. Mt. Neva, just to the south, is a fun mountain to climb. Mt. Neva and Lake Dorothy About half an hour later and 700 feet higher I was on the peak. While I was taking a lunch break a marmot came up to where I was. A Marmot Begging for Food I was also able to look down on Arapaho Glacier. Arapaho Glacier On the way back down, there were a c...

Last weekend went hiking around Long Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. My main camera was having problems, so I had my old camera with me and the pics are not as sharp as usual. After about a half mile I was really wishing for my other camera. The wild flowers along the trail were great. It was an amazing display of colors. Elephant's Head  Field of Flowers Mixture of Colors Trail Through the Flowers White and Purple There was also a bull moose not far off the trail. Deer and elk are easy to see in these mountains; they are sometimes even in large herds. Moose are much less common. Before this I hike, I had only seen moose once before in Colorado.   Bull Moose Laying in a Field Next to Long Lake

View from Mt. Sneffels, San Juan Mountains, Colorado Johann Strauss Statue in Stadt Park, Vienna, Austria   Rocky Mountain Trail in Fall, Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado Orange Aspen Branch, Colorado Sea Kayak on the Shore of Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming Castle Geyser, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming

In western Colorado near Grand Junction there's a big chunk of land rising above the desert. Grand Mesa National Forest rises several thousand feet about the Grand Valley and is covered with pine forests, alpine lakes and trails. The forest has the Crags Crest National Scenic Trail, which is a 10 mile loop, by alpine lakes, through meadows and across a rocky ridge. It goes over a ridge call Crags Crest, the highest point in the Grand Mesa National Forest. I hiked it counter-clockwise starting from the Eggelston Lake trailhead on the east side, going up a steep climb to the ridge first. Before the ridge I passed by a couple of alpine lakes. Once on the ridge there were drop-offs on both sides, but the trail was wide and easy to hike. While on the ridge, you can see the many lakes that cover the mesa. There are few tree along most of the the ridge, so the views are great. After coming down the ridge, the trail heads back, through pine forests and meadows. In August there are lo...