Aurora Torreyalis

My car whined and groaned in pain as we drove up the county road toward the trailhead of the standard route up Grays and Torreys Peak. “It’s OK, lil’ Subaru,” I reassured the struggling automobile, “you’ve done this before.” Grays and Torreys, by way of their novice and popular standard route, were my fourth and […]

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Through the Looking Glass

It was at the end of last year that the Overcast Adventurers and company donned their heaviest winter coats and set off to Rocky Mountain National Park to snowshoe up to a couple of frozen alpine and subalpine lakes. Back then, the crowds were thin, the air was brisk, and the landscape was an icebox […]

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Beyond the Veil

The grimy and over-labored workers of the small mining camp of Buckskin Joe took solace in few things. The miners drudged to find the hidden treasures beneath the granite, the prospectors scoured the land for the promise of riches… but at the end of a hard day these men knew they could reconcile their struggles […]

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Bone Morrow Biopsy

A lazy weekend. My last day of classes. Encroaching finals week. These are the perfect ingredients for end-of-the-semester cabin fever. While there is no known cure for this cabin fever–medically speaking–adventuring seems to usually treat such an ailment. The Hermit’s Rest trail had been on my list for several years. Near the eastern terminus of […]

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For Emerald Lang Syne

Seasons greetings from the Overcast Adventurers! With the new year just around the corner, and the sizable intermission since our last post, Skyler and I thought it might be nice to get one more 2016 blog in. Our hike was one that is iconic to Colorado: the Emerald Lake trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. […]

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Sawatch Me Do Three

Missouri Mountain, Iowa Peak, and Emerald Peak Grand Slam ~15.5 miles round-trip; 6,300′ elevation gain.             The turn to Chaffe County Road 390 and its subsequent vexatious washboard ruts felt all too familiar. Five months ago, I had kicked off the 14er season with ascents of Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford—two of the three 14ers […]

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A Penny for Our Thoughts

Deep in the heart of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness lie many peaks of epic renown, peaks which jut far and away into the azure skies. We didn’t climb any of those peaks on this hike. Rather, we decided to hike to Copper Lake, a body of water in the wilderness area just below East Maroon […]

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Autumn’s Lost and Found

Unprompted excursions often give way to the most sincere adventure. Beset with staggering senioritis, I decided to trade a Saturday of homework on campus for a Saturday amidst the peaking fall colors in the Gunnison area. Despite only being two days into autumn, snow had already fallen in areas above 8,000 feet. Kebler Pass, a […]

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Tooth Decay

El Diente Peak. A high mountain summit within the San Juan Range named for its tooth-like visage (El Diente translates to “The Tooth” in Spanish). If this peak is the tooth of the San Juans, then these mountains have clearly forgotten their oral hygiene. El Diente Peak, and its neighboring summits of Mt. Wilson and […]

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Labor Day Ouray Soirée

I vividly remember the first time I knowingly laid eyes on Mt. Ouray (pronounced ooo-ray).  Last summer, the Overcast Adventurers had the opportunity to explore the vast reaches of Colorado on a biology class trip called Ecoregions (a blog for which can be found here). It was on the first day of that two-week journey […]

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