2019 Hiking Adventures in Review
Since moving to Colorado in February 2019, I did a lot of hiking. On many hikes I was joined by my husband or my friends from the Boulder Hiker Chicks, a local women’s hiking group, but I also did a fair amount of solo hiking. When I look back at the statistics from the year and all the amazing places we went, I am further inspired to continue hiking, taking pictures of beautiful nature, and recording the adventures on my blog.
Statistics
From my Movescount App, hiking tracked with my Suunto Traverse watch –
Number of hikes – 97
After inputting the data and doing some pivot tables in Excel, I was able to derive a few more statistics –
Top areas hiked (by mileage) –
#1 Boulder 146.51 miles and 54 hikes
#2 RMNP 104.9 miles and 17 hikes
#3 Indian Peaks Wilderness 72.35 miles and 15 hikes
Percentage of hikes covered by blog posts (by number) – 55%
1. Boulder – Wonderland Lake (10 times)
- 2.5 miles
- AllTrails map (add Wonderland Hill)
- Blog post
2. Boulder – Foothills South and Wonderland Lake Trail
- 2.86 miles
- AllTrails map
3. Boulder – First/Second Flatirons & Royal Arch
- 4.7 miles
- First Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
Photo credit – Alli Fronzaglia, Instagram @theboulderhikerchick
4. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Brainard Lake Snowshoe Trail (3 times)
- 5 miles
- HikingProject map
- Blog post
5. Boulder – Mt. Sanitas from Wonderland Lake
- 4.3 miles
6. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Coney Flats Trail
- 6.4 miles
- HikingProject map
- Blog post
7. Boulder – Shanahan Ridge Loop
- 3.7 miles
- Hike with the Boulder Ramblers
- AllTrails map
8. Boulder – Flagstaff Mountain
- 2.9 miles
9. Nederland – Mud Lake
- 3.3 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
Photo credit – Alli Fronzaglia, Instagram @theboulderhikerchick
10. Brainard Lake and Long Lake Snowshoe Trek
- 6.8 miles
- Blog post
11. RMNP – Mills Lake Snowshoe Trek
- 4.9 miles
- AllTrails map
12. Boulder – Wonderland Hill Paragliding Summit Loop (2 times)
- 4 miles
- HikingProject map
13. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Lost Lake
- 4.25 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
14. RMNP – Deer Mountain (2 times)
- 5.8 miles
- HikingProject map
- Blog post
15. RMNP – Allenspark Trail
- 4.75 miles
- HikingProject map
- Blog post
16. Boulder – Foothills Bench Trail (2 times)
- 4.15 miles
- HikingProject map
- Blog post
17. RMNP – Loch Lake
- 5.4 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
18. Boulder – Woods Quarry
- 3.15 miles
- AllTrails map
19. Boulder – Foothills South & Old Kiln Trails
- 3.25 miles
- HikingProject maps – Foothills South / Old Kiln
20. Boulder – Mt Sanitas Sunshine Canyon and Lions Lair Loop (4 times)
- 5 miles
- HikingProject map
21. Hogback Ridge Loop (2 times)
- 2.1 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
22. Boulder – Hall Ranch
- 9.9 miles
- HikingProject map
- Blog post
23. Boulder – Flagstaff Summit Loop
- 2.7 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- HikingProject map
24. Boulder – South Boulder Creek
- 5 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
Photo credit – Alli Fronzaglia, Instagram @theboulderhikerchick
25. RMNP – Gem Lake & Balanced Rock
- 8.5 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
26. Boulder – Sawhill & Walden Ponds
- 3 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails maps – Sawhill Ponds / Walden Ponds
27. RMNP – Twin Sisters Peak
- 6.65 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
28. Boulder – Mt Sanitas via Lions Lair Trail (3 times)
- 4.4 miles
- AllTrails map
29. Boulder – Rabbit Mountain Loop (2 times)
- 3.9 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
30. Boulder – Mt Sanitas via Dakota Ridge Loop
- 3.2 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
31. Boulder – Homestead Trail, Shadow Canyon, and Mesa Trail Loop
- 4.15 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
32. Boulder – First Flatiron Trail
- 2.4 miles
- AllTrails map
33. RMNP – Lily Lake
- 0.9 miles
- AllTrails map
34. RMNP – Lumpy Ridge Trail
- 1.6 miles
- AllTrails map
35. RMNP – Red Rocks Trail
- 0.8 miles
- AllTrails map
36. RMNP – Trail Ridge Road
37. Boulder – Foothills South, Foothills North, and Hogback Ridge
- 5.3 miles
- Blog post
38. Boulder – Heil Valley Ranch Loop
- 9.5 miles
- AllTrails Maps – Wapiti Trail Loop / Wild Turkey Trail
- Blog post
39. RMNP – Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Bear Lake
- 4.1 miles
- AllTrails maps – Emerald Lake / Bear Lake
40. Boulder – Green Mountain via West Ridge
- 3.7 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
41. Boulder – Joder Ranch
- 3.9 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
42. Sangre de Cristo Wilderness – Zapata Falls and S Zapata Lake Trail
- 3.1 miles
- Maps – Zapata Falls & S Zapata Lake Trail
- Blog post
43. Great Sand Dunes National Park – High Dune
- 2.8 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
44. Boulder – Picture Rock Trail, Heil Valley Ranch
- 9.9 miles
- AllTrails map
45. RMNP – Estes Cone
- 6.3 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
46. Boulder – Green Mountain Loop
- 6.1 miles
- HikingProject map
47. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Buchanan Pass Trail
- One-way 5.2 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
48. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Red Deer Lake
- 3.6 miles from campsite
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
49. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Buchanan Pass Trail
- One-way 5.2 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
50. Boulder – Red Rocks & Anemone Hill
- 1.75 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
51. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Skyscraper Reservoir
- 11.5 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
52. Boulder – Bear Mountain (attempt)
- 5.1 miles
- HikingProject map
53. Crested Butte – Snodgrass Mountain
- 6.5 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
54. Crested Butte – Judd Falls Trail (part way)
- 1.6 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
55. Crested Butte – East River Trail #634/ Brush Creek Trail
- 2.5 miles
- HikingProject map
- Blog post
56. Boulder – Dowdy Draw Trail
- 2.8 miles
- AllTrails map
57. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Lake Isabelle & Isabelle Glacier Trail (attempt)
- 10.6 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
58. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Lake Isabelle (2 times)
- 5.9 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
59. RMNP – Sandbeach Lake
- 9.1 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
60. Ouzel Falls
- 5.7 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
61. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Mt. Audubon (attempt)
- 8 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
62. Boulder – Dowdy Draw/Spring Brook/Goshawk Ridge Loop (2 times)
- 8.1 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
63. RMNP – Ypsilon Lake
- 9.8 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
64. Golden Gate Canyon State Park – Mountain Lion Loop to Windy Peak
- 8.15 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
65. RMNP – Sky Pond Lollipop
- 10.2 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
66. Indian Peaks Wilderness – Blue Lake
- 5.1 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
67. RMNP – Flattop Mountain
- 8.8 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks Hike
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
68. Arapaho National Forest – Herman Gulch & Herman Lake
- 7 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
69. RMNP – Thunder Lake
- 12.4 miles
- AllTrails map
- Blog post
70. Fort Collins – Greyrock Mountain Loop
- 7.8 miles
- HikingProject map
71. Shenandoah National Park – Hawksbill Mountain Loop
- 2.3 miles
- HikingProject map
72. Golden – Mount Galbraith
- 4.2 miles
- Boulder Hiker Chicks hike
- AllTrails map
73. Boulder – McIntosh Lake
- 3.7 miles
- AllTrails map
74. Boulder – Pella Crossing
- 3.1 miles
- AllTrails map
75. Boulder – McCall Lake
- 1.5 miles
- AllTrails map
2020 Goals
Blog
Since the statistics show I only wrote blog posts for a woeful 55% of the hikes I went on this year, I will set a target of writing blog posts for 75% of the hikes we go on. I think this is a reasonable number, as some hikes are just not as interesting, or I don’t end up taking many photos because I’m hiking with friends and enjoying their company more than focusing on taking pictures and thinking about a description of the trail.
We’ve been doing a sufficient amount of outdoor activities, to the point that I finally feel comfortable writing some gear reviews. Therefore, I’d like to add gear reviews to the repertoire of Takahashi Outdoors. We are planning to start a YouTube channel for some of those reviews.
Hiking
Since we moved to Longmont in September, the trails in Boulder have become slightly less accessible for quick hikes (the drive is 15-20 minutes longer than before), but there are also several trails and parks around Longmont that I want to explore.
There are still a number of trails I haven’t traversed in Boulder, so I would like to hike those not-yet-traversed Boulder trails. Considering I only wrote blog posts for 29% of the Boulder trails I hiked, I want to increase that percentage. I will also aim for 75% blog coverage in this category.
In Rocky Mountain National Park it would be great to explore new trails. A few hikes I have in mind to try – Black Lake, Chasm Lake, Bluebird Lake, The Boulderfield, Pear Lake, Lion Lake, and perhaps some trails on the Grand Lake side of the park.
In the Indian Peaks Wilderness, new trails are also on the agenda, such as – Pawnee Pass, Rainbow Lakes, Arapaho Pass, South Arapaho Peak. I’d also like to re-try Mt. Audubon and Isabelle Glacier. Perhaps some altitude training is in order to prevent the altitude sickness that hindered us last time on Mt. Audubon.
The road trips that we went on last year were epic, and I’d love to go see some more interesting locations, especially in southern Colorado, such as Mesa Verde National Park, Ouray, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument.
Northern Colorado and Utah are also beckoning – I’d love to see Dinosaur National Monument, Red Feather Lakes, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park.
We live about an hour and a half drive from Wyoming, so hikes in south Wyoming, in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest should still be within range of a day hike or backpacking trip. If there’s time for a Wyoming road trip, I want to see Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park as well.
That sounds like a lot of places and a lot of trails…the aim is to do as many of them as possible, and have fun while doing it!
Bouldering
Last February I started bouldering (climbing without ropes, not too far from the ground) with my husband at the climbing gym. My husband had done bouldering before for a few years and is more advanced. Bouldering is a great all-body workout and I love the goal-setting aspect of the sport, as well as the lessons it teaches you about it being okay to fall and try again. As the statistics above show, we did 68 hours of climbing last year. I want to both increase that number and be able to do V4 in bouldering (currently at V3 max). More time dedicated to bouldering might mean less time for hiking, but I will try my best to balance the sports out.
To Conclude
Since moving to Colorado, we’ve seen so many wonderful places. Every time I go out on a new trail, and even on trails I’ve hiked several times, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for being able to live here and experience these hikes. I’m sure 2020 will also be filled with wonderful adventures.