Way back in the 1860’s and 1870’s, back before Colorado even became a state, survey crews from what is now called the U.S. Geological Survey fanned out across the Rocky Mountains to catalogue, measure, map and name the mountains. Imagine that, being given the authority to name mountains! Most of the names we use to this day came from those 19th century surveys.
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Although I officially retired from bike racing in 2020, I find that even now, whenever I catch wind of a race in the area, my ears sort of perk up and next thing I know, I find myself signed up. Can’t help it. Something about you can take the boy out of the race but you can’t take the race out of the boy, I guess.
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I don’t consider myself a particularly obsessive person but if I’m interested in something I do have a tendency to lock onto it like a dog on a bone. From the very first 14er we climbed years ago I’ve found a definite attraction to their challenges. And now that we’ve climbed several of them, I find my interest has only grown. I don’t know if I’ll ever climb them all. Due to their difficulty or remoteness, there are several that are probably out of my reach at this point in life. I’m not 20 years old anymore. But for the time being I’m really interested in pushing myself to climb as many as I can.
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As I mentioned in a previous post, as a kid growing up in Colorado my knowledge of the mountains was pretty limited. The mountains were always there in the background, they just weren’t something my family chose to actively seek out.
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Continuing with my plan to work out a loop linking the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide Trail I set out to test ride another segment this week. This time around I started where I left off here, at the narrow-gauge railroad grade above Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.
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Under the category of “it’s a small world”, a few weeks ago Ms. Seeking and I were walking around the Salida Art Festival at Riverside Park checking out the artisanal offerings when I came to a booth featuring handmade pottery.
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Next up on our 14er climb list was Huron Peak. At 14,003 feet Huron just makes the list of Colorado 14ers but what it lacks in altitude list-topping, it makes up for in remoteness and rugged beauty. Huron has the distinction of being the Sawatch 14er farthest from a paved road. What that means is that when you approach it from the lovely Lake Ann basin you are surrounded by nothing but wilderness for miles in every direction. No towns, highways or civilization of any kind are visible from Huron’s slopes. A perfect place for quiet seclusion.
Or so we thought.
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Seeking Timberline is one year old today! This time last year we were packing up to leave for Colorado and I started this blog to describe what life looks like post-employment and to share stories with anyone who might be interested. Fifty-four posts and one year later and here we are.
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One of the most interesting things about living in Colorado is the variety and abundance of geology all around you. If you venture outside anywhere in the mountains, you’re bound to find strange rock formations, fossils, crystals, and all manner of other minerally things. As a non-geologist I don’t know what ninety percent of it is but I find the whole thing fascinating and I’m slowly learning about it as I go.
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For as long as I can remember, Crested Butte has been one of my favorite places to ride. I’ve had the opportunity to ride my bike in places all over the U.S. but more than anywhere else, the rides that have burned themselves deepest into my memory are the ones I’ve done at Crested Butte. The number and quality of trails, combined with the natural beauty of the place makes riding there something special.
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