Bikepacking Frisco to Buena Vista and climbing Mt. Massive (4 days)

I’ve been wanting to explore the Mt. Massive and Collegiate Peaks area for some time and I finally had some time to do it. The Bustang buses here in Colorado are great, very comfortable, cheap, bring the bike for free, and they go all over Colorado into the mountains and the cities. I took the bus from Fort Collins to Denver and then from Denver to Frisco, 22 usd total including the bike.

Day 1 – Frisco to Mount Massive

I arrived in Frisco around 12 noon and started out with a sandwich. The plan was to bike to the Mount Massive trailhead and pitch the tent in that area so I could wake up and climb it the next day. The route went over a pass through Leadville so I thought it would be a good idea to get some food for the trip in Leadville to keep the weight down a bit. There’s a beautiful bike trail that runs along the main road for the first 10-15k or so and then you connect with the road. It is not the most fun biking on a narrow shoulder on the road Friday afternoon when everyone is going in the mountains, but it is not the worst either. It’s a beautiful ride and I’ve done it in the car before but being on the bike is just way different having time to really enjoy the scenery. There’s a big mining history in the Leadville area and I keep thinking about those people coming here to settle. At the very top of the pass before reaching Leadville I met this cool guy selling beef and Elk jerky. The business started in the climax mine area some years back. He was fun and I took a few pictures with him and also got some water since I ran out (I only ran out because I didn’t fill up earlier, there are plenty of options to fill from creeks and rivers). Reaching the pass was nice since from hear it was mostly downhill to Leadville. I wanted to grab a beer in Leadville but I was a little pressed for time so I did my groceries, got some extra patches from the bike store, and a beer can to go for later in camp. The way from Leadville to trailhead was really nice, no more traffic! The area around Massive is wilderness and national forest so I could basically pitch my tent wherever, so I found a great spot right on the river (don’t worry – more than 100 ft from it) close to the trailhead. So first day ended up being 69k and 986m of elevation, what a great start to my trip – and the beer was still cold and tasted amazing!

Day 2 – Mt. Massive climb

I got up already at 6:15 to make some coffee. I grinded fresh beans before I left and that paired with the MSR coffee filter is a winner every time. Best way to get good coffee on trail unless you want to bring the grinder. It was only my second night in my new tent (Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo) and generally i was very happy with it the whole trip. It stayed dry the whole trip so still have to put it to the test in rainy weather. It’s a one man tent but i can still have all of my gear inside which i like. The first part of the trail is on the Colorado Trail so I already met a bunch of people that were going all the way to Durango. The whole trail usually is 4-6 weeks. After around 6k on the CT the trail breaks off and goes up the mountain. Theres a nice big stream just before it breaks off so I took a little break and filled up my bottles. I climbed it on a Saturday so I met quit a few people on the way. To my surprise I didn’t need to cross any snow and it was not a very technical climb. I could basically walk the whole way up (it’s classified as class 2). The views where amazing as always when you climb a mountain and I met a family of mountain goats all the way on the top. It was a very cool experience since it was my first time seeing them. I got down after 24k, 1400m elevation, and almost 7h of walking, and had a really good lunch in camp. The rest of the day I was just eating and chilling in camp, another great day.

Day 3 – Mt. Massive trailhead to Turtle Rock Campground

On day 3 I decided to take it very easy, I felt it a bit after the first two days so I didn’t want to rush anything and I just wanted to take my time. I spent a loooong time drinking coffee and eating Müesli, packed up and started riding down the mountain around 9:30. I rode south in the direction of Buena Vista and there was a lot of dirt roads running along the main road so it was a really beautiful ride and mostly downhill which I truly appreciated! I thought about biking to Huron Peak and climb it on the following day but decided against it and leave that for another day. I rode past Twin Lakes and onwards to Clear Creek Reservoir where I had lunch. I had brought tomatoes and cucumbers which are super heavy but definitely makes me happy when I’m eating it in the tortilla sandwiches that I make. It’s a fine balance – my food definitely weight a lot this trip but I also packed for 5 days. After lunch I rode down the main road for a few k’s and then connected with and old dirt road running on the east side of the Arkansas River. It was so cool to ride on that with beautiful views of 14’ers to the west, amazing rock formations to the east, and the river running right next to me. I went up to Turtle Rock campground which was still free. Riding up the hill I met this cool guy Brian who was living in his car for a few months and kayaking in the area. I was out of water and thankfully he had some extra. We talked for about half an hour before I rode up the last bit to the campsite. It was a beautiful site with views of Mount Princeton, Yale, and Havard. It ended up being another amazing full day riding almost 80k.

Day 4 – Turtle Rock Campground to Buena Vista

It was time to go to Buena Vista and catch the bus early. I had an amazing sleep and felt like I was just getting used to it now. Man I could continue forever doing this! But I have a 2,5 year old son at home now that depends on me. When he gets older I can do it and bring him on some trips and introduce him to this life. When I do this for a longer period of time I feel like I can almost tap into another dimension of life. I still have big plans of doing long epic trips like this in the future, so I stay mobile and in shape, but for now it has to wait. Anyway, I packed down my stuff and went early to ride the last 5k to Buena Vista Roastery Café to get some coffee and pastry before catching the bus. The bus ride to Denver from Buena Vista took around 2,5 hours and was beautiful. It cost me 24 usd with the Bustang Outrider bus.

In Denver I had to kill a few hours before catching the bus to Fort Collins, so I went to Denver Beer Co and tasted a few of their beers. They make really good stuff. While I was sitting there I reflected on my trip and how nice it was to have had a few day with no distractions to affect my thoughts and mindset, everything came from within and that is an amazing feeling and where original thoughts and ideas are born. Sure, it can be scary to set out on your own but once I’m out there the fear is gone. I’ve never regretted it and the knowledge I get about myself facing fears and challenges is invaluable.

Maps & stats

Below is the 4 day overview screenshot from Strava (Day 2 climb was 6h 54min, not 3h 15min. My watch wouldn’t track the last two days so I plotted the route manually in ridewithgps, I guess it’s getting old).

Here’s the link to the route on google maps and below is the screenshot

Comanche Peak Wilderness overnighter

I recently found out about Outdoor Trail Maps and got a bunch of the wilderness areas in Colorado. I really like them, well priced, good size, and there’s nothing like pulling out a physical map when you are planning a trip. The Comanche Peak Wilderness is very close to where I live in Fort Collins so it has been on my list for a while. I had a failed attempt of going there on my bike a few weeks ago but it’s definitely doable in a day on a bike from Fort Collins if you are ready to eat some elevation.

The route I planned for this trip turned out to be perfect: Even better views that I could imagine, and a perfect mix of terrain and difficulty. I had planned this weekend with my friend Josh which is always fun. He mostly brings a great energy but sometimes whines a bit too much to my liking. He’s new in the game so I suppose it’s okay, hopefully it will change for the better with more experience…(I know he’s going to read this with a big smile).

Day 1 – Beaver Creek Trail & Brackenbury Cabin Trail (Strava link)

The trail goes along Beaver Creek and is a really nice trail and super beautiful. Most people either go to Comanche Lake or Browns Lake so after that the trail becomes a bit more rough. We saw a lot of bear, deer, and Elk poop but never saw the animals. There’s a gentle climb out of the woods where it connects with the Brackenbury Cabin Trail. It was a little tricky to follow the trail because of the snow but if we lost the trail we used MapOut to steer us back. When we crossed the pass an amazing view of the Never Summer Range opened up (see pics) and we found a perfect place to pitch our tents on the other side right around treeline. We cooked some couscous with tuna and broke out the whisky.

Day 2 – Camp spot to Comanche Peak to parking lot (Strava link)

We got out of the tents and made some coffee and Müsli and just took our time enjoying this awesome place. We started moving towards Comanche Peak with the hope of climbing it. We had picked the easiest route which you can walk up (class 1). The Mirror Lake Trail was pretty rough and very wet this time a year so we just had to accept getting wet feet which I don’t mind at all when I know they are going to dry out really fast in the weather we had. It was a really nice hike into the woods again and then the ascent towards the top. It turned out there was almost no snow on this side of the mountain so it was a relatively easy climb with amazing views. From the top you can see both Rocky Mountain National Park, The Never Summer range, and the Rawah Wilderness range (which I think technically is called the Medicine Bow Range, but it goes through the Rawah Wilderness and State Forest State Park). After we reached the top we came back down and hit the Hourglass Trail that follows the ridge down and hits Comanche Reservoir. Coming down Hourglass Trail we walked through a burnt area, it’s like walking through a cemetery. I thought it was really cool to see the yellow flowers were still able to grow there. It ended up being a quite long but very awesome day.

Maps & Stats

Link to my Strava

Screenshot of the route (Google Maps route):

All in all a 10/10 trip, I will be going to Comanche Peak Wilderness again!

3 day backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park

I managed to tag along on two of my good friends backpacking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Nicole & Dave-The-Rave reserved (well in advance) the only campsite spot by Lake Verna on the less busy west side of the park.

Day 1 – Parking lot to Lake Verna campsite (Strava link for hiking details)

The trailhead of the East Inlet Trail starts from the east side of Grand Lake and works its way into the mountains. There are 5 lakes going into the valley and Lake Verna is the second one. It’s a beautiful trail hiking along the river and very gradual ascent. Since we had the same campspot for 2 nights I didn’t pack very light so the pack was heavy hiking up the first day and the pace was very “hygge”.

The weather in general was very mixed the whole trip which I like, it makes the scenery chance all the time so you experience something different even staying the same place for days. We got to the campsite and pitched the tents just before it started raining. Immediately we got a new campsite friend, a deer that kept coming by our camp for the 3 days. Maybe he was hoping for scraps but I got the sense that he felt more secure from other predators being around us…I could be wrong though.

Rave broke out the flyfishing rod and we spend the rest of the day fishing and cooking in camp.

(Click on pictures and read captions for more details).

Day 2 – Lake Verna to Fifth Lake and back (Strava link for hiking details)

Nic and I wanted to explore the valley and possibly get to one of the mountain passes. After a bucket full of coffee we all head up the valley. After reaching Spirit Lake, Rave decided to turn around and try to turn his no-fish-failure on the previous day into succes. Nic and I kept hiking deeper into the valley. Immediately after Lake Verna the trail becomes more rough (but still pretty good) and we had a sense that we would see wildlife at anytime. Ones we passed the fourth lake we could either go up to Boulder-Grand Pass or hike to the fifth lake. It was still very cloudy on the pass so we kept on going to the fifth lake. After the fourth lake it ascends above the treeline and Nic spotted two moose further up the game trail that we were hiking on. They spotted us at the same time and we stayed for a moment then moving a bit closer and stayed there, maybe 200 metres away from them we stopped. It was a male and female and they started coming down towards us. It was my first real moose encounter in the wild (which is crazy given the places I’ve been) so I was a little nervous but watching their demeanor I calmed down, they didn’t look aggressive at all. They kept coming down the game trail towards us until maybe 30-40 meters away from us they veered off to the side and passed us down the hill so we could continue. I really got the feeling that they recognised where we were going and they came down to let us pass, amazing experience!

We went up to the fifth lake which is very beautiful surrounded by mountain tops and took a food break (Nic – thanks for the amazing salami sandwich!). We considered wether to continue up the pass or hike back down, and as we were conversing it started thundering so we made the wise decision and went back. On our hike back it started clearing and we could see all the mountain peaks – amazing. There’s a beautiful beach on the east side of Lake Verna and right as we reached it the sun came out so it was a perfect opportunity to take of the shoes, dry our stuff and put our feet in the water. We agreed there was 3 possible scenarios for how we would find Dave-The-Rave: 1) Happy having caught trout, 2) Depressed in his tent because he didn’t, 3) Molested by a chipmunk. Luckily we came back to scenario 1). He had caught 4 brook trouts (we believe) that we cooked up and ate, they tasted AMAZING!

(Click on pictures and read captions for more details).

Day 3 – Lake Verna to parking lot (Strava link for hiking details)

We woke up to an amazing sunrise and had coffee by the lake before packing down our stuff and hiking back. There was this mist almost dancing on top of the lake, it was pretty amazing. Here’s a couple shots…and check out the video on my Strava where you can see the mist moving on the lake.

Here is the full trip on maps…

Trip report: Sentiero delle Orobie, Italy – 8 day solo hike

I did the Sentiero delle Orobie in the Orobie alps just north of Bergamo. Since one of my best friends was getting married in the area i figured i should take advantage of going there anyway. It turned out to be quite challenging for different reasons (knee problems, infection, heat) but i managed to get through it. The challenges i went through just made the sense of pride and self belief even greater when i finished.

It is a great trail going from hut to hut with great people along the way. Since i was going in august i was looking for less touristy places to go and this one definitely lived up to that. I only met one swiss couple on the whole trip, everyone else were italian. The huts (rifugios) in general were quite busy and lively and very welcoming. I carried both tent and food and had no problems camping (for free) next to the huts. They serve both breakfast, lunch and dinner and you can buy simple cheap sandwiches throughout the day (4 euros). The food in general is good and plentiful but a lot of the same since you are in the mountains (polenta, pasta, meat, bread, cheese). A full dinner meal is around 20-25 euros and they serve you 3 courses. Many times i found that one was enough and then you can just pay for one dish. The price for accommodation, dinner and breakfast is 55 euros, so by bringing my tent i saved around 30 euros per night. The downside of course is the extra weight you carry in the mountains. To me it’s worth it – i love sleeping in my tent.

Transport from Bergamo is pretty easy. Take the bus to Clusone and change to the one going to Ardesio, in Ardesio you switch to a minibus going to Valcanale where the trail starts. Only thing is that the buses don’t always fit well together so sometimes you have to wait a bit for the next, but hey…it’s part of the adventure. A good thing is that buses are extremely cheap.

Bear in mind that my times listed below in general are slow because of a heavy pack, bad knee and taking lots of pictures. Breaks are not included.

Anyway… Here are the numbers, notes (from a notebook I carried), pictures and maps:

Day 1, Valcanale – Rifugio Gemelli

Time: 3:39 h (decent pace)

Distance: 8,8 km

Asc: 1043 m

Dsc: 191 m

Notes: They have a great red ale draft beer in rifugio Gemelli, lots of good campsites next to the hut, got bitten by an insect. Many good camping sites

Day 2, Rifugio Gemelli – Rifugio Calvi

Time: 3:54 h (very slow)

Distance: 12,5 km

Asc: 497 m

Dsc: 478 m

Notes: Pretty easy relative flat trail. I was very slow because i got infection from the insect bite, foot and ancle very swollen and head spinning. Many good camping sites

Day 3

Rest in Rifugio Calvi, foot and ancle still very swollen.

Day 4, Rifugio Calvi – Rifugio Brunone

Time: 5:12 h (decent pace)

Distance: 11,4 km

Asc: 982 m

Dsc: 674 m

Notes: Foot doing way better, not much swelling. Legs and knee starting to feel much stronger already. Once i got over the valbecca pass there was no shade for 3 hours – very hot day but very beautiful and fun stage, a bit more technical. Many rivers along the way so don’t need to carry to much water. A lot of ibex´s on the pass. Not many campsites at rifugio Brunone, but also not many campers – i was the only one.

Day 5, Rifugio Brunone – Rifugio Coca

Time: 4:55 h (slow)

Distance: 7 km

Asc: 515 m

Dsc: 919 m

Notes: Most technical stage. A lot of chains and using hands – a lot of fun and very beautiful. Brunone and Coca were probably my favorite huts and also the most remote. Had to stay the night in Coca because of a thunder storm. Looked like there was a bunch of good camping sites.

Day 6, Rifugio Coca – Rifugio Curó

Time: 3:35 h (decent pace)

Distance: 7,7 km

Asc: 630 m

Dsc: 634 m

Notes: Short and beautiful stage with only one mountain pass. Rifugio Curó is beautifully located next to a lake with many good camping sites. Very busy hut.

Day 7, Rifugio Curó – Rifugio Albani

Time: 7:05 h (decent pace)

Distance: 18,7 km

Asc: 1264 m

Dsc: 1233 m

Notes: Very long and very beautiful day. First half to the chapel is pretty flat. Party in rifugio Albani with lots of grappa. A couple good camping sites.

Day 8, Rifugio Albani – Ardesio (standard route, not the via ferrata)

Time: 5:24 h (decent pace)

Distance: 17 km

Asc: 432 m

Dsc: 1716 m

Notes: Relative long day with a lot of downhill. Some fun downhill sections through the woods.

If you want to do the whole route faster and you are in good shape i would go directly to rifugio Calvi from Valcanale (and get to Valcanale early) and then maybe do day 5 and 6 together. If you use the huts accommodation and food you don’t have to carry a lot. I believe there’s a supported FKT registered on 8:52 hours on this trail.

Route map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=da&hl=da&mid=1YP_t03dSCkJ-5FuY0u2-z_oG1f0Nf8RE&ll=45.98810910402739%2C10.012885456722307&z=11

https://www.strava.com/activities/6152602266