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HAPPY HIKING: VOLUNTEER TO MAINTAIN TRAILS

A dirt trail winds through a meadow with wildflowers and pine trees, leading towards distant green hills under a cloudy sky.

You don’t have to hike often to know that trail quality and conditions can make or break a day of hiking in the mountains or foothills of Colorado. If you enjoy being in nature and you love making a difference, then volunteer opportunities to help maintain trails are a perfect fit for your summer plans. […]

Happy Trails

A winding trail cuts through a lush mountain meadow filled with wildflowers and flanked by evergreen trees under a cloudy sky.

Volunteer to help maintain trail conditions You don’t have to hike often to know that trail quality and conditions can make or break a day of hiking in the mountains or foothills of Colorado. If you enjoy being in nature and you love making a difference, then volunteer opportunities to help maintain trails are a […]

Pursuing Equilibrium

A person in camouflage gear sits among decoy birds in a field at sunset, watching birds fly overhead.

The Light Goose Conservation Order, now in its 26th year, draws to a season close in Colorado (east of I-25) April 30. In 1940, there were fewer than 1 million snow geese on the continent, but due to changes in the agricultural landscape in the Central Flyway, their numbers began to soar astronomically, and today, […]

Explore the Backcountry SAFELY

Mountain road with a curve and snow-covered slopes, featuring a yellow warning sign that reads "Avalanche Area.

For many avid skiers and snowboarders, the backcountry is the final frontier of their snow sports progression. The backcountry is a place of solitude, excitement, and exercise. You will often hear the phrase “earn your turns,” when hiking up a valley before slashing down the mountain back to the car. While backcountry enthusiasts will often […]

Backyard Bird Watching

A blue jay holding a peanut in its beak stands on a pile of mixed seeds and nuts. Snow is gently falling around.

I’m not exactly a dedicated bird watcher, but I am fascinated by the little buggers. I grew up in a tiny mountain town and spent much of my youth in the woods hunting, fishing, and doing other countryboy stuff. Birds were everywhere, so I naturally learned to identify them, but I was more interested in […]

Ski the Gems

Person in ski gear stands on a snowy mountain slope with a backdrop of snow-covered peaks under a clear blue sky.

There’s no better bonding time for me and my daughters than skiing in the Colorado Rockies. We spend the drive up talking and listening to music (I’m still trying to convince them that ’80s music is the best), and when we get to the slopes it’s equal parts adventure, fun, and friendly competition. Like most […]

Hot Fishing on Cold Days

Mountain range with snow-capped peaks and forested slopes under a partly cloudy sky. Vegetation in the foreground.

I’m no longer surprised by the number of anglers who fly-fish through the winter, though I once was. It’s not for the faint of heart or folks who like to stay warm, but still, winter fly-fishing has grown to the point where it’s fairly commonplace. Even if the local freestone streams are iced over, there […]

Be Thankful

A river flows past a grove of trees, with one tree displaying bright orange foliage among the green and yellow leaves.

Thanksgiving is almost here, and like millions of others, I’m thinking about some of the things I’m thankful for. Right at the top of the list, of course, is my wife and our family, and that we had the remarkably good fortune to have been born in the USA. Our clan has been remarkably blessed […]

Fools Rush In

A brown-feathered bird stands on a rock surrounded by green foliage and purple flowers in a natural setting.

Doves and waterfowl account for most of the shotgun shells burned by Colorado small-game hunters, but the dusky grouse is not without its share of fans. Formerly known as blue grouse and sometimes called “fool hens,” these large birds are a gastronomic delight for those who take them in the early season while they’re feeding […]

The Lurker in a Sweeper

A man in a blue shirt examines a coniferous tree in a grassy wooded area, wearing a white cap and sunglasses.

A tale of a fishing … fish?  September is, to hear some tell it, one of the best fly-fishing months of the year. The weather is cooler, the water is cooler, the streams are low and clear, and the fish are really hungry. The colder water stimulates their metabolism and they feed with a renewed […]