One…
Perfect day.
Category Archives: Hiking
Three Headwaters
Maloja in the upper Engadine valley, just north of the Italian border in eastern Switzerland, has as one of its attractions the hydrological wonder of harboring three distinct watersheds. These local tributaries eventually run into the Danube, the Po and the Rhine and flow into the Black Sea, the Meditterean and the North Sea respectively.
This trip we’re trying something new, basing ourselves in a locale that accesses multiple mountain trails. The first of our stops is in the Val Bregaglia which is just south of St Moritz and the Swiss National Park. This valley is historically noted as being part of an early Roman trade route to the north. It is also noted for some of the earliest Swiss winter tourism and specifically a couple of notable figures like Nietsche and the Italian painter Segantini.
We hiked 13 miles of the Roman trade route to the Italian border the first day, the whole time questioning and conjecturing what they possibly needed from the north. Later we found from a map that they brought glass all the way from northern Germany as well as tin, iron and gold from southern Germany. We took the post bus back to Maloya.
Schnitzel with mushrooms, bouquet vegetables and buttered noodles was the reward for our efforts. We did learn the Romans carried several pounds of grain, hard tack and considerable amount of bacon for their rations. Not sure if they enjoyed dark chocolate after dinner like we did.
The next couple days we hiked in different directions, one day up long Val Fex with hanging glaciers at the top and a couple of picturesque resort hotels accessible only by horse-drawn carriage. A hike around the Silsersee took us high up on one side giving us views of the craggy mountains and the lake below which lies between Maloja and Nietsche’s summer town of Sils Maria.
In each day’s hike we traveled through tiny mountain-side hamlets and even smaller alp farms with their famous chalet-style huts and rock and timber barns. Just a reminder, the word “alp” refers to those high meadows up in the mountains, not to the mountains themselves often called The Alps.
Swiss Bound
Off on another “Birthday Hike” in Switzerland. The kitchen “gear” scale has been utilized full-time this week paring down weights of containers, tops, shoes, etc. Since we only tote day packs it’s tight when some of us have 3 pair of shoes, but if you average the two packs we’re still within the 10# range.
Itinerary this year is more varied, with us exploring the eastern Switzerland National Park initially, and then finishing up the Via Alpina between Adelboden and Lake Geneva in the western portion of Switzerland. And a bonus side trip to Belgium.
We’ll try to blog along the way – photos don’t get formatted or aligned – but we should be able to write and record as we go along. Caution: there will most likely be some food-p0rn since we like to enjoy some of those meals and dishes several times by looking at them over and over.
You can always see where we are by clicking on our Spot Location on the blog main page, and we recommend changing the view to Satellite in the right-hand corner of the map.
If you can’t get the blog main page because you’re viewing on a mobile device, the URL is here.
Spot is a GPS location beacon that records our track every 10 minutes. We’ll try and keep it activated each day we’re hiking. Weight 4.5 oz. House guest, web cam and Roomba will be watching home.
Summer in the San Juan’s
Really nice in Durango and the high country. The above photo was taken along the Continental Divide at 12,500′ this week. The wildflowers went on for acres and acres as we tramped thru them traversing a figure-eight track along the Continental Divide Trail high above Silverton.
I thought I was UL trim with a 9.1# base weight for this hike, but I was bested by Will who was 30% lighted with 6.5# base weight, however you’ll notice I had to carry his poles when we scaled a rocky couloir.
On only a two day trip (in on the blue track, out on the red one), Will Rietveld and I managed 27.5 miles and 14,000′ of elevation (gain and loss) checking out possible alternatives for a future 6-Day hike skirting the CDT. As popular as this country is, we only saw 3 groups of hikers, one set of women 33 days out of Denver on their way to finish the 503-mile Colorado Trail to Durango.
At the same time Will and I were east of Silverton, Stanna and a number of her Wednesday hiking ladies were doing a three-day series of day hikes out of Silverton, while staying in the Highlander. The Amphitheater Loop above Ouray, Ice Lake – Island Lake Loop and the Columbine Lake hike.
Unfortunately the Google Earth screen captures don’t show the real time color, but they do give you a feeling for the terrain and views of the San Juan’s. (Click to enlarge)
Meanwhile the tomatoes and deck garden is flourishing better than we can remember. (As noted earlier, our plant water comes from a Spring rather than the Animas, in case you’re worried about toxic tomatoes.)
Unfortunately our attempt to replicate Swiss hanging geraniums didn’t pan out, so next year we’ll try to get the proper Ivy Geraniums.
WIS Experience
You may have noticed that I’m a WIS volunteer for the the San Juan Mountain Association in conjunction with the National Forest Service. It’s been really positive for a number of reasons: getting me in the backcountry more often, trying new trails and regions of our 600 square miles of public lands in the neighborhood, and meeting new folks along the way.
I sandwiched two WIS trips around the GD ride last week, which made for a non-stop couple of weeks outdoors lately. “Hiking with a purpose” is how I’ve described the WIS experience in the past, as we clear trails of minor and not so minor obstacles, do a little water diversion, pick-up litter (amazingly little these days), remediate errant fire-rings, report downed trees and chat up people along the way.
You wouldn’t normally stop and chat with every hiker or group of hikers along a trail, other than to wave a hello and speak a greeting. But as a WIS volunteer we’re encouraged to chat with everyone and subtly, or not so, making sure they know about the Wilderness requirement of Leaving No Trace and not camping within 100′ of water among other things.
After 3 years of this, it’s getting much easier to find something to say or even open a conversation without it being awkward, forced or authoritative. I generally say, “how’s it going” and “where are you all from” before mentioning LNT or camping. On a long day hike last week, I came upon two groups of 13-14-year-old girls on four-day adventures with their leaders. After stumbling thru chatting with the first group of girls I’d wished I’d thought of something better and less inane to say than “did anyone get wet last night,” not knowing I’d have a second chance.
This second group came by about 2 miles up the trail, and I was warmed up and offered a better greeting. I told the story of meeting a group of girls on this same trail the year before and they had said that LNT – Leave No Trace was part of their curriculum. Immediately upon my mentioning LNT they formed a semi-circle around me and began singing and dancing thru this LNT skit they had memorized and practiced. I immediately welled up with emotion (a sign of getting older) seeing these girls dancing, gesturing and singing their 7 rules for LNT. I hope I don’t forget this experience for a long time to come.
I wish I’d had the forethought or opportunity to photograph or video that skit. As it was I never took a single photo that day, but the views were super in that part of the San Juan’s.
Then I got drafted to come along with a few Rotarians and friends for an overnight backpacking trip. Since it was also in the Weminuche Wilderness I hiked as a WIS volunteer and got to chat up still more folks on a very popular Crater Lake trail. My group got caught up in the routine of chatting up other groups, finding micro trash and cleaning aluminum foil out of fire-rings. (We can only guess the Boy Scouts are still roasting baked potatoes in fires.)
What was most interesting on this trip was the contrast in backpacking styles, specifically gear and weights. Two of the guys had 60+ pound packs with the “kitchen sink” 
compared to my 9.5 pound base weight. It was a teaching moment when they hoisted my pack and then saw I had more necessities than they at camp. They’ll be weighing things, investing in lighter gear, and buying new packs in the near future.
Legend Trees – Escalante River
Just back from 5 days “logging” legend trees in the Escalante Wilderness Area of Utah. Actually we didn’t cut down a single tree, we recorded the location, elevation above the river, height, health, girth, number of stems and species in proximity to the “legend” trees in the Escalante River corridor. We were a team of three, headed by veteran Grand 
Canyon botanist Melissa McMasters, who spearheaded the tamarisk removal and vegetation replacement program along the Colorado River thru the Grand Canyon. Mike Taylor was one of her “star” volunteers and seems to learn when she’s got a trip or a project lined up. Fortunately Mike needs a partner and I’ve been lucky enough to go along.
Melissa has the contract to do the entire Escalante River corridor and it’s going to take a couple of years to count and record the legend tree data for that entire stretch. The Escalante River is popular and famous for it’s remote, wild and scenic desert beauty. Most of the drainage is not easily accessible to hikers unless they’re prepared for rugged 
multi-day backpacking, and since it’s become a Wilderness Area the trails have become almost nonexistent. Occasionally it’s possible to run the river in smaller rafts or kayaks, but it’s normal flow is in fractions of a CFS. When it floods with 1,000, 2,000 or even 4,000 CFS it runs wall to wall in many places but reportedly only for very short periods. You need to be constantly aware of the flash flood possibilities. It was .86 CFS for us.
Mike and I were skeptical of the minimal mileage Melissa expected to cover each day, when she told us about her previous trips above our starting point. Less than five miles seemed too little for a full day of hiking. Well, we diminished even that small number of miles by totaling only 1.5 and 2 miles of river in a 10 hour day. We did manage just over 5 miles hiking each day, but when you go back and forth, round and round, across the river and back all day long, it’s hard to get very far down the river. Below is a screen capture of our track (Gaia GPS App on iPhone) for just one meander of the Escalante River.
We did manage 29.8 miles total, according to the Gaia GPS data, but as for data recording along the Escalante River, we only managed to knock off a little less than 7 river miles in 5 days. The hike in was 5.5miles and the hike out was 4.9 miles, and those tracks weren’t spent recording data. So that leaves 19.4 miles of walking around 7 miles of river bank. And walking isn’t the best descriptor, since the foliage and 
density of vegetation along the river proper is more like desert jungle, with Tamarisk, Coyote willow, and Russian olive, not to mention 5 and 6 foot Rabbit Brush. Just getting out of the river and up 6-to 8-foot shear vertical sand and grass banks provided plenty of slipping laughter.
Legend trees have to meet certain criteria: for Cottonwood it needs to be greater than it’s cohorts, in this case at least a meter in diameter, have deeply furrowed bark, at least two dead branches and meet a subjective criteria sometimes measured as a vocal “Oh shit, look at this one”.
When you focus on trees, vegetation species, and go slower than the average adventurer, it makes for an extremely interesting and rewarding trip. Mike kept us aware of the long forgotten Petroglyphs he noticed on the Navajo Sandstone walls, plus the numerous animal tracks reminded us we were only moments away from fleeing and feeding game who knew the trails far better than us. It was a great trip in a very special Wilderness.
We all look forward to going back.
And of course there’s always the “virtuous” reward meal…Strawberry Cheesecake milkshake, Mushroom Onion Burger and Onion Rings back in civilization.
For Mike’s photos in Picasa go to Mike’s Photos, and several of his photos are in this blog, since the iPhone was in a water-tight bag.
10,000 Steps
I just figured I have to get 250 trips between the kitchen and the computer desk to make my 10,000-step goal for the day. Since I don’t wear a Fitbit like Stanna or carry my iPhone in the house to measure steps in my Health Data app, I’ve decided to carry an almond from the kitchen each time and multiply the number of almonds times 40 to determine how many steps I take each day.
I’ve also learned that my favorite route tracking app, Gaia GPS www.gaiagps.com (most expensive app I’ve ever purchased at $19 – but the best value ever) now works in Airplane Mode on the iPhone and uses hardly any battery (12% on the last 5.7 mile, 5-hour total time, 2:51 moving time) during a day’s hike. As I’ve mentioned before, having a USGS topo on your phone with a real-time GPS arrow showing your exact location is a real comfort not to mention a “which trail should I take” energy saver. There are a number of app’s available but this one, like GPSNavX for the sailing community, gets better with each of their frequent updates.
Just like knowing how many steps you take in a day with your FitBit or pedometer, it’s fun to learn how far you’ve hiked or ridden, what the ascent and descent was, how fast you average and most interesting is how long you stopped compared to the moving time (1:52 Stopped Time in that 5-hour hike above).
I often export from the Gaia iPhone app the “track” via email to myself or hiking partners so we can view it on Google Earth or Garmin Base Camp (free apps) or post it in a blog.
10,000 steps isn’t anything compared to the total racked up in the Hardrock 100 “an ultramarathon of 100.5 miles in length, plus 33,992 feet of climb and 33,992 feet of descent for a total elevation change of 67,984 feet, at an average elevation of over 11,000 feet”. This week’s adventure was hiking 8.5 miles in to the Pole Creek Aid Station at Mile 20 of the 2015 Hardrock 100 (thumbnail above) and nothing compared to the 153 runners who came thru our aid station.
The food and equipment is horse-packed in and the “crew” backpacks in to this fairly remote mountain point at about 11,500′ with their individual gear and food. Water is collected at a creek a half-mile away and horse packed to the aid station where we treat the water and decant it into gallon jugs for refilling runners’ water bottles. Crew had to carry in and out the gallon jugs because the sound “spooks” the horses.
When the race is run “counter-clockwise” as it was in 2015 the runners pass the 20-mile aid station in a four-hour time-frame. On opposite (clockwise) years when it’s the 80-mile mark it can take the runners 24 hours, and all thru the night, to pass thru the aid station because they are so spread out by that time. This year they came between 10 AM and 2PM so it was quick and easy, if you don’t count the effort to get there, set up, take down and pack up. Only 3 of the aid stations are remote and inaccessible by road, this one is the most remote.
I’ve been touting ultra light backcountry travel but these runners put our base weight numbers or even total weight on your back to shame, since they carry only a vest that acts as a holster for 2-4 water bottles. Yes, they do carry a gossamer rain jacket and a headlamp, but not much more besides Gels and salt tablets.
This could be the winner, Kilian Jornet of Spain, who now holds the record, under 24 hours for 100 miles and 68,000′ of elevation gain and loss in both directions, topping off water and sampling only the watermelon before running off. He got back to Silverton, the start/finish line, before we woke up the next morning.
It was a good three days, because I got to test a number of UL backpacking items. Most unusual was hiking in to the aid station 8.5 miles in a heavy downpour with sleet and finally snow on the pass, using only an umbrella for rain protection. Hiked with only a wind shirt and never got wet above the knees, if you ignore wet hands and of course feet. Another gear test was the 2015 version of the Gossamer Gear Kumo ultralight backpack which I’d borrowed from one of their gear testers, Will Rietveld. This will most likely be the replacement for my zPacks Arc Blast which I’ve almost worn out in five seasons. Lastly I’m experimenting with a very small fanny pack to carry my 10 essentials, iPhone/camera, toiletries, sunscreen and things I need quickly so I don’t remove my pack as often. Bonus is that it takes 24 ounces off my shoulders and reduces my base weight in this last hike to 8.59 pounds. Sweet.
Problem I quickly learned with the almond-counting method is there aren’t any almonds left at the desk by the end of the day.
Late May Early June
It seems like we haven’t been doing anything when we haven’t posted a blog. Normally there’s always time to sit down and write about what we’ve been doing and what we hope that you would be doing: having fun, exercising and getting outside.
Right now we’re in Portland working on Daniel’s new house, rather his new old house, which was built in 1888. But before we get into the remodel in Portland let’s just tell you that we had a busy week just before leaving for Portland. Week before last Stanna’s 
brother David and his wife Pam came down from Denver. The weather cleared enough for us to do a great 5-mile hike right in one of Durango’s mountain parks. As you can see “Durango records wettest May on record” so it wasn’t possible to get out much at all.
Besides catching up with news about their family, grand-babies and recent wedding adding a fourth spouse to their five grown children, David & Pam took home some of our purged loot. Best of all is knowing the 60-pound dish-packed box of Beekley China will have a home at their cabin in Estes Park.
First on our agenda in Oregon, before tackling the house remodel, was catching up with Polecat. Don & Janice just happened to roll their only home into a Portland state park the day before we arrived. We all had to get out, even in the rain, so we hiked a popular Multnomah Falls Loop trail. They had eyed a fresh fish market earlier and hoped the skies would clear long enough for a fresh salmon barbecue.
Daniel’s new house in SW Portland, located on a hillside overlooking the Willamette River, was built in 1888. His plan is a total remodel of the basement and two floors, that includes gutting of the kitchen and entire second floor. The short-term goal is to get moved in by August 30 and that would mean making the main floor totally livable with an entirely new kitchen.
We arrived in time to be involved with the demolition work in the upstairs: only took one hard day to take out every wall of the second floor. Gutting the kitchen was a little more involved and took about three days, because I had to remove appliances cabinets, plumbing and soffits. Daniel originally thought it would only require a 10 yard dumpster but I think the pile is now close to 20 yards.
Since his house is over 120 years old it had multiple layers of wallpaper, in some places as many as eight. We rented a steam wallpaper remover and it took a full seven-day rental to remove the wallpaper from the first floor walls that were over 10 feet high. Many places we could only get down two or three layers to an impermeable layer which Daniel is 
just going to sand and paint. Most of the interior construction is with lathe and plaster but the serious remodels show the various stages of sheet rock from the earliest types to the more modern. The first-generation sheet-rock with the brown paper covering absorbed steam too easily and prevented us from taking off a layer of wallpaper directly attached to that oldest drywall.
This trip coincided with the end of school here in Portland so we got to see a number of functions for our granddaughters, the most interesting of which was at Sophie’s elementary school where she participated in a fifth grader “states float” parade and the final day “clap-out.” Clap-out was pretty remarkable because all the younger elementary school students 
and parents of the fifth-graders lined the central school hallway as the fifth grade graduating students exited their classrooms and received a clap-out and high-five from all the gauntlet of well-wishers.
Our final project at the house was ringing-out and planing the remodel’s wiring. Lots to be upgraded and since they’re going to finish out the basement as well, a number of new circuits need to be added. Two weeks in Portland sure went fast.
Acclimating
Acclimating and recovering from jet-lag are the two priorities, now that we’ve got our taxes filed. The 14-hour time difference is never an easy adjustment but getting ourselves back into the Durango recreation and exercise routine helps us get up early and feel tired when the sun goes down.
The first couple days are spent going thru the mountain of mail and posting tax info, followed by provisioning the empty frig and larder. Now we can think about “how many summers we have left” and what we want to do in Durango and with friends we haven’t seen in many months.
Besides my regular spinning and yoga classes that leave me “guilt-free by 8 AM,’ I managed to get in a short backpacking trip in the San Juan’s. Getting out the ultra-light backpacking gear and field testing it puts me in a position for some backcountry adventure and fun this spring and coming summer. Fortunately, Mike and his dog Ryler were eager to get out for an overnight just below the snow line in the high country.
In Colorado you can get hiking Search and Rescue coverage with a fishing permit, so the last couple of years I’ve paid my one dollar and purchased the fishing permit. So now I can practice losing flies and spooking fish with impunity, besides being eligible for rescue. This last trip I learned a lot more just casting without the hook on the line.
Not for Everyone
Surely not everyone is interested in sleeping under the Royal Arch high above the Elves Chasm almost to the bottom of the Colorado River canyon, but for the six of us it was extraordinary. The easy shorter access is a couple days down from the south rim at the westernmost trailhead. And that route involves the aforementioned 20′ rappel, whose only downside is carrying the extra pounds of rope and gear to make the descent safely.
Fortunately we had a younger buck trail-named Matterhorn (AT and CT Thru-hiker) who gladly shouldered the 2 pounds of line and Melissa (Trip Wrangler and Canyon Botanist) who packed in the sling and hardware.
We also slept on a sandy beach at the rivers edge, on the Tonto (a dry camp where we had to insure enough water for a couple days, including the camping), and other times up on the Esplanade, also a dry camp. The younger contingent and the old master Will slept most nights “under the stars” while Mike and I preferred to use our zPack Hexamid Duplexes.
Mid-November in the Canyon can offer temperatures and conditions across the spectrum. We had clear days with temps in the 50’s and night time temps in the high 20’s to mid 30’s. We could hike in shorts most days but had to use all the gear to sleep warm at night. When you pack ultralight that means wearing all your clothes plus silk long underwear and down booties. Not every night required the full suit of clothing but an 18- to 24-oz sleeping bag needs extra layers of insulation to help below freezing.
It’s always interesting to see how hikers are treating their water, be it with a filter pump, chemicals or UV rays. Will and I carry UV SteriPens which will kill the parasites in 40 seconds for a pint of water. Chemicals take up to 27 minutes and pumps are heavy, harder and these days “old school.” The filter of choice now is a Sawyer squeeze filter which our mates used and we had as backup. One benefit of Fall hiking in the Canyon is the cooler temps require less water consumption so we only had to treat, pump or zap 3-4 liters a day.
The Grand (as the river is called by the cognoscenti) and the Canyon is full of history and lore that’s fun to discover and hear about. Our group had several raconteurs and chroniclers, so we enjoyed stories, visited obscure sites, and saw ancient and more recent ruins. Wish I could retain all that was related over the 8 days. One thing I do recall is that I should read Grand Obsession: Harvey Butchart and the Exploration of the Grand Canyon.
Happy to show anyone all the other photos from the trip. Thanks to group for sharing photos, as many of these are courtesy of them. We probably have over 500 to choose from.
What is certain is that I’ll need a refresher course and look forward to the next trip into our local Wonder of the World. Here’s hoping we can do a reunion trip because we’ll all be “younger next year”.
Road less travelled…
Just back from the road less travelled in the Grand Canyon and I’m a bit conflicted. Don’t get me wrong, it was an excellent trip: great hiking companions, wonderful weather (cept’n cold nights), outstanding views, super off-trail discoveries and just a wonderfully good time.
The conflict arises between wanting to boast about taking a difficult and occasionally challenging route that few people get to experience (because it’s off the normal hiking itinerary, at the far west end of the Grand Canyon trail system, involves crossing an Indian political Fee triangle, has a 
20′ rappel, descends a rabbit hole with an ancient sapling for the final down-climb, and isn’t for the 
exposure-phobic folks like Stanna) and seeing one-other-group-a-day 
traveling this self-same route like it was no big deal, just something else on their bucket list.
Granted these “other” groups appeared to be skilled, proficient and worthy of boasting they’d notched their hiking poles for this route, but geeze, we figured we were part of a different 0.01%” that was able to brag about being the only ones in that area. Evidently this Route Less Travelled attracts 90% of the 0.01% or some other statistical aberration.
The upside of my conflict is that there are just more people “out there” doing things that make them Younger Next Year, and that pleases me immensely. Not all that we saw were ultra light which would have pegged the glad-scale, but we did get impressed when a light-pack-looking bike-helmeted pair from northern California “interviewed” us all on our gear. The trick question back to them was “So let’s cut to the chase. What’s ‘your’ base weight?” To which they “weren’t sure.” Also impressive was one of a three-person group just behind us on the rappel leg, who evidently free climbed down the 20′ drop while we were putting our packs on. I’d have like to seen that.
Fortunately, in the 55+ miles of trail we only sighted those other groups on the horizon or passed them going the opposite direction. One solo hiker wasn’t very amiable when he brushed/bumped past during a fairly steep decline. Perhaps he was concerned his (reported later by other hikers) apples, cheese and stick of butter rations didn’t allow for small talk. So we did have all the trails and camps to ourselves save those brief encounters.
Details to follow…
Homework and Prep
Stanna has been more productive than me this last week. She’s almost done with another shawl. It takes at least 4 times as long to plan, warp and thread the loom as it does to weave it. Right now she’s weaving, enjoying the “dessert” of the efforts.
All I managed was a measly sun shade for the upcoming desert hike. It’s long been on a list, but the crux move was locating an ultra-light fabric. Fortunately, friend Janet had a remnant piece available and even gave me a pattern. Velcro fasteners are heavier than the fabric shade itself so it barely adds any weigh to my load.
Mike Taylor and I knocked off a couple of training hikes for the Grand Canyon adventure this last week and one mountain bike ride. A couple hours into the ride we wondered why we were on a trail we wouldn’t even enjoy walking on. Unusually heavy Fall rains had really rutted the tracks to the point of taking the fun out of the ride. Fortunately the three hikes (left traced on Google Earth) offered smoother trails and lingering Fall colors.
The big November adventure will be an 8-day hike down into the Grand Canyon following the Royal Arch and South Bass trails. If we’re lucky we could be some of the first to glimpse the results of a 96-hour flood release from Glen Canyon Dam to replace the sands and silting along the Colorado River beaches and bends. Map on the right is the GPX tracks pre-loaded on my iPhone GPS app.
This will be one of the longer ultra-light backpacking trips I have taken. Most interesting is that the weight of the food, 9.75 lbs, weighs more than my entire base weight (pack, gear and clothes) at 9.59 lbs. Biggest unknown is water sources this time of year, so we’re set to carry 4-5 liters each when necessary. My starting load is calculated to be 27.5 pounds and will decrease by 1.5 pounds of food a day, plus 2.2 pounds less for every liter of water I consume. If all goes well I should be able to climb out of the Canyon with only the 9.5 pounds plus a little water.
Food prep is always a fun part of the preparation. It takes lots of dehydrated ingredients, a kitchen scale and lots of ziplock bags. We like concocting our own meals, so we can keep the weight down, calories high and taste palatable. 8 dinners, 8 lunches and 8 breakfasts plus snacks takes a bit of work to try and achieve 3,500 calories in 1 1/2 pounds a day.
And Stanna’s still getting out with the Wednesday Women’s Group. This week they had a private tour of 3 ruins in McElmo Canyon 60 miles west of Durango. She’s been Trail Boss for the past two seasons, organizing weekly hikes when we’re home.
