Just got back from Colorado and did some backpack camping and hiking at 9500 feet north west of Colorado Springs. Temperatures were in the 40s at night but it did get a bit warm during the daytime as a heat wave swept most of the US. That plus my sleeping pad got a hole in it were the only two negatives of the trip. I was able to patch the hole, but apparently there was another tiny hole that I couldn’t find so sleeping was not very comfortable. I was pretty glad to spend the last three nights in an air-conditioned hotel room.
-
Forum Update: We've upgraded the software to improve security, performance, and the overall experience.
👉 Read why we made the change | Support the Forum
Backpack camping in the Rockies
- Thread starter Farmer17
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Beautiful scenery. My son lived in Colorado Springs for 3yrs. Back in 2018 him and his buddy backpacked in 5 clicks to bear hunt. I guess you can call him a minimalist. His tent was a tarp. They ate USAF MREs. He managed to tag a bear. And that 686 no dash in pic used to be mine.
Attachments
My sister, her retired Marine hubby and their family live in southwest Colorado Springs right next to the mountains. Beautiful place, but little old flat-lander me would not like to spend winters there.
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
Very nice. Lived in Colorado Springs for quite a few years, often hiked, camped, and hunted in the area. Retired now in Pueblo, 40 miles south on I25.
Enjoy it while you can! Life is short.
Enjoy it while you can! Life is short.
Looks like fun, Farmer17!
OP
I've never had much long term luck with any bed that was inflatable. I guess I'll just have to take a spare next time we go and hope for the best.
30-30remchester
Member
For us that live in the mountain of Colorado tourism is a real sore spot. Three times this year alone I have heard tourist complain about the number of tourists. It has ruined our little town. Twenty years ago, you could shoot a shotgun down main street after 5pm and not hit a sole. Now many locals won't even leave their homes, because of the crowds. Our 1 grocery store was so crowded that the locals got the store to open at 5 am so locals could get groceries. Just over Hoosier pass which is the starting point to hike Quandy peak. Twenty-five years ago, a 20-spot parking area was built for hikers. Now there are several large lots, buses that bring large groups, and every wide spot on the shoulder of the highway is packed within several miles of the trailhead. After battling the bad, cold winters the reward was a beautiful quite summer of fishing, hunting and camping in the mountains. Alas no more. The fishing spots I took my grandkids to 10 years ago need traffic lights now to keep traffic under control. Now I refuse to go to town. I drive 7 miles to my job, and return home, if I can get back into the highway. My wife just had to make a 100-mile side trip that was out of her way, because Rocky Mountain Park was full and the state highway, I paid for was closed because of the crowds of people. She just returned from Glenwood Springs where we both grew up. She said that the traffic was indescribable and unbearable, and she swore to never go there again. We have one more move in us and are trying to find a place nobody would ever want to visit. Beauty is a curse.
Move to NY City San Francisco or Chicago…….. nobody wants to visit there. Lol
Apparently, Colorado has been “found out!” I have read lots of folks from CA and other places have moved there. Probably all John Denver’s fault!
I enjoyed several conversations yesterday with a father and son who are natives of Denver. They lament their loss of freedom in that crowded metropolis and its nearby mountains.
They told me they love my tiny dirt-streeted town. I asked them to please not tell their friends when they return home. They "got it."
They told me they love my tiny dirt-streeted town. I asked them to please not tell their friends when they return home. They "got it."
Maybe I’m in the minority here. I was in Colorado Springs 3 times. Twice in the summer once in March. I don’t see the attraction. The mountains are impressive for sure. But they’re like a dessert. I’ll take the hardwoods of the Blue Ridge, Appalachian, Allegheny and Adirondack Mountains over the Rockies any day. The Garden of the Gods was cool but once you’ve seen it then what. The Incline was a fun trek. Not something I’d do often if I lived there. It looked to me like that whole area was being infested by pot heads and California transplants. Manitou is a perfect example of something good gone bad…………. And I won’t even start in on those hail storms.
Tourism in the high country. Another reason I left Colorado. My old hunting Buddy and I backpacked Colorado for 40 years. Got too old for some of the long treks We used to take. We spend 5 days up top of the Sangre Del Cristo's fishing. Packs weighed less than 25 pounds. Backpacked all over the Flattops wilderness fishing. Ya'll hiked some beautiful country, but there is so much more out there in CO.
OP
I bought it from Amazon for about $30 but I don't remember the brand and there is no name on it. I will say it works great! It has the "quick open" pull tab on the corners so you can wear it strong side or cross draw and it's very fast with a little practice. My 4" M&P 10mm fits it great, and it also has snap belt loops so I can take it off my pack belt and put it on pants belt easily and the pouch seems to be made very well. I'll try to find out where I bought it and let you know because I love it and I'd like to buy one in every size they make.
Edit: Found it.
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/LarKoo-Concealed-Multipurpose-Holster-Smartphone/dp/B08LKBG72T?th=1[/ame]
Last edited:
Spend lots of money while you're here.
OP
Actually that was one of the cheaper vacations we have taken. We usually fly places but the 9 hour drive was not bad at all, hardly no traffic on the lonely highways and most things once there we did were either cheap or free. Hiking is free, camping is $18 per night, hot showers were $1.75 and were very clean. We went to the indian cave dwelling place, Seven falls, and a wild west museum and they were very interesting and under 10-15 bucks for seniors. We ate at the Broadmoor hotel which was extremely nice with excellent food and it wasn't overpriced. Just hanging out at the Broadmoor resort was a wonderful experience, it was enormous and had a live band and also a guy walking around playing bag pipes. I would call it a "must visit" for anyone going to Colorado Springs and we didn't even spend any money there.
Nice vacation, is that your daughter?? Looks beautiful where you hiked. Spent a week in a cabin in the mountains and hiked through the Smoky Mountains. Fun memories, Larry
