Conservation and Preservation: an Essential Balance

In the trail construction industry, it is common to meet a large number of individuals who found their way into this line of work through a season or two with non-profit Conservation Corps. For instance, many of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative employees cut their...

10 Truths Taught on the Trail

As I am coming off of my second month with CFI, I seem to have a slew of family members and friends floating (or launching) some version of the same question my way: What have you learned from everything you’re doing out in Colorado? And so, I bring to you these...

Our Impact on the Alpine

It’s the Fourth of July today. Thousands and thousands of star-spangled Coloradans, natives and transplants alike, are taking to the trail to celebrate their independence from taxation without representation and sub-alpine air pressure. As these hordes run...

Three Trees of the Colorado Rockies

There are many native trees living across the state of Colorado; I am going to focus on three individual trees: the Rocky Mountain Bristlecone pine, which grows along arid, cold ridgelines as the oldest tree in the state; the Quaking Aspen, which is common in the...

Suffering Builds Character

If there is one certainty about life working on a Colorado Fourteener, it is that suffering is guaranteed. The hike to the worksite, the weight of the tools and gear, the vital light of the sun that both illuminates and burns, the moisture that can penetrate even the...