Reflecting on a Summer Internship

These last few months of my summer have been one of the biggest learning experiences in my life. I haven’t ever pushed myself in many of the ways I had to this season. Working with my crew leader Taylor all season, I learned way more about trail work and conservation...

Planning a New Fourteener Trail

Photo: Eli Allan I’ve been working on the South Elbert trail reroute for over four months. I’ve learned that trail work is not all pick axe swinging and dirt management. An incredible amount of planning happens before CFI crew members can build sustainable trails on...

Quandary Peak Trash Study

Ah, trash. The remains of products bought and biological output that everyone creates, but no one wants to deal with. Usually people come to take your trash away for you (depending on where you live of course) but in the alpine that isn’t an option. Realizing I work...

Consider the Marmots of the Rock

Marmots most closely resemble aquatic mammals. They lay on rocks in the sun, their fat cascading so far forward and shading their faces, it’s a wonder they can still see. And what do they consider? The endless beauty of the mountain valley below them?  The fresh...

Thousand Yard Stair

During a recent foray up Mount Harvard in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness I heard a fellow peak-bagger on his way down lamenting the fact that every time he climbed a fourteener he felt as though he had spent all day climbing stairs. This comment, its intent in...

Endemic Species

Most of us don’t think of endemics or even know what the word endemic means. The basic definition, provided by dictionary.com is, “1. Natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native; indigenous; 2. Belonging exclusively or confined to a particular...