Feeling the Magic – Arestua Hut
Four seasons ago was when I really started to get into backcountry skiing. I had dabbled a little bit in it when I first moved to Colorado back in 1999. I bought a pair of used rental skis and boots Read More …
Year: 2009
Into the Icebox
There is no such thing as bad weather; just bad clothing. —Scandinavian saying A friend of mine just finished his contract. I do not plan starting a new job until after the First. Another friend is gainfully unemployed. In Boulder Read More …
Four Days in Abbey Country
My friend Markhamm proposed a trip to Utah prior to Thanksgiving. A chance to see one of the most gorgeous places in the American West, get in one last backpacking trip of the season and get in some needed outdoor Read More …
The Double By-Pass
There are some places I love see at least once a year. The Lost Creek Wilderness. A favorite hike in the local foothills. And this loop that goes over the Continental Divide twice. For those hoping to find a detailed Read More …
Autumn Aspen Ambling
"…Nature, who is superior to all style and ages, is now, with pensive face, composing her poem Autumn, with which no work no will be to be compared." —HDT This past Saturday was National Public Lands Day. Another day to Read More …
Beer Thirty – Copper to Frisco
One of my favorite hikes is what I call the Beer Thirty Hike. An approx ~14 mile stroll from Copper Mtn to Frisco mainly along the CT/CDT with a veering off the main trail to walk directly into Frisco for Read More …
This Side of Paradise
Sometimes the most memorable trips are ones of perfect weather, far reaching views and where the whole day seems to be done delight after another. This was not one of those trips. The hike for this past weekend, was to Read More …
San Juan Stroll
When I hiked the CDT in 2006, a series of major snowstorm hit the Colorado mountains in early and mid-September. Three feet of snow was at Vail Pass and people were skiing! I was in a snow storm near the Read More …
Canadian Jaunt
Originally, I had planned to hike Canada’s Great Divide Trail this past summer. For various reasons (personal, possible family issues, a dear friend being in town for his daughter’s medical reasons, starting a new relationship, not wanting to be gone Read More …
Alpine Lakes, Flowers and Campfires! Oh my!
For the past two years now, my good friend Nahum comes back to Colorado to work with colleagues still here at CU, see friends and to play in the Rockies that he loves so much. Part of the reason for Read More …
Sangres Traverse
A backpacking trip along the crest of the Sangres. Read More …
Tahoe Rim Trail – Ring around the lake
Paul Magnanti’s 2009 Tahoe Rim Trail thru-hike with journal, photos, and planning information. The hiking bug just won’t go away! Even after a 300 mile backpack in the Appalachians, a jaunt in Utah, and going forthwith on the Arizona Trail , I still wanna do Read More …
Ring Around The Lake: Tahoe Rim Trail journal 2009
My journal from my 2009 Tahoe Rim Trail thru-hike. Additionally I have planning information in case you’d like to do the trail as well. Note May 2016: This journal is seven years old. I have no intention of updating the information. Read More …
Mt. Evans Wilderness Backpacking
This past weekend, I joined my good friends Wendy and d-low for a fairly easy backpacking trip in the Mt. Evans wilderness. The planned trip was to drop my vehicle at Echo Lake at the base of the Mt. Evans Read More …
Bison-McCurdy Loop
There are some areas that never fail to delight. Places that I enjoy for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the beauty, or the uniqueness or just the sheer bliss in going to a place that has seen so many wonderful Read More …
Boulder Super Slam 2009
People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like. –attributed to Abe Lincoln Ever year, a transition happens. The snow melts in the high country and does not leave quite enough for Read More …
Return to the hills – 300-miles-on-the-benton-mackaye-trail-2009
Paul Magnanti’s 2009 thru-hike of the Benton MacKaye Trail; with journal, photos and trip planning information. To walk. To see. To see what you see. –Benton MacKaye on the purpose of the Appalachian Trail. In 2009, I became a casualty Read More …
Forthwith! 100 Miles on the Arizona Trail
In the continuation of my Internal Combustion Aided Great Western Loop (Much like Andrew Skurka’s loop..except I mainly drove, hiked/skied about 200 miles in two weeks instead of nearly 7000 miles in a few months, and drank Chery Desert Cooler. Read More …