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Old 03-25-2015, 09:25 PM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,590 posts, read 14,744,667 times
Reputation: 15333

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Quote:
Originally Posted by awestover89 View Post
Re: Mt. Bierstadt, I wasn't really thinking elevation. The highest we've hiked was Hurricane Ridge in Washington, and that was around 5K. I had read reviews that Mt. Bierstadt trails weren't too difficult. Definitely won't be able to do 7 miles, maybe 3 miles rt, but having never hiked at that elevation, who knows.
As far as 14ers go, Bierstadt is an "easy" hike, but there's still plenty of danger involved. I consider myself to be in fair shape, and I failed to summit Grays and Torreys (my first 14ers) last fall. I got to about 13,000' and experienced nasty vertigo that forced me to turn around.

If you're looking for a good hike that will limit the possibility of altitude sickness, try Devil's Head southwest of Denver. It's about 1.5 miles each way with an elevation gain of 950'. The trail tops out at 9750' and there's an active fire lookout tower you can visit at the summit. On a clear day you can see Pikes Peak, Mt. Evans, and downtown Denver.

Bottom line you're gonna have to prioritize the list and go from there. I don't think you can do everything you've listed in your original itinerary without skimping on the experience.
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Old 03-25-2015, 10:20 PM
 
Location: CO/UT/AZ/NM Catch me if you can!
6,926 posts, read 6,884,708 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike from back east View Post
That is one rather TERRIBLE itinerary. Far too much time is spent driving as opposed to enjoying.

Chicago to Denver is 1004 miles, 16 hours in one day. OUCH. At 25MPG, that's 40 gallons at $3/gallon or $120 just for gas. I'm looking at airfares on SWA of $138/one way per person. Far better to fly out in 3 hours and get to Estes Park on day ONE with time to take the tram up to the top of the mountain, explore the elk herds in RMNP, etc. Rather than drive in a circle around Colorado, revise the scheme to fly into Denver, move west to various attractions in the center and northern part of the state, go through Moab, UT flying back from Salt Lake City, UT.

I've been to four corners, it's a parking lot in the middle of nowhere with a concrete pad marking where 4 states converge, and a ring of kiosks selling trinkets. Big deal. Skip it and the Grand Canyon on this trip, save them for a trip where you fly into Albuquerque to see Sante Fe, Taos, Durango, Telluride, Cortez, Four Corners, The Grand Canyon, and fly back from Phoenix.

I live in the Four Corners region, and Mike's description of the actual area where the four states meet is spot on. I wouldn't take a dog to visit that place. There is SO MUCH more to the Four Corners. I think its crazy to just drive through at 80mph and miss all the really beautiful places out here. Sounds to me like your running a marathon, not going on vacation. With that itinerary, you'll need to include a week just to rest up and get your strength back when you get home.
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Old 03-25-2015, 10:30 PM
 
26,111 posts, read 48,696,623 times
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Save yourself the trip to the Four Corners place, here's the picture, this is all there is to the place.

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Old 03-25-2015, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,590 posts, read 14,744,667 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike from back east View Post
Save yourself the trip to the Four Corners place, here's the picture, this is all there is to the place.
Not only that but the monument isn't even on the 4 borders. According to GPS measurements it's about 1/3 of a mile east of the actual location.
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Old 03-25-2015, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
3,158 posts, read 6,085,821 times
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My revisions are in RED.

Quote:
Originally Posted by awestover89 View Post
My husband and I are thinking of taking a trip out to Colorado and the general four corners area next summer, but there's a lot we wanted to see and do, and we'd only have around a week. My initial rough thoughts were something like:

Day 1 - Drive to CO, stay in/near Estes Park Western part of Denver Metro area or Blackhawk
Day 2 - General hiking, enjoying the Rockies, drive to Idaho Springs Drive to Hanging Lake to hike and then to Glenwood Springs and enjoy hot springs at Glenwood
Day 3 - River Rafting on the Colorado River and drive to Grand Junction
Day 4 - Hike Mt. Bierstadt, go to hot springs at Strawberry Springs Drive to Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP to hike drive to Durango and spend night.
Day 5 - Drive to Four Corners Monument, then on towards the Grand Canyon Spend day at Mesa Verde NP stay in Durango
Day 6 - Grand Canyon, drive towards Utah Drive to Salida for lunch, shopping, etc. and then to Colorado Springs
Day 7 - Half day at Natural Bridges national park, half day at Arches national park Drive to top of Pike's Peak, spend half day at Garden of the Gods
Day 8 - Drive back home

Is there anything that we are missing? Anything not really worth the time? What would be your suggestions for a trip like this?
Your itinerary is way too ambitious. Driving in the mountains requires you to be alert and awake.
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Old 03-26-2015, 08:23 AM
 
Location: Western Colorado
12,858 posts, read 16,764,657 times
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Way too much driving as others have said. And unless you really want to stand in four states at once and have the photo of that, Four Corners is pretty much a parking lot ($3 cash) in the middle of no where. Navajo tacos $7.50. Anyway, have fun. Personally, I would recommend Ouray, Telluride and take the steam train from Durango to Silverton.
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Old 03-26-2015, 10:20 AM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
1,835 posts, read 3,138,059 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by awestover89 View Post
Mesa Verde does seem really interesting, maybe we could split this into two trips, Colorado this summer doing the Rockies, hot springs, white water rafting, and Mesa Verde, then do 4 corners, grand canyon, and Utah as another trip.
Plan to at least spend a full day at Mesa Verde, and note that once you enter the park, you still have about an hour drive to get to the cliff dwellings as I recall.
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Old 03-26-2015, 10:48 AM
 
Location: Bend, OR
3,296 posts, read 9,650,454 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by awestover89 View Post
Mesa Verde does seem really interesting, maybe we could split this into two trips, Colorado this summer doing the Rockies, hot springs, white water rafting, and Mesa Verde, then do 4 corners, grand canyon, and Utah as another trip.

I'll also look at Colorado National Monument as another poster mentioned, especially if we decide to keep this trip entirely in CO.
I definitely think your original itinerary is way too ambitious. You'll be spending so much time driving from one place to the next, you won't have any time to actually enjoy them! One other factor you didn't take into consideration in your original itinerary is acclimatizing for the elevation. Estes Park sits at 7200K feet in elevation. I'd suggest actually spending a night in Denver first to allow your body time to adjust to the elevation you will be gaining on this trip.

If this were me, my trip would be similar to what Dreaming of Hawaii suggested, at least in the first 2 days.

Here's what I would do.

Day 1: Arrive in Denver, spend the night

Day 2: Drive towards Buena Vista, hike one of the many trails along the way. The Colorado Trail at Kenosha Pass is a wonderful trail that offers scenic views. Stay the night in Buena Vista & hit up Cottonwood hotsprings.

Day 3: Raft the Arkansas, stay another night in Buena Vista.

Day 4: Drive to Ouray, hike and hot springs. Stay the night.

Day 5: Drive to Mesa Verde, explore, stay the night in Mancos.

Day 6: Explore more of Mesa Verde, stay the night in Pagosa Springs (more hot springs).

Day 7: Drive to the Great Sand Dunes, explore, stay the night in Alamosa.

Day 8: Drive home
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Old 03-26-2015, 12:29 PM
 
6,800 posts, read 10,422,221 times
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I think you shouldn't leave out Mesa Verde if you're in the Four Corners Area - and maybe something like Hovenweep National Monument and Chaco Canyon, too. I'd choose any of those over Grand Canyon unless Grand Canyon were going to be your primary destination and you were going to ride a burro down into it, drive to the other rim and walk out on the glass bridge, etc..

I think your intinerary is far too geographically spread out - way too much driving and too little time to enjoy any place you actually stop at. You might want to narrow your focus geographically and/or thematically. People here would spend an entire week vacation in just the Four Corners area, or just a particular region in the mountains, or just a particular sector of Utah, etc.

I'm also concerned about your plan to hike Mt. Bierstadt - the elevation and distance may be way more than you are prepared for even if you're in great shape. There are so many wonderful hikes in Colorado at slightly lower elevations and easier distances - for example, a short but very fun and with-stunning-views hike is Devil's Head Fire Tower on the Rampart Range Road sounds like a more appropriate distance for you and a slightly lower elevation, but still higher than you've been. Go on a week day rather than weekend. You might want to check out a ghost town or mining museum in the mountains of Colorado - Leadville has a good museum, Victor has a good short hike through mining ruins with good signs to explain what you're seeing, and St. Elmo/Hancock area gives a good idea of ghost town, and is also near the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. Also in South Park there you can see buffalo on some of the property.

In Utah, I might choose Canyonlands and Arches over the other - they are pretty near to each other and the main reason I might stop in Canyonlands is to see Newspaper Rock - but really it might be best if you just pick one national park in Utah and give it a fair shake. If you do that, I might opt for Arches.

The river rafting can be dangerous or a no go depending on weather, so you might want to have a back-up plan there. Glenwood Springs would be a good place to spend a day or two, imho.
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Old 03-26-2015, 12:59 PM
 
Location: CO/UT/AZ/NM Catch me if you can!
6,926 posts, read 6,884,708 times
Reputation: 16507
Quote:
Originally Posted by otowi View Post
I think you shouldn't leave out Mesa Verde if you're in the Four Corners Area - and maybe something like Hovenweep National Monument and Chaco Canyon, too. I'd choose any of those over Grand Canyon unless Grand Canyon were going to be your primary destination and you were going to ride a burro down into it, drive to the other rim and walk out on the glass bridge, etc..
Mesa Verde is a must in the Four Corners, but as I have posted in detail in another thread about the subject, Hovenweep has been effectively destroyed as a great place to visit due to the activities of energy giant Kinder Morgan. Visit Hovenweep only if you enjoy looking at huge pumping stations, miles and miles of gas pipelines, and gravel roads with huge KM rigs barreling down them.
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