The Mud Kingdom

A magical place, an independent spirit.

Tag: Hiking

  • Trip Report: 2023-12 Maui, HI

    Trip Report: 2023-12 Maui, HI

    Formed from the ocean floor millions of years ago, twin volcanic cones, known as a “volcanic doublet” rose out of the waters of the Pacific Ocean as an island in the Hawaiian Archipeligo. Maui is host to a diverse range of landscapes and microclimates over 727 square miles full of natural wonders.

  • The Quest to Heal My Broken Heart

    The Quest to Heal My Broken Heart

    Near the end of 2019, after four years of dragging my body along the trail of life, my physical health had degraded once again leaving me in the waiting room of my cardiologist’s office. The usual battery of tests could only tell them that something was wrong enough to convince my health insurance to pay…

  • Trip Report: 2022-07 Mt. Evans, CO

    Trip Report: 2022-07 Mt. Evans, CO

    Mount Evans is a high peak in the Front Range and prominent Fourteener (14er) with a 14,271′ elevation summit. Along with several other peaks of the Front Range, Mount Evans dominates the skyline of a hundred miles of the great plains to the east. In March 2022, Clear Creek county approved a state proposal to…

  • Trip Report: 2022-07 Guanella Pass, CO

    Trip Report: 2022-07 Guanella Pass, CO

    Guanella Pass is a high mountain pass in the Front Range west of Denver. The pass, which has an elevation over 11,660′, hosts a scenic byway that connects I-70 in the north with US highway 285 in the south, and runs near a pumped hydroelectric power plant above Georgetown, CO. Trip Length Overnight Activities Camping,…

  • Trip Report: 2022-07 Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, CO

    Trip Report: 2022-07 Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, CO

    The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve conserves the tallest sand dunes in North America, rising over 750′. Winds bringing exposed sand from receding lakes from the west deposited eroded sediment over a geologic time period of tens of thousands of years, forming 30 square miles of enormous sand dunes, estimated to contain over…

  • Trip Report: 2022-07 San Isabel, CO

    Trip Report: 2022-07 San Isabel, CO

    San Isabel is a little unincorporated community built around Lake Isabel, a old reservoir built in the Wet Mountains during the 1930’s to supply the CF&I Steel Plant in Pueblo, CO. Today the lake is managed by the National Forest service as a recreation area. Trip Length Extended Weekend Trip Activities Hiking, Swimming, Sightseeing, Cabin..ing?…