Destination Hikes

Happy Little Colorado Camper

Recently my wife and I went on a trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was quite the drive for us to get there so we decided to make a pit stop just about four hours away from our destination. This led us to Stratton, Colorado. We rented an airBNB for the evening and let me just say, it was one of the prettiest nights I’ve ever experienced.

*After we moved our car, this was our view from the porch. Nothing but Great Plains.*

I’d like to share some of that experience with you here, on HykLyt. Just in case any of you are interested in renting out the same airBNB. If, after reading, you do want to try it out, email me at hyklyt@hyklyt.com and I will send you the Airbnb link.

Is It Kansas Or Is It Colorado?

Nobody can tell you when you crossed the line from Kansas into Colorado because the “line” would have to be a very specific blade of grass. Stratton, CO, in and of itself, looks no different than the flat farmlands of Kansas that I had driven through for the past seven hours. But, at last, we were reaching out rental cabin. We were in Stratton, at the cabin.

We were happy to get out of the car for a bit to stretch our legs, soak up sunlight and feel the breeze blowing over the flat farmland. There were no mountains in view to speak of and so it was very much different than what I had expected to see when driving into Colorado. But I guess with every reverb, there has to be surfaces for the sound waves to reflect off of.

Which brings me to the beauty of Stratton, CO. It was tough to see at first because when we drove up it was nothing more than a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere! (Courage The Cowardly Dog, Anyone?) Which, by the way, my spouse and I loved that part! Getting away from it all (day to day rat race) made the trip worth it. So that was beautiful in its own way.

Let’s Talk About Finding Beauty In The Middle Of Nowhere

When my wife booked this cabin for us, she probably didn’t know that we were going to get the show of a lifetime that evening. Thunderstorms formed and we were able to sit on the porch while watching lightning light up the sky. Comulus clouds gathered that electricity up and created one of the coolest cloud formations I’d ever seen. We watched the sky for hours out there, on that little porch, just talking and resting.

The Perfect Setting

And so, I find myself in Stratton, CO.

I’m with my beautiful wife.

There’s no one else around for miles.

The cabin is located on 265 acres and there no city in sight, either.

A Hidden Gem

As for the inside of the cabin. It was cozy, and old. Older than just old. It was “original family on a farmland that had been passed down for generations old”. But everything worked. And that was all we needed.

Inside of the living room, a recliner and a small loveseat faced the television setup with a few DVD’s generously placed out for guests to enjoy. I watched “Little Miss Sunshine” that night. It was a great film.

The kitchen was a makeshift foyer kitchen but it had everything you needed to make simple meals and sit at the small table next to a window for a sunrise breakfast.

The bedroom was upstairs and, if you weren’t careful, you’d knock yourself out climbing those stairs because the stair set was built with sharp (and short) turns.

The greatest part of the house was the porch. The type of porch you can sit in the two wooden rockers (provided by the hosts) and gaze out over 260 acres of grain lands, complete with wildlife dancing their way through the meadows.

The Lay Of The Land

Directly next to the house there was a line of pine trees that had been planted in a v-stack formation. This allowed the whistling of the pines to be heard well when the wind would blow through. What a pleasant sound that whistling was. It was incredibly peaceful.

Because the pine trees were lined there near the cabin, birds were fluttering about. While sitting on the porch watching the sky, every now and then a songbird would swoop past you and give you some tunes to listen to as it did.

I could see birdwatching becoming a thing for me.

From that porch we watched the clouds form as if they were putting on the show of their lifetimes.

When it became dark out. The moonlight was the only real source of light on the 265 acres. This is a huge space and you’d think, “it must have been pitch black out there”. You’d be wrong, though. It was actually brightened by the moon so well that we could still see for miles. We could even still see the rabbits playing tag around the hay bales near an old barn.

Oh, right! There was that old barn, but we didn’t go in there. At night it seemed quite ominous. But that’s just us letting our imaginations go. We jokingly talked about what might be inside. Like telling scary stories around a campfire as kids.

The Bed Was Small

But, we slept great. This might have also been because we were so tired from the drive.

And when we woke up, we cooked eggs in the little kitchen (my wife is a chef around our campsites and she’s quick to whip something up for us, making me quite the lucky man). We cleaned up our mess, and head out for the last 3 1/2 hours of our drive to enter the Rocky Mountain National Park.

This Was An AirBNB

And if any of you are interested in staying a night in Stratton, CO. Let me know in the comments section below or email me at hyklyt@hyklyt.com and I can send you the link to the Airbnb. It’s the perfect romantic getaway!

If you enjoyed learning about this middle-of-nowhere stay, please consider subscribing to the blog. It’s free, and by simply entering your email in the block below, it will keep you up to date on everything HykLyt!

Thanks for reading, hiker!

Hiking For Treasure

Psst. Want an introduction to a secret world that exists right under our very noses?

Well, you’re in luck!

Geocaching is a real, GPS-enabled, outdoor treasure hunting game that many hikers have been participating in playing for over twenty years!

Somewhere, out there, there’s a swag box! If anyone is going to find treasure in this expansive world of ours, it’ll be my wife (pictured). She is able to see better than me. I’d walk right past it!

What Do You Need?

Yourself. Your GPS device. Swag-items for swap out (described below). Snacks, water, safety materials that you’d bring on any other hike. Trekking poles are great for poking around while searching for a container inside say, a log, or a hollowed out tree, as well.

How Do You Play?

Geocaching (geography + cache) has two different roles to play.

1) Seekers: As a seeker, you’ll follow coordinates to a specific location where another geocacher has hidden a container, know as a swag-box. To locate the coordinates you’ll utilize your mobile phone or other GPS-enabled device. Once you’ve arrived at the cache location, you’ll need to search around, as many of the cache locations are hidden, making it all the more fun and challenging. Upon discovery, you’ll open the cache filled with what are called swag-items, and swap out one piece of swag for one that you brought with you. 1:1 etiquette.

2) Cache-Owner: A person who has stashed their treasures for others to find and listed it on the main geocache website so that participants know it is available to be found. A cache owner may place multiple items into the cache container. So long as seekers are practicing proper geocaching 1:1 etiquette, the containers will never run out of new items to be discovered.

What Are The Rules Of The Game?

Geocaching does come with a set of rules to follow. The rules listed below are to ensure that you, and others, have a great time while joining in on the hunt.

1) Leave No Trace. This is the most important rule in many peoples opinions. You’ll hear this rule everywhere when you’re visiting the great outdoors. It’s a good habit to get into. When you are out in nature, it’s usually to get away from the business that circles our cities. There is nothing as exhilarating as finding yourself alone, in the wilderness. Therefore, it’s best to practice this rule with anything you do. Don’t leave food, trash or any other personal belongings out on the trails. And, this can’t be emphasized enough, don’t mark or graffiti the natural scenery along the trails. I’ve read complaints on different forums for things like this happening on trails such as the PCT or the Appalachian. It’s very sad to see it becoming a problem.

2) Caches Have A Logbook: When you find the cache, sign the book. Later, go to the main geocaching(dot)com website to let the owner of that swag-box know that you located the container.

3) Don’t Change The Cache Location: When you find the cache, remember, it’s the owner’s decision on where it is hidden. Do not change the cache location. Some will be harder to find than others. Some, you may think you could hide better. Unless you’re the cache owner, place the container back where you found it.

4) Take A Penny, Leave A Penny: Remember when you’d see a plate out at gas stations offering loose change that someone decided they didn’t need, and you could use it to round up your dollar on the sale; or, to not have to dig around for a nickel? Geocaching is similar, except, for every item you take, you are supposed to replace that item with a different one. When you open the cache there’s no telling what you may find. Many caches will have multiple items inside, and some may even hold value. Your job as the seeker upon opening the treasure chest is to choose one item, and then replace it, and return the container where you found it.

5) Some Items Are Not Allowed: You most definitely do not want to leave food items inside of a cache container. Even if it’s made to last a lifetime and dried. The scent will still attract wildlife and endanger them. Remember, Leave No Trace. Only use family-friendly items, and your items should fit into the ‘swag-box’ without force being required.

How To List Your Own Cache ‘Swag-Box’

To become a cache owner you must first understand what a good cache is. You can research other peoples containers or better yet, seek them out yourself and determine which ones you thought were the best.

Essentially, to hide your cache, all you need is permission from whomever manages the land you are wanting to hide your cache at.

Want a little-known fact reserved for only pro-hikers? There are multiple caches located within National Parks.

Most Importantly, Have Fun

You’re on a treasure hunt… have fun with it! Don’t forget to come back to HykLyt.com to let me know what you discovered on your geocaching adventures!

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Thanks for reading, hiker!

CoverArt by Andreasrochas

The Seasoned Thru-Hiker; A Guide On Preparing For Destination Hiking

Training for a thru-hike, especially one rated “difficult”, is something that every hiker should do before taking the long journey to that end game. These are some tips to get you started:

Find Your Training Spot Close To Home

This is one I struggle with myself, because where I’m from, there isn’t much elevation to work with. I typically travel to destination hikes to get the real adventure going, but not all is lost if you live in the prairie-lands, like me.

One of the most important aspects to training, is having a training spot that is close to home. I found a Nature Park near my house and began to utilize that area as my “thru-hike” spot. Sure, there were lots of people there with their kids or churches and schools bussing group visits around (because this park was in the heart of the city), and they probably were wondering, “why in the world is that guy wearing a full climb get-up in this 3 mile stretch?”. I like to think they understand that I’m simply out there to train and I’m not as crazy as I look!

So, I walk the paths, and because each path is only 2 or 3 miles long, I walk them several times. This helps the legs stretch and get used to a cadence that will keep your momentum moving when you’re on a thru-hike that takes months to complete. You essentially change your walking/hiking stride. To cover lots of terrain you want a good stride, and you want to be able to work with that stride, even while wearing your full pack.

Should I Train On Other Things Besides Just Hiking?

Absolutely. I mountain bike regularly. In fact, I was mountain biking every day for quite some time. This helped shape me up, grow the muscles in the legs and really help with my core balance, strength and posture.

Recently, I’ve started adding the gym into the mix. I felt like the cardio from the bike alone was beginning to plateau and I needed to stir things up a bit. Now, I’m just as addicted to the gym, as I am to biking, hiking, backpacking, and writing!

There’s really no way to go wrong with training, as long as you’re training. So, don’t feel like you’re not owning up to some sort of expectations just because other people seem to know what they’re doing. The truth is, no one truly knows what we’re doing. As science and medicine and mathematics, etc, continue to evolve, and as humans continue to learn, we will continuously shape our ideas on what’s right.

What About Acclimation

Thru-hiking will take you on a serious journey. You’ll come across some of the lowest zones, and then find yourself on some of the highest elevation gains, all on the same trail as it spans across it’s 2,100 miles (or more!). Thinking about acclimation is definitely something to take into consideration.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is, for some thru-hikers it can take a month to fully acclimate. If that’s the case, then they’d already find themselves a third of the way into their thru-hike and guess what?… the terrain has shifted, no longer requiring the acclimation.

When it comes to acclimation there’s not much of a way to truly get used to the elevation gains unless you are nearby and can constantly train there. Another way would be to rent a place in the area for some time and live there for a bit, but that’s really taking a stretch just to go on a destination hike.

So, get out there, and have fun with it! Listen to your body, rest when needed, eat when you’re hungry. Thru-hiking doesn’t require someone to go on a full on keto (survival mode) diet. It only requires the person to be able to carry themselves well.

My best advice is that if you’re like me, and live somewhere that has very little elevation gain, you take it slow at first when you arrive to your thru-hike. The first time I experienced very high elevation gains was when I backpacked the Rocky Mountains. I could feel the air thinning out with every step up after a certain height. It made me feel lightheaded, almost dizzy at times, and exhausted. I wasn’t acclimated and wouldn’t have had the time to acclimate anyhow as I was only there for 6 days.

Something super important to note, is at times like the above paragraph, you need to understand what your body is trying to tell you. Do not push through a dangerous attempt when your body is literally trying to shut down on you. Stop, rest, sleep if you need, eat your snacks, hydrate and then go ahead and cancel the climb for now. The mountain will most likely still be there to try again later, when you’re not at risk of serious injury or illness.

Rangers are usually available to help someone off the mountains when needed. Know your emergency numbers at each location you trek.

Carrying That Backpack

One of the best (and worst) parts about backpacking is getting used to carrying that pack. I say it’s the best because once you’re familiar with your setup you will be prepared for anything. Did it just start raining out of nowhere? No problem, my rain jacket is easily accessible from the front stretch pocket. Do I want to setup camp but don’t feel like digging through all of my stuff right now? I can just pull my sleeping bag from the bottom stowaway pouch. Did I just get a bee sting? No worries, my safety kits are in the top zip-pouch.

Knowing your pack out like the back of your hand is going to help your hikes feel successful and second nature. To get used to carrying it everywhere, just take it training with you. Practice using the different slots and pouches available to see what works for you. And remember to add more miles each week. By the time you make it to your destination hike, you won’t even notice the weight of your pack.

Add Miles Weekly

Like I’ve mentioned above, this is how you’ll get used to the weight you carry, adjust your hiking stride, and prepare your lungs for efficient oxygen intake. You want to push your limits on this exercise.

For the first week, walk as much as you can until you’re noticing you really need a break. Then stop. Record how far you’ve made it and rest until the next week (you should get to the point where you’re hike-training three days a week, but when you first start it’s okay to feel like one day a week is plenty).

When the following week comes around, hit your recorded marker, then add a mile. Then record, and head back home again.

Continue this rinse and repeat until you’re hiking 10 miles a day without problem. Many thru-hikers hike around 16 miles a day. If you train at 10 that’s a great starting point for beginners. If you’re able to get it to 16 before your trip, even better!

Understand Provisions

Something we don’t want to skip: food!

You need to know what provisions you have and you need to understand how to ration them based on how much area you still have left to cover before a restock.

You’re going to feel hungry on a thru-hike. Let me reiterate, You’re going to always feel hungry on a thru-hike. It’s the nature of the beast when it comes to long distance hiking. Remember, thru-hiking requires you to burn an exceptional amount of calories every day while you’re on the trail.

A great way to prepare yourself and train for this, is to understand your body and to learn how to eat for fuel instead of pleasure or out of boredom. Eat healthy, provide the nutrients your body needs, and eat small portions five times six times a day. This will make sure your body is intaking the proper nutrients it needs. It will help with digestion. And, you’ll only be taking in the calories you need, instead of excess.

Have An Escape Plan

A seasoned thru-hiker doesn’t just head out into the wilderness without some sort of escape plan. Don’t allow yourself to get into a bad situation due to lack of preparation. Spend some time thinking over anything bad that could happen, and then prepare for it. Then do it again and make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Have maps downloaded and ready to show your routes even without cell phone reception (AllTrails is one of the apps that offer this).

Locate and know the ways to get in touch with “Trail Angels” along the paths of your thru-hike.

Understand where the restock locations are, and take note on where your at while on the trail so you know how much farther you may need to go. I’ll post a Land Navigation post and back link it here in the near future to help with this topic.

Have a way to signal that you need help.

This post was written by Evan

Top 4 Destination Day-Hike Trip Ideas In The United States

One of the best things about hiking is that you can roll an entire adventure into just a few hours of the day. With the way Mother Nature is constantly bringing us joyful surprises, you’re bound to have a good time out in nature, for free! Here’s a list on some of the best (by popularity) day-hike trips available within the United States. Be on the lookout for the next list of (not-so-notable) day-hikes, which I plan to post next week for those who are seeking a little more off-the-grid day-hikes.

#4 Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California

A well-known rock formation in Yosemite National Park, Half-Dome is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the United States when it comes to day hikes. It’s popularity also makes it a high-traffic day hike so if you’re looking for solitude then this is not the trail for you.

Though it’s considered a difficult hike, a cable route has been developed to help guide hikers to the top of the dome and be completed in one day. Many people camp in this area too, however, so don’t be surprised to cross paths with wilderness sites along the way.

The course runs a little over 8 miles and the elevation tops out under 9,000 feet. Starting at 4,000 foot base, this isn’t considered a great hike for beginners. The difficulty and elevation gain may be a bit too much for inexperienced hikers. For reference, this dome is 3,000 feet taller than Angel’s Landing in Zion National, which is one of the high points of visiting Zion.

#3 Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park, Utah

One of the top bike destinations in the United States, you’ve probably seen this one on blankets, posters, and stickers galore. Angel’s Landing makes the list thanks to the unique view it provides.

With a valley of fauna and flora below, take in the amazing scenery Zion encapsulates thanks to the active volcanic fields and previous eruptions (32,000 years ago) of Southwest Utah.

Now considered one of the most beautiful places to live in the US as well, Zion has become a staple in the hiking, backpacking, bouldering, climbing, geocaching, and downright exploring industries.

With a second park located nearby, Bryce Canyon, which provides an even better experience in some peoples opinion, it’s no wonder Zion has become one of the most populated National Park based on foot traffic. There’s no permits required to enter Zion National Park (you can pay the vehicle fees at entrance) which makes it all the more perfect for a great day-hike, date or personal getaway.

Just be prepared to run into lines in the most popular areas of Zion, Angel’s landing being the top of that list as well.

#2 Skeleton Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

In my opinion, the prettiest site from the Grand Canyon is Skeleton Point. It gives you a panoramic view of the National Park while also keeping it a single day hike.

Where many people want to complete the rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon, which is an out-and-back whopping 47 miles trek, Skeleton Point is just six miles in on the South Kaibab trail of the Grand Canyon.

Averaging a time of 3-4 hours for the casual hiker, this is a great way to spend the afternoon if you are near the GC park. This trail is considered beginner friendly and only climbs 2,000 feet in elevation.

However, this is no tropical resort. If you plan to hike anywhere in the Grand Canyon, make sure to come prepared. Hydration and sun protection are very important in this region. Also, having a bike and sting kit won’t hurt.

#1 The Kalalau Trail, Nepali Coast, Hawaii

There is a tropical trail making the list, after all. The Kalalau Trail of Hawaii is incredibly beautiful.

This park has a waterfall near the trail that would make it an 8 mile trip from the beach. Reservations are required as it is a wilderness site and State Park.

Temperate and on an island to boot, this is probably my most sought after trail (other than Eagle Creek, in Oregon, which doesn’t make the list for single day hikes).

Kalalau Trail is considered one of the most difficult trails of the Nā Pali State Park (located in the Northwest of Kauai, Hawaii, so it’s not very user-friendly for beginners. It is considers to be located on “The Garden Isle” as you can see from the picture above, the island really looks like a well manicured garden.

If that wasn’t enough motivation already, here’s a picture from Hawaii.com showing off the waterfall at Kalalau Valley.

What’s Your Favorite Day-Hike?

I’m curious to know the places you enjoy the most when it comes to spending your afternoon hiking. Let me know via email at hyklyt@hyklyt.com

This post was written by Evan