a·foot 2026 · colorado hiking group

As the 2025 summer fourteener season comes to an end, it is time to begin planning for next year. If you are new to the fourteeners and hope to explore them in 2026, this class is for you.

“Perhaps there’s no better act of simplification than climbing a mountain. For an afternoon, a day, or a week, it’s a way of reducing a complicated life into a simple goal. All you have to do is take one step at a time, place one foot in front of the other, and refuse to turn back until you’ve given everything you have.” ― Ken Ilgunas

Comments from previous attendees:

"Very thorough and very engaging presentation. Excellent use of web and presentation technology. And, very educational!"

Join presenter Bernard Tibbetts as he introduces you to the peaks in Colorado over 14,000 feet. Known as the Colorado Fourteeners, they provide amazing alpine experiences for thousands of people each year at all experience levels: hikers, backpackers, rock climbers and seasoned mountaineers alike.

Bernard will:

• Introduce you to the Colorado mountain ranges and groups where the Fourteeners are located.
• Discuss "first Fourteener" options.
• Explain how to research route and trailhead locations.
• Explain route ratings and use them to assess route difficulty.
• Present checklists for obtaining proper gear and clothing.
• Discuss ideas for getting fit for the Fourteeners.

Bernard Tibbetts has summited all of the Colorado Fourteeners and has been leading Fourteener hikes for over 10 years.

Why does a Marmot Precip jacket costs $100 and an Arc'teryx Alpha SV jacket costs 900? They're both just rain jackets. Right?

Technical clothing is designed to keep you dry and comfortable and to protect you from the elements when exploring the outdoors. But understanding the concepts and the technology can be daunting. Your instructor, Bernard Tibbetts, will take the mystery out of shopping for outdoor technical clothing so that you can be confident in your purchases and save money to boot.

By applying what you learn in this class to future clothing and gear purchases, you will recoup your investment in this class many times over.

This class will teach you the following:

• Poor weather or just poor clothing choices?
• The layering principle.
• Evaluating clothing properties such as insulation, wicking, sun protection, breathability, water protection and wind protection.
• Understanding the various water proofing methods.
• How to prioritize your purchases and build your layers over time.
• When is cotton appropriate for the outdoors?

Your instructor, Bernard Tibbets, had been an outdoor leader and instructor for over a decade and is committed to empowering others to get outdoors and lead their own adventures.

Let's go visit a really cool volcano at Capulin Volcano National Monument, east of Raton, NM near the Colorado border. Capulin (pronounced kah·poo·leen), means black cherry in Spanish and denotes the dark red color of the long-ago cooled lava it spit out at least 56,000 years ago. Capulin Volcano is a near perfect example of a cinder cone type volcano with a hiking trail along the crater rim and down into the crater vent.

We will meet at the Capulin Volcano National Monument visitor center where I will give the group an orientation about the volcanic field and the volcano. From there we will drive to the top of the volcano and explore. The views are extraordinary - you can see four states. And we will witness the lady bug bacchanal, a summer phenomena where millions of lady bugs turn the trees and rocks orange.

After exploring Capulin, we will drive along the top of Johnson Mesa, via the small town of Folsom and make stops along the way. Johnson Mesa is one of several mesas in the area that were caused by lava flows which solidified into basalt. Over time the softer sedimentary rock surrounding the basalt eroded leaving several distinct large elevated tablelands with precipitous sides. From the west side of the mesa, we will drop down into Sugarite State Park, have lunch and hike a trail around Lake Maloya before returning to Santa fe.

This is an exploratory adventure. The hiking will take place on Capulin and around Lake Maloya. The hiking distance is minimal. The rewards are the views of this unusual and ancient volcanic area, learning about volcanoes and discovering Sugarite State Park.

I will talk about car pooling as we approach the date. It is a three hour drive from Santa Fe and almost four hours from Denver, but I am organizing this as a day trip. The drive is part of the adventure. If you want to camp overnight, there is a KOA in the village of Capulin and there is camping in Sugarite State Park.

Entry is $20.00 per vehicle or you can use your America the Beautiful Pass. It pays to car pool!