a·foot 2025 · colorado hiking group

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!

We will sneak in to Telluride between the Bluegrass Festival and the Yoga Festival. By avoiding the insanity, we should have a relaxing time exploring the trails around Telluride.

So many to chose from:

• Bridal Veil Falls
• Tomboy Road
• Jud Wiebe Trail
• Sneffels Highline Trail
• Bear Canyon
• See Forever
• Wasatch + Wasatch Connect

Lets see how many we can do. Telluride is a favorite place of mine. I know it well. Allow me to lead our exploration and to introduce you to this amazing place.

Regarding accommodations' - those are up to you. There is lodging in town and in the Mountain Village as well as The Bivvy Hostel in Placerville and camping all around.

I may have to limit the group to 8 persons, but let's see who signs up. Stay tuned for Zoom call to discuss options and itinerary.

We just completed the annual trek to the Great Sand Dunes and Zapata Falls. This is the follow up adventure. We will return and explore the source of Zapata Falls: South Zapata Lake, nestled at the foot of Ellingwood Point at 11,900 feet.

We will meet at the Zapata Falls trailhead and hike up to the lake. We will explore the lake area and the lower section of the couloir. The trail that we will take is part of the climbing route for summitting Ellingwood Pt., which tops out at 14,048 feet. Although we will not be summitting the peak, this hike will introduce you to the fourteener experience as well as the to the northern Sangre de Cristo mountains (which are my favorite).

Miles: 9.7 out and back
Elevation gain: 3,208 FT+
Average time to complete: Approx. 8 hours
Level: Advanced. Strenuous.

You must be fit and comfortable scrambling on Easy Class III talus slopes. I will vet all participants. If you have not hiked with me before, please DM me and tell me about your hiking and climbing experience and rate your current fitness level.

I will open this up to five members of the Denver group and five members of the Santa Fe - ABQ group.