Looking for some mountain hikes

31 Mar 2007 08:12:39

EdV

I got some good skiing in this season after we finally got some snow
in Minneapolis. I am back to running stairs and thought it would be
nice to hike some mountain trails this summer for my vacation.

Anybody got suggestions within 500 miles of Minneapolis? I would be
happy with as little as 2000 feet of elevation. I know I can get
around 700 feet in a couple spots closer but maybe there is something
bigger I don't know about in the Dakotas.

Thanks,
Ed V.

31 Mar 2007 12:35:41

Bjorn A. Payne Diaz

Re: Looking for some mountain hikes

On Mar 31, 10:12 am, "EdV" <ed_vo...@my-deja.com > wrote:
> Anybody got suggestions within 500 miles of Minneapolis? I would be
> happy with as little as 2000 feet of elevation. I know I can get
> around 700 feet in a couple spots closer but maybe there is something
> bigger I don't know about in the Dakotas.

I guess the first stop is Afton, then the North Shore, but neither
have "mountains." You can get in some "hill work" at Lutsen and
there's certainly nice hiking up there.

The next stop is the Black Hills and Harney Peak. There's a few
different routes up, but it's the type of hike where you can coax
children to make it to the peak. I've run the route a few times from
Sylvan Lake. This is a nice area for a vacation and it has both nice
road and mt biking, but it's not a lot more than the north shore.

The real spot is Glacier, and that's 1100 miles and about 19 hrs of
driving. (I believe CO is about the same.) Anyway, Glacier kicks butt
for hiking. I've been out to Glacier about 6-7 times, and I really
enjoy it out there. I've taken to long, bust-arse hikes. On the east
side, out of Two Medicine campground, a nice 20 or 25 mile hike is up
Dawson Pass over to Ptamakin Pass and back to the campground. A You
can also hike to Cobalt Lake and back. (A bit shorter maybe 15 miles).

Out of Many Glacier there's a number of choices. Last time out I went
up Swiftcurrent Pass towards Granite Park Chalet and did a spur north
to look over Iceberg Lake. There's a Big Drift on that route that
doesn't become passable until July, so I'd probably recommend just
hiking the Highline Trail out to Logan's Pass. That would be about 15
miles, or 25 with the spur route, but you need a way back to your car.
There are shuttles. There's about 3 other really, really nice out and
back hikes from Many Glacier. Logan's Pass to Granite Park and back is
one of the most popular routes in Glacier.

Another route I want to do is to start at Jackson overlook (near
Logan's Pass), hike over Gunsight Pass and out to Lake McDonald.

31 Mar 2007 14:59:03

Re: Looking for some mountain hikes

The midwest has gullies and climbs out, rather than mountains as the
more eastern and western parts of the country know them. I don't know
about eastern WY or Montana, but Estes CO, Rocky Mtn National Park,
has plenty of good climbs and shows as 934 miles from Minneapolis on a
google map.

"Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" <wennerenator@gmail.com > wrote:

>On Mar 31, 10:12 am, "EdV" <ed_vo...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>> Anybody got suggestions within 500 miles of Minneapolis? I would be
>> happy with as little as 2000 feet of elevation. I know I can get
>> around 700 feet in a couple spots closer but maybe there is
>> something bigger I don't know about in the Dakotas.
>
>I guess the first stop is Afton, then the North Shore, but neither
>have "mountains." You can get in some "hill work" at Lutsen and
>there's certainly nice hiking up there.
>
>The next stop is the Black Hills and Harney Peak. There's a few
>different routes up, but it's the type of hike where you can coax
>children to make it to the peak. I've run the route a few times from
>Sylvan Lake. This is a nice area for a vacation and it has both nice
>road and mt biking, but it's not a lot more than the north shore.
>
>The real spot is Glacier, and that's 1100 miles and about 19 hrs of
>driving. (I believe CO is about the same.) Anyway, Glacier kicks butt
>for hiking. I've been out to Glacier about 6-7 times, and I really
>enjoy it out there. I've taken to long, bust-arse hikes. On the east
>side, out of Two Medicine campground, a nice 20 or 25 mile hike is up
>Dawson Pass over to Ptamakin Pass and back to the campground. A You
>can also hike to Cobalt Lake and back. (A bit shorter maybe 15 miles).
>
>Out of Many Glacier there's a number of choices. Last time out I went
>up Swiftcurrent Pass towards Granite Park Chalet and did a spur north
>to look over Iceberg Lake. There's a Big Drift on that route that
>doesn't become passable until July, so I'd probably recommend just
>hiking the Highline Trail out to Logan's Pass. That would be about 15
>miles, or 25 with the spur route, but you need a way back to your car.
>There are shuttles. There's about 3 other really, really nice out and
>back hikes from Many Glacier. Logan's Pass to Granite Park and back is
>one of the most popular routes in Glacier.
>
>Another route I want to do is to start at Jackson overlook (near
>Logan's Pass), hike over Gunsight Pass and out to Lake McDonald.
>
>

02 Apr 2007 05:49:25

EdV

Re: Looking for some mountain hikes

On Mar 31, 2:35 pm, "Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" <wennerena...@gmail.com >
wrote:
> On Mar 31, 10:12 am, "EdV" <ed_vo...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>
> > Anybody got suggestions within 500 miles of Minneapolis? I would be
> > happy with as little as 2000 feet of elevation. I know I can get
> > around 700 feet in a couple spots closer but maybe there is something
> > bigger I don't know about in the Dakotas.
>
> I guess the first stop is Afton, then the North Shore, but neither
> have "mountains." You can get in some "hill work" at Lutsen and
> there's certainly nice hiking up there.
>
> The next stop is the Black Hills and Harney Peak. There's a few
> different routes up, but it's the type of hike where you can coax
> children to make it to the peak. I've run the route a few times from
> Sylvan Lake. This is a nice area for a vacation and it has both nice
> road and mt biking, but it's not a lot more than the north shore.
>
> The real spot is Glacier, and that's 1100 miles and about 19 hrs of
> driving. (I believe CO is about the same.) Anyway, Glacier kicks butt
> for hiking. I've been out to Glacier about 6-7 times, and I really
> enjoy it out there. I've taken to long, bust-arse hikes. On the east
> side, out of Two Medicine campground, a nice 20 or 25 mile hike is up
> Dawson Pass over to Ptamakin Pass and back to the campground. A You
> can also hike to Cobalt Lake and back. (A bit shorter maybe 15 miles).
>
> Out of Many Glacier there's a number of choices. Last time out I went
> up Swiftcurrent Pass towards Granite Park Chalet and did a spur north
> to look over Iceberg Lake. There's a Big Drift on that route that
> doesn't become passable until July, so I'd probably recommend just
> hiking the Highline Trail out to Logan's Pass. That would be about 15
> miles, or 25 with the spur route, but you need a way back to your car.
> There are shuttles. There's about 3 other really, really nice out and
> back hikes from Many Glacier. Logan's Pass to Granite Park and back is
> one of the most popular routes in Glacier.
>
> Another route I want to do is to start at Jackson overlook (near
> Logan's Pass), hike over Gunsight Pass and out to Lake McDonald.

Harney looks like a pretty reasonable trip. I looked at a topo map of
Bismark and it showed 1750 ft in the vicinity. I am going to look
for park in that area also.

Thanks,
Ed V.

02 Apr 2007 06:14:03

Bjorn A. Payne Diaz

Re: Looking for some mountain hikes

I've never hiked out in Colorado. If there are kick butt hikes out
there, I'd love to hear a very opinionated and detailed post on what
hike, why, and where...so I can plan a trip. I hear WY green river is
also really nice.

I guess the answer to the original question depends on the intent of
the trip. I think Afton State Park will give you 500 ft of vertical,
Lutsen around 1000 ft, and I'd guess the gain from Sylvan Lake to
Harney peak might push 2000 ft. I ran the direct route up Harney
(about 4 miles) and got lost on the way back and ended up at Lake
Sylvan (about 6 miles). The Needles highway is very nice and a good
road ride (but no shoulder). There's also good mt biking in the Black
Hills. BTW, the best scenic hike out there is Sunday Gulch, starting
at the opposite end of Lake Sylvan and not Harney's Peak (ok, that's
opinionated, but I think people would back me up on that). If you like
camping, the spot is Sylvan Lake. Reservations avail online, but it
fills up very quickly. (I'd expected it now to be filled for most of
June.)

I would expect CO to be a definite notch up on the scale in scenery.
Glacier is like going to Alaska, just incredible. I would expect the
advantage of CO and Glacier is they offer longer hikes with more
scenery and more vertical, and more challenge with weather. (That's a
good thing.) I can't imagine that ND has much to offer for vertical or
scenery, although the Badlands is nice (Teddy Rosevelt NP I believe).

Jay

02 Apr 2007 10:09:55

Re: Looking for some mountain hikes

I mentioned Estes because it's probably the closest point in CO for
major hiking and pretty spectacular, unless there's something north of
Denver in the Ft Collins area. Topo needed, but here's a link:
http://www.rocky.mountain.national-park.com/hike.htm(see text below).
I seem to recall someone posting about rollerskiing and biking on a road
leading toward the park. The problem in CO is adjusting to the
altitude. I once spent several days in Denver and then Boulder, and
toward the end tried to hike up behind Breckinridge from 10,000.' Did
fine until 12,500, then started to feel light headed and turned back.

rm

"Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" <wennerenator@gmail.com > wrote:

>I've never hiked out in Colorado. If there are kick butt hikes out
>there, I'd love to hear a very opinionated and detailed post on what
>hike, why, and where...so I can plan a trip. I hear WY green river is
>also really nice.
>
>I guess the answer to the original question depends on the intent of
>the trip. I think Afton State Park will give you 500 ft of vertical,
>Lutsen around 1000 ft, and I'd guess the gain from Sylvan Lake to
>Harney peak might push 2000 ft. I ran the direct route up Harney
>(about 4 miles) and got lost on the way back and ended up at Lake
>Sylvan (about 6 miles). The Needles highway is very nice and a good
>road ride (but no shoulder). There's also good mt biking in the Black
>Hills. BTW, the best scenic hike out there is Sunday Gulch, starting
>at the opposite end of Lake Sylvan and not Harney's Peak (ok, that's
>opinionated, but I think people would back me up on that). If you like
>camping, the spot is Sylvan Lake. Reservations avail online, but it
>fills up very quickly. (I'd expected it now to be filled for most of
>June.)
>
>I would expect CO to be a definite notch up on the scale in scenery.
>Glacier is like going to Alaska, just incredible. I would expect the
>advantage of CO and Glacier is they offer longer hikes with more
>scenery and more vertical, and more challenge with weather. (That's a
>good thing.) I can't imagine that ND has much to offer for vertical or
>scenery, although the Badlands is nice (Teddy Rosevelt NP I believe).
>
>Jay
>