Take a Hike!

I can't help it: I've got hiking on the brain. But honestly, can you blame me? In the last 48 hours I've gone from Chicago's flatlands to the Canadian Rockies where the mountains jut into the sky at even steeper rates than what I've seen in Colorado. I've traded my obligatory summer flip flops for a new pair of hiking boots. I don't leave "camp" (no tent camping this time around) without my CamelBak, rain shell and a million layers. And I've chatted with Nate Goldberg who heads up the Beaver Creek Hiking Center.

If I wasn't super psyched about hiking through the Canadian Rockies when I boarded the plane--let's just say my recovery stress fracture left me doubting my ability to do anything uber active for the entire summer--Goldberg got me far more excited. And well, he also made me want to hop aboard the next plane to Denver. Yes, that's exactly how much I wanted to hike, not bike, a fourteener, see the Mount of the Holy Cross when it's not completely buried under snow, and check out this Beaver Lake that all the locals rave about.  

Want to learn more about the Beaver Creek Hiking Center? It's all laid out here with everything you didn't know before you go. But one thing I forgot: plan carefully if you're particular about your flora and fauna sightings. You'll see, and trudge through, a lot more mud in the early season while missing out on the flowers and mushrooms. Goldberg says it's constantly changing up there--that also goes for any rain forecasts. Proof? Just look at these photos.