Now that summer is almost officially upon us (June 20th is the “official” first day of summer), it is time to start thinking of what we want to get up to in these next couple of months.
While the coronavirus outbreak has definitely made us re-evaluate some of our plans, we are still set to go on some pretty stellar adventures - both in our home state of Colorado, and (hopefully) elsewhere.
Below are a few things we want to check off our Bucket List this summer:
HIKE A 14-ER
We have both already done this, a handful of times actually, buuuut we always like the challenge of conquering another one of Colorado’s famous 14-ers. Some are definitely harder than others, both in remoteness and length, so we have set our sites on a couple of options:
Huron Peak, near Buena Vista, CO
DeCaliBron, this is actually a loop hike that lets you visit 4 different 14-ers (Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross), located near Breckenridge, CO
Mount Sneffels, near Ouray, CO
DO A LONG BIKEPACKING RIDE
Both of us are suckers for long, hard days whereby the end you feel like you will never walk without pain again. You could say we are masochists in a way. We have talked about doing a really long backpacking ride for a while now - especially after seeing all the amazing trails in Colorado and Utah. Our top contenders: the Kokopelli Trail, Cathedral Valley Loop in Capitol Reef NP, and the Alpine Loop near Silverton, CO.
CROSS OVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK BY FOOT
This is another one of those weird goals that focus primarily on pushing our bodies to the limit. While this one is not nearly as difficult as the previous goal (hopefully) it is definitely something we will have to plan for. Mainly figuring out our trail and the best way to get from RMNP’s East Side to the West Side (near Grand Lake).
SEE A MOUNTAIN LION
While we are talking about weird goals, this is one that probably scares a couple of people. Don’t ask us why but we have always really wanted to see a mountain lion in the wild. Living in mountain lion country our whole lives and not seeing a single one seems wrong to us. Now don't worry, we are not going to go out and try to bait one in, we are not suicidal. But if we happen to come across one someday that would be pretty cool.
DO MORE TRAIL RUNS
This is something we have already began to do - we recently did a 10-mile trail run and actually LOVED it. While mountain biking and hiking are always an option, we want to choose to do more trail runs this summer. Plus, Colorado, and RMNP and the Front Range in particular, have some pretty stellar trails.
VISIT MORE NATIONAL PARKS
This is always going to be a goal of ours, but during the summer it just seems to be a bit easier to accomplish. Plus, we finally have the time (sorta) to hop in our van and drive to some pretty stellar national parks. Our top choices are Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Glacier, and even Banff up in Canada.
FOCUS ON REMOTE WORK
A totally different kind of goal for us, but one that is super important. We want to be able to go 100% remote by the fall and to do that we have to work every day on creating remote job opportunities. For us, that means looking for remote jobs, creating passive income opportunities, and building a business that can be run from anywhere in the world.
FIGURE OUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO IN THE FALL
This is one of those goals that probably won’t be completed until late summer, and even then it will very likely change once… or twice. We have so many ideas that we want to pursue and so deciding on ONE thing is going to be tough. All we know is that we want to leave the country, do some more traveling, find remote or seasonal work, and just be happy.
Okay so that is just a couple of bucket list ideas we have for the upcoming summer. We still don’t know what the traveling situation will be in a couple weeks, let alone months. Hopefully, things start to take a turn for the positive, and being able to see some of the best things Colorado, and other Western states, have to offer will be possible. Fingers crossed.