Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By MELANIE WONG, VAIL DAILY

EAGLE COUNTY — Looking to hike your first peaks this summer?

Maybe you've driven past the road markers pointing toward the peaks in the distance. Maybe you're tired of your friends yammering on about their last backpacking trip. Maybe it's just time to try one — it might just lead to a whole new obsession.

“People talk about it and you think, ‘I gotta go do that,'” said Avon resident and mountaineer Evan Johnson. “Then after you climb a couple, you're like, ‘How could I not do this?' There's nothing like the feeling of just standing at the top of one of the highest peaks in the continental U.S., and seeing for miles around.”

According to Johnson, one of the best ways to start is to go with more experienced hikers. He said he began hiking “14ers,” or peaks with an elevation higher than 14,000 feet, last summer with a group of ski mountaineers.

The group climbed Snowmass in Aspen, hiking up and skiing down — it didn't take Johnson long to get hooked.

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