We Enjoyed Our First Excursion in Ecuador

On September 12, 2017September 11, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn South America5 Comments

Today, we drove back into the Andes mountains, this time to visit one of the many volcanos that are Ecuador. It was great to see the beautiful scenery and get out of the city and into the countryside. We did a difficult hike inside of a caldera that is filled with water and then took a quick hike around the rim as well. All-in-all, it was a wonderful day, but quite exhausting. We still have many more adventures left and look forward to providing details on days like today. There are only a couple of days until we return to the Amazon jungle for four days, during which we might be completely out of touch, so forgive us if we don’t post for a few days. Enjoy a few photos from our day.

Stopped at a Canyon Stream along the Way

Going Down was Easier than Climbing Back Up

Falcon Trail on the Air Force Academy

On August 21, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, HikingLeave a comment

We decided to hike a trail on the grounds of the Air Force Academy here in Colorado Springs. The Falcon Trail is a trail that we have never hiked before and it is a 13 mile loop, but we just did a few miles of it. Since we have had a rather wet summer, the wildflowers have been in full bloom and we enjoyed seeing quite a variety of them during our hike.

The trail takes you through a variety of terrain from open fields to wooded hills. It was a warm day, so we enjoyed getting into the shade of the trees. The trail is considered to be a moderate trail, but the portion of the trail that we hiked was fairly easy. It is certainly a popular trail with mountain bikers, so you have to keep your eye out in order to avoid getting in their way.

It is definitely a trail that we will likely hike again. Not a lot of people go onto the grounds of the Academy to go hiking, so it is nice way to get away from the crowds and get into nature without having to drive very far from the city.

Catamount Trail in Green Mountain Falls

On June 19, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, Hiking2 Comments

The weather was beautiful this weekend, so we decided to get up into the mountains and go for a hike. We drove to the quaint town of Green Mountain Falls to hike the Catamount Trail, which is a trail that we haven’t done before. You aren’t able to park on the road where the trail starts, so you have walk about a mile on a very steep road to reach the trailhead. Walking up the road was almost as hard as hiking on the trail itself.

The trail is considered to be moderate, but anytime you go hiking in the mountains, it is likely to be fairly difficult and this trail is no different. The entire trail is about three miles one way and the first two miles are steep switchbacks with a lot of rocky steps. At the start of the trail, there are a couple of wonderful waterfalls where you can stop and enjoy the beauty of nature. There is a reservoir at the end of the trail, but we didn’t make it all of the way to the end on this hike, but we will definitely return another time and complete the hike.

The scenery was absolutely stunning, especially as you near the summit where you are rewarded with incredible views of the valley below. There isn’t much to the town of Green Mountain Falls, it is really just a community of homes for people who want to live in the mountains and don’t mind having to drive a ways to do their shopping. It must be a relaxing way to live, but we’re not sure that we would want to be that isolated.

This was our first real hike of the season, so climbing the steep switchbacks took its toll on our legs and we decided to keep it to a two-hour hike and turned around after making it a little over the halfway point. For us, hiking is all about getting out into nature and getting some exercise, which made this a wonderful hike. Although it was our first time doing the Catamount Trail, it most certainly won’t be the last time we hike there.