July kicked off with a bang! Three commitments lined up for an adventurous and fun filled week: a pair of friends were celebrating birthdays with a local climbing trip, our PCT friends were coming to Colorado to backpack, and a couple was getting married in the New Mexico desert. There was quite a bit of travel between New Mexico and Colorado for all of this, but with our newly acquired Ram Promaster, Maggie and I were excited to try out van life for a bit!
First off, the van! We bought it used from a friend, which already had a professional interior build. While there is part of me that romanticized the idea of a DIY van build, I know that it would take me forever and end up being lower quality than the van we purchased. The build is from Wayfarer Vans and it’s very simple – flooring, bed, pump sink, and some cabinets. No electrical, fridge, or stove. Our friend included a Dometic electric cooler, for which I bought a Goal Zero 500 Wh battery and a 200 W solar panel. This maiden voyage would be a test for this basic system. Overall, it’s what we wanted. We are simple people who enjoy a good road trip. The van is just an upgrade from camping or sleeping in the Subaru or a tent. For the time being, we have no intention to live in the van full time because that is a whole other can of worms.
On to the adventuring!
27-28 June 2025
Our climbing weekend was at the El Rito sport area in northern NM. Maggie made the long drive from Fruita, CO and we met near the crag. We picked out a camping spot for the van with ample space for friends to join. It was our first night in the van. We quickly realized the bed is too small… We can only sleep curled up on my side. We might pop out the side panels a few inches to make space.
Our friends started arriving in the morning and we wasted no time getting up to the crag while it was still somewhat cool. It was great fun climbing with a big crew! We had a group of a dozen folks. There were plenty of other people out climbing, so we had to find a crag to ourselves. After warming up on Schoolhouse Slab, we migrated to Gnar Wall where there was some solid shade.
I was feeling great! I had been climbing pretty consistently through spring and early summer. Being with a group of mostly casual climbers, I somehow became a rope gun* for the day. Even though I was “only” climbing 5.10s, it was an honor to receive this title. Training and persistence was paying off. I burned through six routes before lunch!
*Rope Gun (noun): A person who lead climbs harder routes so everyone else can top rope; the climber who does the scary things so their friends can enjoy safe climbing
Maggie and I took a siesta through the afternoon as it was getting too hot to climb. Some more friends rolled in later. I returned to the Super Slab near sunset with three guys. I lead an exposed 5.8 route in the waning light, which felt like an especially epic way to end the day. We whiled away the evening with everyone back at camp, indulging in sweet treats and bevies between the vans.
29 June – 1 July 2025
Maggie and I drove up to Fruita, CO, I worked remotely for two days while we awaited Bennett and Gina to arrive from Chicago. They showed up at the park housing on Tuesday afternoon and we solidified our plans, mainly working around the stormy weather forecast for the San Juans. They had specifically requested “epic mountain scenery,” so we picked out a ~20 mile loop around Engineer Mountain, just off US 550. With a tight weather window and a few hours to drive, we decided to hit the road that evening and camp closer to Engineer Mountain to facilitate an early-ish start on Wednesday morning.
The four of us drove a few hours south to a free campsite next US 550. It was surprisingly chilly where we camped at 9,500 feet, but Maggie and I were cozy in the van. In my mind, this was the perfect use case – pulling off the side of the road at night to camp and avoiding all the faff with a tent. Van life is pretty sweet!
2 July 2025
Our day began with breakfast in the van, a short drive to the trailhead, and loading up back packs for a night or two out. We were ready and moving on trail a little before 9 am. It was so awesome to be backpacking with Bennett and Gina again!
In order to reach our epic mountain scenery, the hike started with a 2,700 foot climb up to the base of Engineer Mountain. If you recall from our 2024 backpacking adventure, Gina experienced some pretty intense altitude sickness. She came prepared with Diamox this time, but even so, starting off with this big climb was a bit much. We took our time going up, wandering through stands of aspens, pines, and spruce, eventually reaching the base of the mountain for lunch.
Engineer Mountain is so cool! It’s fairly isolated, and a large cliff band creates a striking pedestal for its pyramidal summit. Maggie and I debated tagging the summit of Engineer, one we’ve wanted to do for quite a while. Between the growing cumulus clouds and estimated time of two hours for the side quest, we decided to continue on our route towards the Colorado Trail. It felt like afternoon thunderstorms were coming soon and we had a lot of ground to cover…
As we hiked above treeline, we passed through endless alpine meadows. Wildflowers were blooming in every direction, a sight worth the effort!
Continuing north past Engineer, the epic sweeping views were all encompassing. However, the clouds quickly grew quite thick, pretty much blocking all direct sun. We were contouring around 11,500 feet, and despite not working too hard on small ups and downs, Gina was definitely feeling the altitude now. We had covered about 9 miles with no set plan for a campsite. With all these factors, we decided to cut the loop short and try to get below treeline before the thunder storms started.
We hiked two more miles around Peak E1 to a point where the map showed a fork – right towards the Colorado Trail, which continued to contour at 11,000 feet, or left on a trail descending straight south down a ridge towards Cascade Creek. With thunder starting to rumble, we were all keen to hike down ASAP. Only problem was the trail down the ridge didn’t seem to exist in real life… I have learned this lesson the hard way a couple times using the mapping app CalTopo. The trail data is from Open Street Map, which can be edited by anyone on earth with an internet connection. In some cases, abandoned or non-existent trails make it on to the map, only for you to discover deep in the backcountry.
I explored ahead, watching my GPS position relative to the dotted red line on my phone. A faint trail appeared through the ground cover. It looked like it would go so I called everyone over and we decided to head down. The ridge trail was somewhat steep and littered with blowdown, but we were able to follow some semblance of a path. A light drizzle started about half way down. I thought we were in for a down pour, so Maggie and I put on our pack covers. The rain never really materialized, somehow we were threading the needle between storm cells.
We lost the trail about 3/4ths the way down. Honestly, I was kind of pleased to be taking Bennett and Gina on an off trail bushwhack. It’s a style Maggie and I often find ourselves doing. Hopping logs and romping through wildflowers, the bushwhack wasn’t too bad. Nevertheless we were relieved to find the Cascade Creek trail. A short distance later, we came across a decent tent site right next to the trail. It was only 4:30, although we were content to stop for the day.
Bennett had packed out four beers! I would say that’s a little out of character for him. I wonder if I inspired him after I brought beers to meet him on the CDT in 2023. We were happy to lighten his load. Dinner, chit chat, and intermittent drizzle took us to an early bedtime.
3 July 2025
Even worse weather was in the forecast for this day. We decided to bail back to the car and go get a good meal in Durango. It was an easy 6 miles down the Cascade Creek trail, which turned into a wide dirt road. It was nice to walk two abreast and enjoy some lively conversation.
We drove down to Durango and made a plan over lunch. Bennett and Gina were keen on camping rather than getting a room in town to wait out the weather. We decided to camp at Little Molas Pass for the night and attempt another day hike the following morning.
The campground at Little Molas Pass was full, but the van came in handy once again. We parked in a large horse trailer lot where several other vans would follow suit. Bennett and Gina found a stealth camp to pitch their tent. While less than ideal, their stealth spot worked out.
The rain was off and on into the evening. The four of us took took shelter in the van, which was pretty nice. It cleared up after dinner and we went for a stroll around the lake nearby. The water was calm making for some quintessential reflection pictures.
4 July 2025
We were up reasonably early to attempt Snowdon Peak, a striking mountain visible from Little Molas Pass. Surprise surprise, thunderstorms were in the forecast, so we wanted to make the most of a short weather window.
We were some of the first people in the parking lot, a bit unsettling for a holiday, but we were glad to be starting before the crowds. There were a few miles of easy trail through the woods and a marsh, then we started up some steep slopes. A cool damp wind swept over us as we ascended a grassy gully. Small fluffy clouds were whipping overhead. We were feeling the weather.
The top of the gully opened up to Snowdon’s NW ridge. The rest of the way to the summit is a scrambly kinfe edge. With the incoming weather, we didn’t think it would be wise to push for the summit. Bennett was so concerned about the clouds and decided to head back down soon after topping out from the gully, but Maggie, Gina, and I wanted to go a little further to see the view behind Snowdon.
The short distance we hiked across Snowdon’s shoulder was well worth it! At last, we could see the Needle Mountains, the heart of the San Juans. These must be some of the steepest and most striking mountains in Colorado, which is really saying something for a state chocked full of beautiful peaks.
We reversed course back to the car. There were loads of people on the trail and the parking lot was full when we finished our hike. We were about ready to part ways with Bennett and Gina when a muddy dog came racing out of the woods and started circling the parking lot. With all the car traffic, Bennett grabbed the dog to keep it out of harm’s way. We asked around to find the owner, but to no avail. Gina decided to call the number on the tags and we got a hold of the owner. I grabbed some extra climbing gear from the van to secure the dog to the bench near the trail head. Our fluffy friend howled for his human while we waited for the owner to show up.
Before long we handed off the dog to his very grateful owner. We gave Bennett and Gina a hike to go on for the next couple days as they continued their Colorado adventure. Maggie and I had a wedding to get to the next day in Northern New Mexico. The four of us hugged it out at Little Molas Pass, then went our separate directions. We were so happy we got to spend some time in the mountains with Bennett and Gina!
Maggie and I drove south and camped in the National Forest about 20 minutes from the wedding venue, Ghost Ranch. We apparently stumbled upon a hunting and logging camp used by locals. The trees had been thinned out, and we could freely roam through the ponderosa and pinyon. No one bothered us, but we could hear fireworks through the night from the nearby village…
5 July 2025
Ghost Ranch is a desert retreat and education center nestled in between sandstone cliffs. It is a gorgeous and quiet destination, so when our friends, Shawn and Alli, invited us to their wedding, we were looking forward to celebrating and spending the night in such an enchanting location. We had booked a campsite for the night within the ranch. Shawn and Alli have cultivated a community of outdoorsy and adventurous friends. The campground filled in with vans, camper trucks, and tents throughout the day.
A handful of our friends from Santa Fe were attending as well. After a quick visit to the dinosaur and archeology museums, we all got ready for the wedding in the campground. The scenery made for some great pics in our “desert formal” attire.
The wedding was wonderful! As acro enthusiasts, a real highlight was an acro performance during cocktail hour. Shawn and Alli joined the performers, along with a dozen friends, to end the performance with a group acro pose. Tons of fun!
Later in the evening, as dinner was winding down, I must have bumped a candle into some of the dry desert plant centerpieces on the table. Something was on fire, and of all the people, it was Sketchy Andy Lewis who noticed it and helped me put it out. Sketchy Andy is known for daredevil feats like base jumping and high lining. I thought it was so funny that this was the guy who saved me from a very sketchy moment!
We danced the night away to a live wedding band. After a week of adventuring, I couldn’t hang much past 10 pm, but Maggie and I both had a blast!
This week of climbing, camping, hiking, and dancing with so many friends, old and new, left me feeling exhausted, but my cup was full 🙂 More and more, I find that adventures like this are so much more fun when shared with great people. As we all grow older and come to have obligations pulling us different directions, it’s truly special when your community comes together to create and share experiences…
Distance Over Time 