With its Rocky Mountain peaks, alpine forests, and rolling valleys, Colorado offers some of the most spectacular hiking terrain in the United States. Exploring this landscape on foot allows you to truly experience the grandeur of the mountains up close. To make the most of hiking in Colorado, it helps to have an experienced guide by your side. That’s where Falcon Guides come in.
For over 35 years, Falcon Guides has provided expertly crafted hiking books focused on destinations across the western US and beyond. Their Colorado hiking guides offer trail descriptions, difficulty ratings, maps, tips, and insights to hike Colorado safely and connect with its stunning natural landscapes.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll outline how to use Falcon’s Colorado hiking books to plan your perfect trip. We’ll cover choosing the right guide, understanding trail information, trip planning resources, essential gear, hiking safety, and more. Let’s hit the trails!
Selecting the Best Falcon Guide for Your Colorado Hike
With over a dozen Colorado hiking guidebooks spanning diverse regions, you’ll want to pick the one tailored to your needs.
Popular Falcon Guides for Colorado include:
- Hiking Colorado’s Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness
- Best Hikes Near Denver and Boulder
- Hiking Colorado’s Summit County Area
- Hiking Colorado’s Weminuche Wilderness
- Colorado’s Best Wildflower Hikes (Volumes 1 & 2)
- Colorado’s Fourteeners
Consider factors like location, difficulty, highlights, and features to choose the right guidebook for your trip goals and abilities.
Understanding Colorado Trail Information
Falcon Guides give you extensive details on each featured hike. Here are some of the specifics:
Overview: General area, distance, elevation gain, and estimated time
Difficulty: Rated easy, moderate, or challenging
Elevation profile: Trail’s ascent/descent at different points
Maps: Detailed trail maps and access road maps
Directions: How to access the trailhead by car
The hike: Mile-by-mile trail description and highlights
History/geology: Background information to enrich your experience
Using Falcon Guides for Trip Planning
Falcon’s Colorado hiking guides contain ample planning resources like:
Itinerary Building
The trail descriptions and statistics help you hand-pick hikes and build a balanced itinerary that fits your goals.
Driving Directions
Convenient trailhead driving directions means no need for extra route planning.
Maps
Detailed trail maps take the guesswork out of navigating once on the path.
Permit/Regulation Info
Guides advise which hikes require permits or have special regulations like private property crossings.
Best Hike Selections
Star ratings indicate the most recommended hikes in each book at a glance.
Photography Tips
Suggested stops and directions where to get the best shots.
Packing Right with Falcon’s Gear Advice
Falcon knows which gear and supplies are essential for safe, comfortable hiking in Colorado. Their guides suggest:
- Sturdy hiking boots – waterproof and broken-in
- Trekking poles for traction and bracing
- Layered clothing – moisture-wicking base layers, insulating mid-layers, waterproof outer shells
- Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen – strong sun at high altitude
- Backpack – sub 20 lbs total weight recommended
- At least 2 liters of water capacity
- High-energy snacks – nuts, bars, gels, jerky
- First aid kit – moleskin, bandages, medications
- Multi-tool or knife
- Emergency blanket or bivy sack
- Fire starter kit – windproof lighter, Vaseline gauze, fire starters
- Bear spray – in bear country
- Water filter – many backcountry water sources are available
- Headlamp – for low light and emergency use
- Map and compass/GPS device
Hiking Colorado Safely With Falcon’s Guidance
It’s critical to hike Colorado safely due to variables like altitude, storms, and temperature extremes. Falcons guidebooks share safety tips like:
- Allow time to acclimate to altitude before strenuous activity to avoid altitude sickness
- Be off peaks by early afternoon to avoid lightning – daily summer thunderstorms
- Watch for rockfall hazards on steep terrain – wear a helmet
- Carry extra layers and wind/rain protections – weather changes rapidly
- Know your limits and turn around at first signs of unsafe fatigue or weather
- Bring maps and navigation aids – GPS fails in steep terrain
- Carry emergency communication devices and know wilderness protocols
- Use trekking poles for added stability on rough and steep trails
- Watch footing carefully crossing talus and scree slopes
- Keep distance from cliff edges and slopes to avoid falls
Falcon Guide Hiking Difficulty Ratings
Falcon uses a clear system indicating each hike’s challenge level:
Easy: Up to 5 miles round trip and 500 feet elevation change. Graded trails.
Moderate: 5 to 10 miles round trip and up to 2,000 feet elevation gain. Potential rocky or uneven terrain.
Challenging: Over 10 miles round trip and greater than 2,000 feet elevation gain. Likely steep, exposed, or difficult terrain.
Know your fitness levels and build up to more difficult hikes – many beautiful easy and moderate options exist in Colorado’s lower elevations.
Conclusion
Whether you’re new to Colorado hiking or a seasoned pro, Falcon Guides provides invaluable information to explore these mountain trails safely. Their Colorado-focused hiking books distill first-hand knowledge of the state’s immense trail network into descriptive guides full of planning aids, maps, and expert tips. Let Falcon’s guides direct your boots to Colorado’s most magnificent summits, alpine lakes, and wildflower meadows. With a Falcon hiking guide in hand, you can confidently conquer a fourteeners’ peak, wander an aspen grove, or photograph a quiet alpine tarn reflecting rugged peaks. Explore Colorado’s breathtaking landscapes informed and prepared.
Frequently Asked Questions About Falcon Guide Hiking Colorado
What type of Colorado hiking trips are Falcon Guides best for?
Falcon excels at guides to Colorado’s backcountry – areas with more unmarked, rugged terrain off the most heavily trafficked trails. Great for intermediate and advanced hikers.
How do the trail descriptions in Falcon guides help you plan?
Details on distance, elevation gain, estimated time, difficulty, and mile-by-mile descriptions let you hand-pick the right hikes to match your goals and abilities.
What navigation aids do Falcon guides provide?
The books contain detailed trail maps showing the route, access road maps, and driving directions to every trailhead to eliminate navigation guesswork.
Are Falcon hiking guides suitable for new hikers?
While tailored to experienced hikers, Falcon guides do indicate easier trails and the difficulty rating helps newer hikers select appropriately challenging routes.
Do you need additional maps if hiking Colorado with a Falcon guidebook?
Falcon maps are quite detailed, but bringing additional USGS topo map backup is wise for more complex routes in case of getting off the trail.
What type of clothes and gear do Falcon guides recommend packing?
They provide gear checklists tailored to Colorado’s conditions – layers, moisture-wicking fabrics, sun protection, substantial footwear, trekking poles, headlamps, and plenty of food/water.
Do Falcon guidebooks teach you how to hike responsibly in Colorado?
Yes, their guides educate on Leave No Trace ethics and responsible recreation specific to Colorado’s fragile alpine ecosystems.
How do Falcon guides prepare you for risks like Colorado’s weather?
They share safety tips for lightning, rapid temperature drops, intense sun, and other variables. Plus, advise turning around if conditions deteriorate.
What is the best Falcon guidebook for Colorado fourteeners?
Check out their specialized “Colorado’s Fourteeners” guidebook detailing routes up each peak over 14,000 feet.
Which Falcon guide is best for Colorado fall hiking?
The wilderness area guides have excellent autumn content, as do the wildflower books detailing peak changing colors.
Do Falcon guides just cover hiking or other activities too?
Their focus is definitely hiking-centered. However, some books like Summit County also mention attractions like biking, climbing, and paddling.
What areas beyond Colorado do Falcon guidebooks cover?
Falcon has hiking guides to locales across the western US including Arizona, Utah, Montana, Oregon, Washington, California, and more.
Can you access Falcon guidebook trail descriptions online or just in print?
Currently, their detailed hike descriptions are only available in the print editions – no digital distribution.
Where are Falcon Guides available for purchase?
You can buy Falcon’s Colorado hiking guidebooks at outdoor retailers like REI or online at sites like Amazon or the publisher’s website at falcon.com.
Do Falcon guides ever go out of print or get updated?
Yes, editions do go out of print after several years, so newer editions contain the most updated content.
Are there other Colorado hiking guidebook series besides Falcon Guides?
Some alternatives include guides from PocketRanger and the Mountaineers Books “Exploring Series” like Exploring the Colorado River.
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My name is David James I am an adventurous hiker based in California. Through this weblog, I percentage my passion for exploring nature’s wonders, documenting breathtaking trails and hidden gemstones.