Hello! My name is Travis Briles and I'm a scientist working and living in Boulder, Colorado. This website documents my adventures in and beyond Boulder county. The adventures themselves can be found under trip reports. Gear related information can be found in the Skills/Gear section.
A few years back someone asked me about my favorite hobbies. As I listed off things like backpacking, hiking, climbing, looking for caves that may or may not exist, working with my hands/machining etc, I realized that the common thread was really that "I just like sitting in a pile of dirt". This has followed me from a very young age and confirmed by the numerous childhood pictures with dirt all over my face. Beyond the "dirty" theme, the trip reports are also a place where I share photos of interesting things that I notice in nature. I attribute this partly to a scientific mindset and partly to a lifelong stutter and a tendency to listen rather than always talk. This latter tendency is not always helpful in everyday life but I highly appreciate it while hiking.
A few years back someone asked me about my favorite hobbies. As I listed off things like backpacking, hiking, climbing, looking for caves that may or may not exist, working with my hands/machining etc, I realized that the common thread was really that "I just like sitting in a pile of dirt". This has followed me from a very young age and confirmed by the numerous childhood pictures with dirt all over my face. Beyond the "dirty" theme, the trip reports are also a place where I share photos of interesting things that I notice in nature. I attribute this partly to a scientific mindset and partly to a lifelong stutter and a tendency to listen rather than always talk. This latter tendency is not always helpful in everyday life but I highly appreciate it while hiking.
These days, my ideal outings are majority off-trail (including both genuine bushwhacking and following game trails) and hopefully lots of alpine scrambling. The culmination of these have been the Pfiffner Traverse and the LIGANN Traverse. In my trip reports for the Pfiffner Traverse I wrote about what the mountains around here mean to me.
From the Overview:
The mountains around Boulder Colorado have been my escape for the last several years...most weekends I had a trip planned to the alpine mountains along the continental divide in Boulder's backyard: Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Indians Peaks Wilderness, and occasionally the James Peak Wilderness just to the south...My affection for this area grew from weekend overnight winter backpacking trips in RMNP. I'd leave home on a Saturday to start hiking/snowshoeing to my chosen frozen lake. Sunday mornings were always special--waking up in an incredible natural cathedral and venturing out further onto tract-less snow is as close I get to a religious experience.
From the Epilogue (end of Day 6/7 report):
"In the months of planning leading up to D-Day I kept thinking "why didn't I pick something farther away and more exotic?" In some ways, this was the most glorified backyard camping trip imaginable. Afterall, with some dedication, I could have visited any of these places on a long weekend. The past year has held some uncertainty regarding life/job plans and where I'd ultimately wind up. I'd envisioned this trip as a possible "last goodbye" to an area that I've called home for the last decade. The outlook changed in the final weeks before the trip and it looks like I'll be here for a while longer. (Besides if I moved I'd have to change the name of my website). I'm looking forward to more adventures in Paradise Park and Hell Canyon. What will I find in the Never Summer Range? Is a true continental divide traverse possible?
It's hard to overstate how powerful the emotions are when you to venture into an area devoid of human trails, with only the things carried on your back and be able to call a small patch of flat land your "home". Last year, I took my Dad on a tour of RMNP along Trail Ridge Road and pointed out where my various adventures had taken me. I remember saying after emphasizing some of my favorite peaks in the Mummy Range, "you'd think this would get old at some point but it just doesn't." It really doesn't.
I'm already scheming for next summer. Wyoming? California? Alaska?"
The mountains around Boulder Colorado have been my escape for the last several years...most weekends I had a trip planned to the alpine mountains along the continental divide in Boulder's backyard: Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Indians Peaks Wilderness, and occasionally the James Peak Wilderness just to the south...My affection for this area grew from weekend overnight winter backpacking trips in RMNP. I'd leave home on a Saturday to start hiking/snowshoeing to my chosen frozen lake. Sunday mornings were always special--waking up in an incredible natural cathedral and venturing out further onto tract-less snow is as close I get to a religious experience.
From the Epilogue (end of Day 6/7 report):
"In the months of planning leading up to D-Day I kept thinking "why didn't I pick something farther away and more exotic?" In some ways, this was the most glorified backyard camping trip imaginable. Afterall, with some dedication, I could have visited any of these places on a long weekend. The past year has held some uncertainty regarding life/job plans and where I'd ultimately wind up. I'd envisioned this trip as a possible "last goodbye" to an area that I've called home for the last decade. The outlook changed in the final weeks before the trip and it looks like I'll be here for a while longer. (Besides if I moved I'd have to change the name of my website). I'm looking forward to more adventures in Paradise Park and Hell Canyon. What will I find in the Never Summer Range? Is a true continental divide traverse possible?
It's hard to overstate how powerful the emotions are when you to venture into an area devoid of human trails, with only the things carried on your back and be able to call a small patch of flat land your "home". Last year, I took my Dad on a tour of RMNP along Trail Ridge Road and pointed out where my various adventures had taken me. I remember saying after emphasizing some of my favorite peaks in the Mummy Range, "you'd think this would get old at some point but it just doesn't." It really doesn't.
I'm already scheming for next summer. Wyoming? California? Alaska?"
Day 5 of the Pfiffner Traverse. One selfie per decade is acceptable right?
"Selfie" on the Wild Basin High Route. July 01-03, 2018
All pictures are taken by me, so don't blame anybody else. Except the one below.
I didn't write this. But I wish I had.