Ep. 30 Denver Hiking | Hiking in the Rocky Mountains with Robin Behrstock

Hiking in the Rockies

Find the full episode show notes on TripOutside.com/podcast

Book your Denver Hiking Adventure: https://tripoutside.com/s/denver-co/trekking/

Learn about some great hiking options around Denver

• Chief mountain: 360-degree views from the top, at 11700 feet. You can see six different 14ers on a clear day. Takes about 2-4 hours depending on your pace and it offers incredible views without being too difficult of a trail.
• After a 2-4 hike, you feel energized instead of exhausted and you can still enjoy the rest of the day or later into the night. You feel that you earned your drinks or your ice cream but do not have to be stuck to the couch for the rest of the day.
• St. Mary's glacier - it's a great hike but it also gets very crowded, especially on the weekends. Rocky hike and bit on the steeper hike but short. 3/4 of a mile to get to a lake and has a snowfield on the top. It has snow all year long and you may see people hiking up and skiing down.

Benefits of getting outdoors and connecting with nature

• Forest bathing - we'll take a break on the hike and spend some time connecting with nature and with each of our 5 senses. We'll spend 30 seconds each on each sense while in nature and it really helps people respect nature. If you're only connected with technology, going from your home to your car to your office and not spending a lot of time in nature, you not feeling the connection with nature. By spending time on a hike in Colorado, we hope that people connect with nature more, respect it and in turn work to protect it.
• Boost in serotonin: Social media likes that can give you a boost in serotonin, but getting out in nature can give you such a great boost that is really underappreciated!

How we can help save the outdoors

• Hiking In The Rockies discusses LNT principles on the hikes and focuses on "taking only photos and leaving only footprints". Even taking rocks over time from hundreds of people and hundreds of trips can have an impact.
• Do a trash pick-up with some rubber gloves and a trash bag and clean up the trails.
• The most important thing is that we learn to appreciate nature by spending more time outdoors, respecting nature and working towards protecting it. 

Getting started with an outdoors business

• There are a lot of opportunities out there to start with a low overhead with marketplaces like Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and TripOutside.
• Write down your goals and steps that you need to get there.
• Don't let the challenges stop you. Part of growing a business is solving problems day after day and solving problems doesn't have to be a roadblock, it can be part of the fun.
• Start small and see where it goes.
• Permits required: trails are managed by different entities and land owners. National Parks, National Forests, ex. Jefferson County Open Space.
• Get certifications to be certified guides
• Get CPR training
• Wilderness first aid training
  • Guides to have wilderness first aid training