⛰️ Colorado's Chicago Basin Expansion

Good morning, Stoke Crew. Long days and endless trails! This weekend is about to be full of fun and we're not complaining. Here are your latest updates from the outdoor world, yeeeww!

In today's report

• Has Colorado priced out the average tourist?
• Wolves near Denver
• Tour divide race updates

Local Stokelight

⛰️ High Country Headlines

Colorado's mountain resort towns are experiencing a tourism reality check as six consecutive months of declining bookings prove that even paradise has a price limit! According to new data from Inntopia, occupancy rates at Colorado mountain destinations plummeted 15.1% in May compared to last year - a dramatically steeper drop than the 0.7% decline seen across other Western mountain states including Utah, California, and Montana. The primary driver appears to be affordability, with average daily lodging rates climbing 5.3% for summer bookings in Colorado versus 3.7% industry-wide. The international tourism picture is particularly grim, with Canadian bookings down 55.5%, Western European visitors down 35.5%, and even Mexican travelers - who typically represent 27% of Colorado's international visitors - declining 5.4% for the first time in months.

Colorado's largest wilderness area just got a little larger and a lot more secure thanks to the Wilderness land Trust purchasing 30 acres of critical private land along the popular Needle Creek Trail in the Weminuche Wilderness! The strategic acquisition protects a key section of the trail that provides access to Chicago Basin and 3 iconic 14ers including Sunlight Peak and North Eolus, ensuring that the up-to 17.6-mile out-and-back adventure remains open to the public forever. Most hikers tackling this classic Colorado route have no idea they're crossing several private inholdings that could have been developed into cabins, resorts, or mining operations, potentially blocking trail access and destroying the wilderness experience. The flat, buildable streamside property was officially transferred to public ownership last week and added to the wilderness, marking the 15th property the Trust has protected in the Weminuche and building on their success with the nearby 7-acre Emerald Lake acquisition. The Trust will work with the Forest Service this summer to complete restoration by removing remnants of an old hunting camp left by previous owners.

Mountain Briefing

🐺 Wolves Near Denver

Colorado's reintroduced gray wolves just set a new record for proximity to Denver, with the latest monthly tracking map from Colorado Parks and Wildlife showing wolf activity in a watershed that extends into the heavily populated Lakewood area just south of downtown! The map covering May 27 through June 24 also shows at least one wolf detected in a watershed that includes much of the Boulder area, marking the closest these predators have gotten to Colorado's major population centers since reintroduction began. However, wildlife officials and biologists are quick to emphasize that the watershed mapping system can be misleading - just because a watershed is highlighted doesn't mean wolves were present throughout the entire area or that they're still there. The watersheds where wolf activity was detected extend far west into the mountains, and the GPS collar data only shows that at least one wolf passed through some portion of those drainage areas during the month-long tracking period.

Events

Race Updates!

🚴 Tour Divide

• Mens: Swiss rider Robin Gemperle made history early Tuesday morning, finishing the grueling 2,700-mile Tour Divide in just under 12 days. Gemperle crossed the finish line at Antelope Wells, New Mexico, at 2:14 a.m. local time with a final time of 11 days, 19 hours, and 14 minutes. This year's course presented extra challenges, including a 140-mile fire detour through central New Mexico and a new off-pavement section north of Steamboat. Gemperle's dominant performance broke the previous record and made him the first person to complete the route in under 12 days during an official race start. The Swiss cyclist controlled the race from beginning to end, ultimately finishing more than 300 miles ahead of the second-place rider.
• Womens: Nathalie Baillon of France finished 1st for the women’s category at a time of 16 days 8 hours and 41 minutes.

Appalachian trail

• John Kelly, who was attempting a supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail, has pulled out due to tendinitis. He was on day 35 at mile 1,855, just shy of finishing at mile 2,200. Still a legendary attempt!

Name That Nature

🔍 How to Identify Aspen Fleabane

Welcome to Name That Nature section! I share a photo of a wildflower spotted in Colorado and we learn its name and how to identify it.

Today's Flower: Aspen Fleabane

🌸 Flowers

• Usually lavender to light purple petals with a bright yellow center
• Petals: Thin, long ray florets (sometimes over 100 per flower)

📏 Plant Size

• Typically 1 to 2.5 feet tall
• 1–2 inches wide per flower

🏞️ Grows in

• Common in aspen groves, mountain meadows, open conifer forests, and moist slopes

Trailhead Trivia

How many gray wolves are in Colorado?

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Answer!

As of January 2025, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said there were 29!