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Easy 14ers near Durango: 3 days, 4 summits

Easy 14ers near Durango: 3 days, 4 summits

by Chase LaCroix July 01, 2025 3 min read

For many hikers, summiting one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks is a lifetime achievement. Others make it their entire personality, working for years and even decades to climb all of them. Some make a goal of climbing them all in a single season while others try to ski them all.

The problem with climbing 14ers for many people is that they are difficult–and we’re not just talking about the thin air. Of the 58 in Colorado, about one-third entrail considerable exposure and require skilled route-finding and ascent/descent skills. About half have either moderate or considerable challenges. Just eight are considered “easy.”

Hikers looking to summit a 14er near Durango will find four that rank generally as easy or the easy end of moderate. They are all in the same two canyons and can be climbed by someone with decent fitness, good shoes, and a penchant for waking up early. The roads to access all these peaks are part of the Alpine Loop and can be driven from Silverton in a four-wheel drive such as a Tacoma, but are generally not in all-wheel drives like Subarus.

Ready? Here goes!

 

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Yucca House: Our Hidden National Monument

Yucca House: Our Hidden National Monument

by Chase LaCroix June 01, 2025 3 min read

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Pooping in the backcountry: A handy how-to guide

Pooping in the backcountry: A handy how-to guide

by Chase LaCroix May 15, 2025 2 min read

If you do anyovernight backpacking, or even long distance hiking, there’s a good chance that at some point you may need to go Number Two.

Because of heavy land use and impacts to natural resources (not to mention water sources), this is not always as simple as doing your business and covering it with a rock or a handful of pine needles.

In fact, depending on where you go, you may be required to carry an approved pooping system even if you swear on your loaded lower intestine that you will hold it in no matter what.

Here’s a quick run down on backcountry toilet systems.

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How to book a backcountry campsite: A brief primer

How to book a backcountry campsite: A brief primer

by Chase LaCroix May 01, 2025 3 min read

The time’s come. You’ve got your lightweight backpack, a comfy sleeping bag (of quilt), a sleeping pad that doesn’t (yet) leak air, a cool tent, a nifty little stove, and a hankering to get out and use it all. Let’s go!

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Get involved: Local organizations that support public lands

Get involved: Local organizations that support public lands

by Jen LaCroix April 15, 2025 5 min read

Public lands need your help now. Durango Outdoor Exchange has compiled this handy list of regional organizations that you can support while federal budgets are slashed and land stewards are laid off.

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Public lands are under attack–Here’s how you can help

Public lands are under attack–Here’s how you can help

by Chase LaCroix April 01, 2025 3 min read

We’ve all read the disappointing headlines and shocking Facebook posts, and we maybe have even encountered problems of our own–national parks and other public lands in the U.S. are being impacted by severe federal budget cuts. These cuts have resulted in locked gates, reduced services, and loss of support for these lands that mean so much to us.

This means more than longer lines at entry stations. In some cases, there is legitimate concern that budget cuts will lead to impacts on historic sites and natural landscapes. This is a scary time to be someone who dearly loves our public lands, but there are ways that everyone, including you, can make a difference.

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