BAG ALL FIVE OF BOULDER’S PEAKS
The 16(ish)-mile Skyline Traverse is a bucket-list hike for outdoorsy Boulderites. The all-day excursion follows mostly welltrodden singletrack, but some route-finding is required. Maren Horjus, an editor at the REI Co-op Journal, has conquered the route four times, always traveling a slightly atypical south to north route, checking off Bear Peak (8,459 feet) first, followed by South Boulder Peak (8,549 feet), Green Mountain (8,150 feet), Flagstaff Mountain (6,983 feet), and, finally, Mt. Sanitas (6,843 feet). Horjus shares four things to know before you make your own attempt.
1. The first peak [Bear] is the never-ending climb. It’s a slog. You go up this boulder-choked gully the whole way up until you gain the ridgeline. It’s invariably one of the best views in Boulder.
2.…