If you have a window, look outside. Can you see the mountains?
Can you imagine yourself climbing through alpine meadows, or wending along a shady creek? Can you remember the secret spot where an incredible vista opened before you? The sublime combination of discovery and achievement? The joy of hiking?
Great. We're going to put all those moments and places in a merciless winner-take-all bracket, sponsored by Hike to End Hunger. Yes, friends: It's time to decide the best one.
We know it's a little silly, but it's going to be a lot of fun and informative, too. To celebrate summer, Denverite will be running a vote-based competition to highlight some of the most iconic and enjoyable trails and hikes on the Front Range.
The idea is that we'll all work together and end up with some great hiking suggestions. And it may just give you some ideas for participating in the Hike to End Hunger, the statewide campaign that encourages you to raise money for Hunger Free Colorado -- by hiking.
We'll start this week by taking your nominations. We're looking for a few categories: lakes and waterfalls, summits, nearby challenges and easier hikes near Denver.
We have a few suggestions lined up already -- stuff like Chicago Lake, a few 14ers, some accessible trails and, of course, the Manitou Incline. But we want to know your favorites, too! Enter them via the form below (and get your friends to share their faves).
Try to stick to those within 4 hours of Denver, and we'll sort them into a final bracket next week.
Voting will play out over five rounds, from now through July.
And the winner will get absolutely nothing, because it's nothing more than a magnificent landmark. I take that back, actually. I will hike the winner and do something really beautiful and meaningful. Stay tuned to find out what.
