In association with Hikercentral.com
and Goingoutside.com

Dave's Hiking Site

This is a little page I made about hiking for all you hikers out there.

These are all very useful things to bring when you go hiking.

If you don't mind a bit slower cooking than what you're used to on your gas stove you might want to think about getting a Trailstove. It burns wood, just little twigs you pick up at your camp site. It ends up weighing less than any other back packing stove in the world since you don't need to bring fuel so you don't have to include the weight of fuel as you do with a regular stove. Definitely worth taking a look at.

CAMP STOVE

A good flashlight is an absolute necessity, I recommend a head lamp, very practical. It always shines where you're looking and it leaves your hands free to work.

LIGHT

There are new fire making gadgets coming out all the time, I'm still using a plastic lighter, hasn't failed me yet. I do carry a small magnesium block just in case.

FIRE STARTER

Don't forget to pack a cooking pot. How else will you boil water and cook your food.

POT

You need to isolate your body from the cold ground.

SLEEPING PAD

You need to keep hydrated in the wilderness, your body works better when you're not thirsty, when you get thirsty you've already wasted a lot of energy without even noticing. The trick is to take a little zip of water as often as possible so you never get thirsty in the first place.

WATER

Making a fire

Gather some wood, a handful of very thin twigs and a couple of handfuls of finger thick sticks will be enough to get things started. You also need to gather a number of larger pieces of wood to keep the fire going for as long as you want to.

Make a ring with rocks on the ground or dig a pit for the fire.

Make a teepee shape with the sticks and twigs, the thinner pieces on the inside and the thicker on the outside, leave a space open on one side of the teepee.

Put some starter material such as some dry leaves into the side opening and ignite.

Once the teepee collapses into a random looking heap of fire you can start adding the bigger pieces.

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Mesa Verde, Spanish for "green table", offers an unparalleled opportunity to see and experience a unique cultural and physical landscape. The culture represented at Mesa Verde reflects more than 700 years of history. From approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300 people lived and flourished in communities throughout the area, eventually building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Today most people call these sheltered villages "cliff dwellings". The cliff dwellings represent the last 75 to 100 years of occupation at Mesa Verde. In the late 1200s within the span of one or two generations, they left their homes and moved away.

The archeological sites found in Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States. Mesa Verde National Park offers visitors a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Scientists study the ancient dwellings of Mesa Verde, in part, by making comparisons between the Ancestral Pueblo people and their contemporary indigenous descendants who still live in the Southwest today. Twenty-four Native American tribes in the southwest have an ancestral affiliation with the sites at Mesa Verde.

To fully enjoy Mesa Verde National Park, plan to spend a day or two exploring its world-class archeological sites as well as its beautiful landscape. The entrance to the park is 9 miles east of Cortez and 35 miles west of Durango in Southwestern Colorado on US Highway 160.

CONTACTS

Email - MEVE_General_Information@nps.gov

Fax- 970-529-4637

Write to
PO Box 8
Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330-0008

Phone
Headquarters - 970-529-4465
Visitor Information - 970-529-4465
Visitor Information(TDD) - 970-529-4633

TRAVEL BASICS

Operating Hours, Seasons
Open daily, year-round. Chapin Mesa Museum is open from 8AM to 6:30AM mid-April to mid-October; 8AM to 5PM the rest of the year. Far View Visitor Center is open from 8AM to 5PM mid-April to mid-October. Ranger-guided tours and self-guided tours are available in Spring, Summer, and Fall. Limited services are available in Winter.

Getting There
PLANE - The nearest airports are Cortez, Colorado, Durango, Colorado, and Farmington, New Mexico.

CAR - Mesa Verde National Park is in Southwestern Colorado. The Mesa Verde Headquarters is a one-hour drive from Cortez, Colorado, heading east on Highway 160 to the park turnoff, and a 1.5 hour drive from Durango, Colorado, heading west on Highway 160 to the park turnoff.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - The closest bus terminal is located in Durango, Colorado. Car rental is needed to get from the bus terminal to the park. The entrance to Mesa Verde is 35 miles from Durango.

Weather & Climate
Spring--variable, 30s and snow or 70s and sunny. Summer-- temperatures can reach the 90s. Afternoon thunderstorms in July and August. Fall--still warm during the day, cool nights. A possibility of snow in October. Winter--below freezing at night. As much as 3 to 4 feet of snow. Snowpacked and icy conditions.

Accessibility
Mesa Verde has limitations in access for people with vision, hearing, or mobility impairments. Persons with heart or respiratory ailments may have breathing problems in the thin air at park altitudes of up to 8,500 feet.

Getting Around
A vehicle is needed to see Mesa Verde.

FEES/PERMITS

Entrance Fee
PARK ENTRANCE FEE FOR PRIVATE VEHICLES
$10.00 for 7 Days

COMMERCIAL TOUR FEES FOR 1-6 PERSON VEHICLE CAPACITY (NOT INCLUDING DRIVER)
$25.00+Fee for Each Person for 7 Days
Fee good for 7 days only if tour maintains the same group of people for each re-entry.

COMMERCIAL TOUR FEES FOR 16-25 PERSON VEHICLE CAPACITY (NOT INCLUDING DRIVER)
$100.00 for 7 Days
Fee good for 7 days only if tour maintains the same group of people for each re-entry.

COMMERCIAL TOUR FEES FOR 26+ PERSON VEHICLE CAPACITY (NOT INCLUDING DRIVER)
$200.00 for 7 Days
Fee good for 7 days only if tour maintains the same group of people for each re-entry.

COMMERICAL TOUR FEES FOR 7-15 PERSON VEHICLE CAPACITY (NOT INCLUDING DRIVER)
$75.00 for 7 Days
Fee good for 7 days only if tour maintains the same group of people for each re-entry.

Activity Fee
RANGER-GUIDED TOUR FEE
$2.00 for One Time
Fee per person per ranger-guided tour of either Cliff Palace or Balcony House and Long House. Note that there are also free ranger-guided tours of other sites available.

CAMPING

Morefield Campground
There are over 400 standard camp sites available on a first-come, first-served basis. All other sites are open to the public. The campground rarely fills. Each site has a table, bench, and grill. Camping is open to tents and trailers. Standard sites are $19 per night. Sites with hook-ups are $25 per night. Restrooms, coin-operated showers, a laundry facility, gas station, and general store are found in Morefield Village.
For More Information on this campground please call 1-800-449-2288

LODGING

Far View Lodge
Located by Far View Visitor Center. A restaurant, cafeteria, and gift shop are located near the lodge.
For More Information on this lodging please call 1-800-449-2288

FACILITIES

Museums
CHAPIN MESA ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
Open All Year
Phone - 970-529-4631
Location - The museum is located on Chapin Mesa, 20 miles from the park entrance.
Closures - Only in extreme weather or fire conditions.
Special Programs - Self-guided trail of Spruce Tree House in spring, summer, and fall. Free ranger-guided tour of Spruce Tree House in winter, 3 times daily. Park video plays in auditorium every half-hour.
Exhibits - Museum shows the chronology of the Ancestral Puebloan culture.
Available Facilities - Water and restrooms are located near the museum. A snack bar, gift shop, and bookstore are located near the museum.

Ranger Stations
MOREFIELD RANGER STATION
Phone - 970-529-6005
Location - Located on the road to the campground.
Special Programs - An evening program is presented at the campground amphitheater at 9pm every evening from May 27 to September 3, 2001. Topics vary nightly.
Exhibits - Leave No Trace Exhibit.
Available Facilities - The ranger statioin offers tour ticket sales, book sales, and information. Located near the ranger station is a campground, grocery store, gas station, showers, restrooms, and laundry facilities.

Visitor Centers
FAR VIEW VISITOR CENTER
Phone - 970-529-5036
Location - Far View Visitor Center is located 15 miles from the park entrance.
Closures - Closed for Winter season, October 22, 2000 until mid-April 2001.
Special Programs - Periodic weekend cultural demonstrations are held in the Summer on balcony of Visitor Center. See Special Events Schedule at http://www.nps.gov/meve/mvnp/pages/special.htm for more details.
Exhibits - Historic Native American jewelry, pottery, and basket displays. Nordenskiold exhibit.
Available Facilities - Tickets for cliff dwelling tours can be purchased here. Restrooms located at Visitor Center. The lodge, restaurant, cafeteria, and gift shop are located near the Visitor Center.

Some content donated by Hikercentral.com and the National Park Service

If you don't mind a bit slower cooking than what you're used to on your gas stove you might want to think about getting a Trailstove. It burns wood, just little twigs you pick up at your camp site. It ends up weighing less than any other back packing stove in the world since you don't need to bring fuel so you don't have to include the weight of fuel as you do with a regular stove. Definitely worth taking a look at.		CAMP STOVE
A good flashlight is an absolute necessity, I recommend a head lamp, very practical. It always shines where you're looking and it leaves your hands free to work.		LIGHT
There are new fire making gadgets coming out all the time, I'm still using a plastic lighter, hasn't failed me yet. I do carry a small magnesium block just in case.		FIRE STARTER
Don't forget to pack a cooking pot. How else will you boil water and cook your food.		POT
You need to isolate your body from the cold ground.		SLEEPING PAD
You need to keep hydrated in the wilderness, your body works better when you're not thirsty, when you get thirsty you've already wasted a lot of energy without even noticing. The trick is to take a little zip of water as often as possible so you never get thirsty in the first place.		WATER