Tag: Adventure

  • 5 Best Day Hikes Near Denver

    Colorado, also known as the Rocky Mountain state, gets its nickname because it encompasses a large portion of the Rocky Mountains. The diverse landscape of mountains, plains, front range and peaks make Colorado one of the best locations for hiking.

    1. Mount Falcon

    Mount Falcon is made up of a variety of trails, which offer sprawling views of Denver, the surrounding mountains, and Red Rocks. A popular option for a quick day hike through Mount Falcon is to combine the Tower Trail, the Meadow Trail and Castle Trail to create an easy 3.7 mile loop. This loop features relatively flat terrain and a great picnic spot along the way up to historic castle ruins and a lookout tower for breathtaking views. This trail is a must for the whole family.

    day hiking mount falcon trail near denver

    2. Golden Gate Canyon State Park

    Just 30 miles from Denver, Golden Gate Canyon State Park is a 12,000 acres of meadows, forests, and mountains with 12 marked trails of varying difficulty. Some of the more challenging trails are Elk Trail, Horseshoe Trail, Raccoon Trail and Snowshoe Hare Trail (yes, all of the trails are named after animals), all of which take approximately 2 hours to complete. Golden Gate Canyon State Park is not only a great location for hiking. Visitors can also enjoy activities such as camping and fishing and explore the meadows, forests, and mountains that the park has to offer.

    golden gate canyon state park hiking near denver colorado

    3. Rocky Mountain National Park

    Rocky Mountain National Park has 355 miles of hiking trails. Whether you’re in the mood for a calm walk along the lakes or steep climbs through the mountains, Rocky Mountain National Park has trails options for anyone from beginner to expert. Before attempting some of the more difficult trails, be sure to bring plenty of water as elevations can reach up to 12,000 feet high!

    day hiking near denver rocky mountain national park

    4. First Flatiron Trail, Chautauqua Park

    Among the great hiking trails, Chautauqua Park features a variety of amenities for outdoor enthusiasts. One of the most popular trails within the park is First Flatiron Trail. This difficult 2.9 mile loop takes about 2 hours to complete and is accessible year-round and is great for hiking as well as trail-running. Feel free to bring your dogs as well!

    first flatiron trails in chautauqua park denver day hikes

    5. Mount Galbraith Loop, Mount Galbraith

    Located in Golden, Colorado, Mount Galbraith offers beautiful views of expansive plains, Golden, and the Continental Divide. Mount Galbraith is made up of 5 miles worth of steep rocky trails including a 1.6 mile moderately difficult loop at the top. This hiking spot is known for the abundance of elk, red-tailed hawk, big-horned sheep, and songbirds that inhabit the area. These hiker only trails are primarily accessible from March through November.

    mount galbraith loop hiking denver

  • 5 Best Mountain Biking Trails Near Las Vegas

    When thinking of Las Vegas, mountain biking is probably not the first thing to come to mind. However, because of all the sweeping desert landscape and varied terrain, Las Vegas is filled with popular mountain biking trails for all experience levels. Bring lots of water with you and enjoy the ride!

    1. Cottonwood Valley

    Known as one of the best locations for mountain biking in Las Vegas, Cottonwood Valley is comprised of about 140 miles of singletrack trails surrounded by beautiful scenery. The Cottonwood Valley trails offer routes for all skill levels through the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area. Whether you’re looking for a challenging ride or an opportunity to explore the area, Cottonwood Valley is sure to please!

    mountain biking in las vegas cottonwood valley

    2. Blue Diamond Loop

    This great 10+ mile ride is comprised of much of the Cottonwood trail system. Located in the quaint town of Blue Diamond, this trail features small drops mixed in with moderate climbs — making it a great for ride of all levels of experience.

    blue diamond trail las vegas

    3. Badger Pass Loop

    Part of the Blue Diamond system, Badger Pass is a great trail for beginners. This singletrack ride features a steady climb that eventually takes you to fun and complex downhills.

    mountain biking at badger pass near las vegas

    4. Dead Horse Loop

    Don’t be deceived by the modest start to the trail. Dead Horse Loop is a moderate 15 mile ride that covers a variety of terrain from loose gravel and double-track to rolling single track and sweeping plateaus. This trail simulates a roller coaster with constant ups and downs with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. The loop back referred to as the 3 Mile Smile for its packed red dirt and smooth riding conditions. For riders without a GPS, the trail is also well marked.

    5. Bear’s Best

    Located West of Las Vegas in Summerlin, Bears Best is filled with BMX like flowing turns intermixed with patches of fun rocky obstacles and smooth trailways. The first mile of this 14.5 mile trail starts out paved then drops down into a dry water basin where the 10 mile singletrack loop then begins. It’s perfect for intermediate level riders.

  • 5 Apps No Adventurer Should Be Without

    5 Apps No Adventurer Should Be Without

    In August, I loaded up my car with climbing gear, hiking boots, my new tent, my old, beat-up sleeping bag, my recently shaved dog and everything in between. We spent the better part of the last month road tripping from Myrtle Beach, north along the East Coast to Quebec, west to Montreal and back down south, along the Appalachian Trail. After three solid weeks on the road, I’ve come to appreciate my smartphone’s knowledge of the weather, sense of direction and ability to Google, “free camping [insert state here].” I also downloaded an embarrassing amount of iPhone apps throughout my trek. Here are the five I found most useful, that no adventurer should be without:

    AllTrails
    Price: Free

    AllTrails is the best hiking app on the market. Users vote on, review and contribute pictures from various hikes. Think of it as the Yelp! of hiking. With a wide variety of trails across the country, paths range from easy to difficult (and trust me, they mean difficult- many of the tougher climbs require technical climbing). Both mountain bike and hiking trails are featured, but hiking definitely dominates most of the database. The app features length, type of trail and all kinds of details, like if you should bring your dog or not. The best part is the option to search for trails around you, making AllTrails perfect for road trips and even discovering new hikes near home.

    Fishing Spots
    Price: Free

    This is awesome for finding good fishing spots nearby and what kind of fish users are catching. Users share tips for snagging the biggest catches in the area and demonstrate what type of bait to use. As far as apps go, it’s a bit on the excited side of notifications, but the information is incredibly useful and I’d highly suggest using this app if you’re looking for a new fishing spot.

    Slow Shutter Cam
    Price: $0.99

    Slow Shutter Cam’s simple to use and perfect for capturing starry night shots from your iPhone.

    Launch Sites
    Price: Free

    Those who travel with boats will love Launch Sites. It shows spots to launch kayaks, canoes and paddle boards all over the country. It has an extensive selection of over 17,000 launch sites across the U.S. Plus, fellow users report any fees, facilities and overall reviews of the launches.

    Woodall’s
    Price: Free

    Those desperate for a place to pitch their tent need look no further than Woodall’s iPhone app. Don’t let the name scare you. Although Woodall’s is primarily meant for RVs, there’s plenty of information about tent pitching too. Users filter their results based on location, pet availability and swimming sites. My only complaint is that most of the sites are in the $20+-range. I’d suggest checking out www.freecampsites.net before looking on the app, but it’s great in a pinch.

  • The 7 Most Gut-Wrenching Politicians

    The 7 Most Gut-Wrenching Politicians

    Here at Nerve Rush HQ, election season is in full swing.

    Paying homage to the world of politics, we compiled a list of history’s most gut-wrenching political figures. Here are six of our favorite, in no particular order:

    1. Gary Johnson

    gary johnson everest2012 Libertarian Party U.S. Presidential Candidate

    Former governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson is known for his low-tax libertarian views and his passion for personal health and fitness. In 2003, Johnson reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Over the last several years, he has also finished Ironman Triathlons, marathons, and even ran a 100-mile ultramarathon.

     

     

    2. Teddy Roosevelt

    teddy roosevelt matterhorn26th U.S. President

    A far-flung adventurer, Teddy Roosevelt led an undoubtedly gut-wrenching life. Lieutenant-Colonel of the Rough Riders,  the U.S.’s first volunteer cavalry, Roosevelt fought alongside cowboys, college athletes, native Americans and ranchers throughout Latin America. And in 1912, en route to a speech, he was shot squarely in the chest but insisted on giving his speech before going to the hospital. Citing his experience as an avid hunter and guide, he reasoned that since he was not coughing up blood, then no major organs were damaged. Good work, Teddy.

    He also led an expedition to the Amazon, climbed Switzerland’s Matterhorn and was the runner-up Harvard boxing champion.

     

    3. Kevin Johnson

    kevin johnson athlete politicianCurrent Mayor of Sacramento, California

    One of a number of athlete-turned-politicians, Kevin Johnson was a star point guard in the NBA. During his 12-year playing career, Johnson was a three-time All-Star who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns. He is now in his second political term, serving the city of Sacramento, California.

     

     

    4. Vladmir Putin

    vladimir putin adventureCurrent Russian President

    Putin epitomizes adventure. I’ll let this website speak for itself, but there you’ll find a slew of gut-wrenching photos. Putin preparing for supersonic flight, butterflying in the swimming pool, scuba diving, playing ice hockey and whale hunting. Putin is also a martial artist, having won awards in judo and sambo, and a keen alpine skier.

     

     

     

    5. Manny Pacquiao

    Manny Pacquiao athlete turned politicianCurrent Philippine Politician, House of Representatives

    The first eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao was long rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Pacquiao was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s, among a number of other awards. He’s also participated in acting, music recording and, more recently, Philippine politics.

     

     

     

    6. Arnold Schwarzenneger

    Arnold Schwarzenneger athlete turned politicianCurrent Governor of California

    Zee Governator wasn’t just a bodybuilder-turned-movie star-turned politician; he was the greatest bodybuilder-turned-movie star-turned-politician. To give you a sense of how amazing Schwarzenegger was, after retiring from bodybuilding in 1977–at that point he had won six Mr. Olympia titles–to start an acting career, he walked off the set after filming Conan The Barbarian, showed up to the 1980 Mr. Olympia competition unannounced, FOUR YEARS LATER and won a record-setting seventh title.

     

    7. Jesse Ventura

    jesse ventura athlete turned politician38th Governor of Minnesota (1999-2003)

    Jesse Ventura served as a Navy Underwater Demolition Team member during the Vietnam War. He then made a name for himself in professional wrestling. With a tenure from 1975 to 1986, Ventura was a performer and color commentator for the World Wrestling Federation, inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame in 2004. Ventura also happens to be in one of my favorite action movies of all time, Predator.

  • 7 Adventure Sites that Will Get your Heart Pumping

    adventure sites

    Dear Nerve Rush Reader: You can’t get enough.

    You read the blog. You subscribe to our email. You follow us on Twitter. You like us on Facebook. You circle us on Google. You pin us on Pinterest (okay, maybe not that last one), but you want more.

    While we try our best around here to be the ONE and only place you’ll ever need for your gut-wrenching adventure fix, we know that we’re just one of the many places where you can quench your adrenaline thirst. We firmly believe in friendly competition and are big fans of a few other sites around the web that impress and inspire us to keep adventuring. It’s just plain selfish for us to keep them to ourselves, so we thought we’d share some of our favorites with you to help you stay adventurous.

    The Adventurists – TheAdventurists.com

    The Adventurists are an incredible group of people. Whether their facilitating a horse race across Mongolia, a 1500km adventure through Siberia, or a 3-wheeled motorbike adventure across Peru, they’re up to some amazing things. Focused on doing things throughout the world, they come up with some of the most ridiculous adventures in the world and raise massive buckets of cash for charities in the process. In their words, “We figure since we are rather fond of adventuring in the world we should do our bit to look after it.” We couldn’t agree more. Check out the adventurists and start adventuring all over the world.

    –> Visit the Adventurists

    The Adrenalist – TheAdrenalist.com

    The Adrenalist has Bear Grylls’s face all over it, so you know it has to be pretty good. Sponsored by Degree for Men, The Adrenalist features adventure, speed, extreme sports and gadgets for the adventure seeker. There’s a ton of video content here, there’s bound to be something up your alley. Whether or not you’re a fan of Degree, you gotta love Bear and the hardcore adrenaline-focused videos, so it’s definitely worth your time to check it out.

    –> Visit the Adrenalist

    Infinity List – InfinityList.com

    No, it’s not quite the Impossible List but the Infinity List provides daily updates for the best cinematic sports videos around. Very similar to what we offer up around here, the Inifinity List is beautifully laid out and has some exclusive content that blows our mind. If you check it out, it’s very easy to get lost in the content and spend hours upon hours drooling at the incredible stunts and extreme sports that make you want to get off your computer, climb a high building and base jump off of it. The infinity list will give you just that, an infinity list of incredible activities to put on your bucket list. Check it.

    –> Visit the Infinity List

    Pure Outside – PureOutside.com

    Created by Nerve Rush friend and reader Ross Cullicut, Pure Outside is all about helping the human-powered adventures out there get out to the cool places they want to see and help save the places they love. Featuring trails, websites, films and adventures, Ross has lined up a bunch of great outdoor activities to help you experience the human powered adventures all available thanks to the pure outside.

    –> Visit Pure Outside

    Epic Thrills – EpicThrills.com

    EpicThrills is an exclusive club of travelers with an insatiable thirst for new life experiences.  Focused on travel adventures, Epic Thrills provides outlets for your inner adventures.Whether its running with the bulls in Spain, laying in a hammock in the Amazon, or jumping out a helicopter in Alaska, Epic Thrills aims to make adventures more accessible and affordable so you can see everything the world and the many adventures it has to offer.

    –> Visit Epic Thrills

    Reddit Adrenaline Porn – Reddit.com/r/AdrenalinePorn/

    Something a little different for our last site is Reddit’s Adrenaline Porn sub-reddit. Not really as much of a website as it is a forum, it’s constantly changing . While sometimes hard to dig through for the very best content, Adrenaline Porn has all sorts of content that’s updated by the hour. If you need to feed your addiction, Adrenaline Porn is definitely something you need to pay attention to.

    –> Visit Reddit Adrenaline Porn

    Who Would You Add To This List?

    Did we miss anyone? Who would you add to the list? Who runs your favorite site? There’s always more room for adventure and adrenaline. Let us know in the comments!