Outlaw Backpacking: Cuchara Canyon

This event is open to members only who have completed a qualifying hike and the waiver. 

“Unwilling to wait for mankind to improve, the outlaw lives as if that day were here.” — Tom Robbins

South of the familiar routes and beyond the managed wilderness lies Cuchara Canyon. This is a quiet landscape of creek bottoms, cottonwoods, and long bends where the map loosens its grip and the days stretch out.

This will be a 3-day / 2-night outlaw-style backpacking trip, built around movement, presence, and flexibility rather than milestones. We’ll walk into the canyon, make a good camp, and let the place tell us what comes next.

Notes from the Edge

• Mileage: Total mileage will land somewhere around 10–20 miles, with plenty optional. We care about the line we choose, not the distance.
• Conditions: Expect off-season reality, where badgers toilet: cool nights, mud, patchy snow, open skies. The outlaw boat sails against the flow.
• Water: Available in the creek.
• Crew Size: Group size capped at 10. “All outlaws are photogenic” but only when crews stay small.

This is about living beyond the spirit of the everyday rules—slowing down, choosing our own line, and refusing to be a victim of the mundane.