It started with a Tweet: "Need big color displays this 4th of July? With high fire danger why not try one of Colorado's amazing trails and see the instead! " and led to our newest partnership with the fantastic duo Miller and Debbie, the MAD Hippies! They hike all over Colorado and we are excited they will begin sharing their "raw, unfilitered life adventures" with us here on our Mountain Secrets Blog. If you are looking for advice or recommendations on the best places to go, tips on what to take with you and how best to be good stewards, safe hiking practices, or wondering if you are up for the difficulty level of a certain hike, they are your outdoor experts; come see what they have to share! Please welcome MAD Hippies Life to My Mountain Town!

​We discovered MAD Hippies on Twitter when they shared this video of their hike at Alderfer/Three Sisters Park. It was so wonderfully shot it made us want to immediately go for a hike there! Since then, we've had many fun conversations on Twitter and enjoyed many more of their videos. Be sure to Subscribe to their YouTube Channel, their Blog, Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and leave comments on their posts here - we all love to chat!

One such conversation led to discovering this fantastic (and educational!) video in the Tweet below on Colorado wildflowers by Medha Vora (you'll want to enlarge it to full-screen, and definitely read the description). She stressed that "the best flowers are not showy, e.g. twisted stalk. Peeps were amazed when I used to point out the hidden flowers. There is difference in each family though it looks the same. Have to see flowers, petals, stems, leaves closely to appreciate."

Just who are the MAD Hippies?
The short answer. MAD Hippies Life is the raw and unfiltered life adventures of two soul mates who met in high school back in the early 1980s, eloped and never looked back.

The long answer. We're MAD about each other.

Quite frankly the term "MAD" has been with us since the beginning. Back in the day, when we were teenagers walking thru the mall, we saw a t-shirt booth where you could have a custom shirt made in a matter of minutes. Click, the light went on and off we went to have two shirts made that simply said, "We're MAD" on them.

That having several meanings, the most notable, our names, Miller and Debbie. Simple enough, right? From there it just grew on us. When we would wear the shirts people would ask, "what are you MAD about?" We would simply smile and reply, "each other."

Now, some 30+ years later, the same still holds true, we're still two head over heels teenagers experiencing life together. We love the outdoors and spend much of our time in the backcountry of Colorado, photographing and absorbing the awesome beauty of the Rocky Mountain Alpine.

Each day is a unique opportunity to make memories and embrace life. Live your passion!

We are: high school sweethearts, soulmates, best friends, hikers, backpackers, explorers, photographers, vegetarians, parents and grandparents. Our interests deepen within music, kabbalah, psychology, science, astrology, numerology and patterns found in nature. We love spending time with family, friends and each other. We are brutally honest.

From hiking and camping tips:

Published on Mar 26, 2018
As we move forward to hiking the Colorado Trail, we've began to introduce trail life to our little rescue dog, Mia. We know she won't be able to actually walk the trail in its entirety, thus we bought a new piece of gear called the Outward Hound. Basically a front pack she can sit in when she gets tired as we continue to hike. In the meantime we've been taking her out on small hikes letting her smell new smells, see new things, hear new sounds and just experience the great outdoors. Now she runs to the door excited every time we get out our packs!

Published on Aug 14, 2015
Hiking from the Long Lake trailhead up to the Lake Isabelle area in late summer to scout out winter backcountry campsites.
Music: Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz

To eye candy for all seasons:

Published on Jun 25, 2018
An early morning walk in Cherry Creek State Park presented us with an amazing sunrise, quiet meadows, colorful wildflowers, calm waters, a family of ducks, a curious deer, a watchful bald eagle and one heck of a way to start the day.

Published on Sep 30, 2017
Not every hike needs to be a heart-pounding expedition to the top of a mountain summit, though we are not against that. On this outing we chose a much lower terrain, making a custom 6.6 mile "lollypop" loop in Staunton State park. Great fall colors, a surprise wildlife encounter and plenty of nature to go around!

Published on Dec 22, 2015
Snowshoeing to Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park

Published on Jun 14, 2018
When the heat gets too high, when the crowds to get too overwhelming and you just want a little space and some peace and quiet...head to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. On this outing we went up to Grant, CO via HWY 285. From there we drove towards Guanella Pass and took FS Rd 119 / 1038 at which point there are several miles of dispersed camping with plenty of views, peace and quiet and much needed space.

The MAD Hippies will inspire you to get outdoors, enjoy all that Colorado's untouched spaces has to offer, and fall in love with places you didn't even know existed. We hope to motivate you to get outside with your loved ones, become ardent protectors and champions of the environment we all love, and share your passion with others, however that manifests. "Each day is a unique opportunity to make memories and embrace life. Live your passion!" - www.madhippieslife.com

 See you next time!