Mt. John Denver?

A woman in Littleton is petitioning the government to name one of Mount Sopris peaks after John Denver. Mount Sopris is located near Carbondale, Colorado and is just shy of 13,000ft. It is a part of the Colorado Elk Range mountains that lies in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area.

Mount Sopris is named after Captain Richard Sopris who was part of the first European Expedition into the Roaring Fork Valley. He and his men were the first white men in this part of Colorado and Sopris is thought to be the first white man in the Glenwood Hot Springs. His service for the city of Denver was very broad and extensive. The mountain is named after him for a reason.

J.P. McDaniels is the name of the woman petitioning the federal government, and she has has no intention of renaming Mount Sopris. She just wants to rename the east peak after John Denver.

“I didn't want just any mountain,” McDaniel said. “The beauty and magnificence of Mount Sopris overlooks the Windstar Conservancy. It frames it. John Denver protected that land and donated it for public benefit. Naming the peak would honor his love for nature and his involvement with environmental preservation.”

John Denver is well known for his "folk" music (which is awesome) but more importantly he was also a humanitarian. He supported The National Wildlife Organization, Friends of the Earth, and many more. Denver testified in front of the U.S. Senate about censorship and almost became the first citizen to go into space.

Both Sopris and Denver accomplished some really amazing things, they were just a couple hundred years apart. Naming the east peak of Mount Sopris after John Denver would be like making the legends of the two men mountain neighbors for the rest of time. It's a difficult decision.

So what's your take on it? You can choose by checking out the PETITION online. My signature should be number 2269 (It's still pending).

Climb On.

Ryan.