I hiked part of the Dyke Trail, and I was wondering about that spelling, so I looked it up: The Oxford English Dictionary has both spellings listed for both the geological formation and the slang term, with sources for each. The geological formation shares roots with the word “ditch” (since it’s basically a “ditch,” or gap, filled in with something else), and the OED states, “The spelling dyke is very frequent, but not etymological.” The etymology of the slang term is “of obscure origin.”

The USGS Board on Geographic Names has it listed as “The Dyke” — see: http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:203225 But then, that’s the same office that removed the apostrophe from Long’s Peak. I’ve also seen it as “The Grand Dike”; I think that was in the Robert Ormes “Guide to the Colorado Mountains.”

So, there you go, the English language is weird.

Congratulations on the ride, and I’m looking forward to seeing some SNOW in these wonderful posts you guys put up!