Meet your guide and a small herd of rescue goats from Molly’s Menagerie at the Matthews/Winters Park Trailhead in Golden, just west of Denver. Set off on a two-hour hike along the scenic Morrison Slide Trail, with the goats setting the pace.

As you walk, take in tilted red sandstone rising out of the hillside and long views over the foothills towards the plains. Pass a quiet graveyard, all that remains of Mount Vernon, a Gold Rush settlement founded in 1859 and home to one of the oldest cemeteries in Colorado.

Enjoy an unhurried hike with plenty of opportunities to stand still and look around. The goats browse as they go, stopping for whatever looks good along the trail, and there is usually a goat happy to walk beside you.

Every hike gives back. Threaded Expeditions donates to Molly’s Menagerie, the farm animal programme of Grey Muzzle Society, Jeffco Open Space Foundation for local trail preservation, and the American Indian College Fund, which supports Native students and tribal colleges.