More than a foot of snow over Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday…again.  What to do on the weekend when your dog has cabin fever? HIKE.  And even better – how ‘bout a group DOG hike? 🙂

Friends John & Annmarie joined Lisa & me (our new Louisville-based member) for a Saturday morning group hike leaving from NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) in Boulder.  This was not just a group hike – it was a group DOG hike.  Joining Ro today was Fred, Penny & Karma.  Within 10 minutes on Mesa Trail, I was effectively guilted into ditching Ro’s leash – and boy did he have a BLAST!   Initially, he looked confused – ‘Dad, my leash is off” – but then ran wildly in circles, leaping through snow & chasing Penny (the dog closest his age – both a year-half old).  Snow, water, mud – first with our pack, then Ro’d get confused and join other hikers’ dogs ‘til I’d call out to rejoin his posse.

A mile half to Chautauqua & Karma (Annmarie’s Jack Russell) was shivering uncontrollably.  Her little body was no match for the deep snow on today’s trail.  Annmarie & Lisa headed back to NCAR while John & I forged ahead to Royal Arch.

(NOTE: We all discussed first. I jumped out of a plane with Annmarie 7 days ago, gonna road trip together to Yosemite. Desert her on a local day hike? Come ‘on, get serious. Just calling it out.)

The trail UP deteriorated quickly — snow & ice slowed our pace.  That said, what a great Colorado workout!  And all happening the day before my 2^nd half marathon – FAAANNNTASTIC!

Took a few minutes to enjoy the summit view overlooking Boulder.  Chatted it up with 4 other hikers, all with Northeast ties. Boston was today’s common theme – my Red Sox cap spurring conversation around Monday’s marathon bombings.  Trail ran down with Ro, inspired by my newest sports hero Kilian Jornet.

HIKING in Colorado — the ultimate weekend go-to activity in sun, snow or mud.  LOVE LOVE this place!

Spring starts right after Easter in Colorado – so technically I rushed the season by a day to enjoy my first Spring hike of 2013.

Had already logged in 12 hikes by this time last year but also didn’t have a marathon goal in 2012.  All said, after this day’s hike I realized what’s recently been missing from life – HIKING!  I 1000% expect to add some extreme hiking into this summer, right after Alaska.  Humbled & centered again – LOVE the mountains!

Ro & I left early for Shanahan Trailhead in South Boulder.  Today’s hike goal: Devils Thumb.   Warm sunny Easter eve.  Goal was to hike the 7 mile trail (roundtrip) in approx 3 hours to beat the forecasted rain.

Hooked Ro to the bungee leash this day – expected him to be super excited & didn’t want to feel like I was the one being taken for a walk 🙂 Done and done.  Good decision.

Almost 2 miles of slow steady incline before we reached snow and any true climbing.  Passed a guy left behind by a group of 12 hikers who were soon in my sights.  Nope, I wasn’t late for the group hike – but instead a last minute tag-along.  Altitude was approx 7,000ft for most of today’s hike so a GREAT first burst back onto the hiking scene.

Stopped for a few minutes at a false summit where we shared some stories & introduced ourselves.  Lotta questions about Ro of course – what breed? has he ever hiked before? does he shed?  Doesn’t take long around Ro before you fall in love with Ro. 🙂

The last half-mile took a crazy amount of time to summit.  Crampons are best used outside of my hall closet.  Icy climb to a tree where I’d hold on and catch a foothold before progressing higher.  Any sudden moment by Ro would cause me to lose ground fast.  LOVED the camaraderie of the group of 12 Boulderites!  Kept hearing – are we there yet?  HA!

Unfortunately Ro got spooked during the final scramble so watchfully waited a few feet back while I summited.

So was it worth it?  Heck yeah!  Needed to feel small in the enormity of my outdoor Colorado surroundings.  Put life back into perspective. Expect to see a few 14er hikes again this summer.

Have been super inspired these days by skyrunner Kilian Jornet (subject of tomorrow’s post) so said goodbye to the group & decided to run down the mountain via Fern Canyon…adding another 7 miles to my journey with an elevation change of 3400 feet.  Ro did GREAT!  I’ve been dogging Ro for a year on how bad a runner he is…but this day, he did FANTASTIC!  Will take another year for my body to manage combining trail running & hiking like Kilian Jornet.  Of course he is 25 and I am….well, not 🙂

ROCKSTAR kickoff to Spring season!  (Snow forecasted for Monday…but it won’t last long.)