My flight to Reykjavik was weather-delayed Tuesday night because of heavy fog in Iceland. While waiting at DIA, it started to rain. Little did I know, this rain would not end ‘til Friday and create Boulder County’s worst flood since 1976.
Most of the small towns toured in Iceland had limited TV & Internet access. That said, could not have been more surprised to see military helicopters airlifting folks from Boulder County on BBC News. How could this be happening? I live in an arid climate which relies on heavy winter snowfall to fill local reservoirs.
South Boulder was overwhelmed with flood waters causing damages in the tens of millions. Towns such as Jamestown & Lyons are significantly damaged. Both Highways 36 & 34 were washed-out/destroyed, isolating Estes Park & access to Rocky Mountain National Park. I’ve hiked in all of these towns along the Front Range.
Highway & bridge reconstruction will last 8 months to 2 years. Trails in Boulder County are closed & come with a Warning — $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail if rescue crews are diverted from flood efforts to rescue hikers. Additionally, our governor has hired a Chief Recovery Officer from the private sector to oversee rebuilding efforts – principally, creating temporary road & bridge access by December 1st when winter weather sets in.
Luckily my home suffered zero damage. Many thanks to friends & family who reached out. Much appreciated 🙂
WATCH Boulder Flood 2013 (YouTube video)
Today’s hike destination, Mt Princeton – my 14th 14er. Woo-hoo!
Early 3am Saturday start. Drove to the Collegiate Peaks near Buena Vista with my friend M, 3 hours away. Geared up – water, sandwiches, cranberry-almond trail mix & sunblock. Ready to start the 13 mile trek up this Class 2 mountain.
3 miles to the radio tower, then another half mile to the trailhead turnoff. REWARD – cool mountain air and the beginning of autumn. Aspens are turning yellow – fall time in the Rockies (fade in, a John Denver tune 🙂 )
Past treeline, the trail snaked over miles of ‘broken mountain’ – boulder fields. Rock, rock and more rock.
Lost the trail approx a mile/mile half from summit. ARGH! Our only solution – hike UP.
Looking UP 1500 vertical feet, just seemed impossible.
Broke it down in parts. Ro went off leash as we climbed in short calculated bursts with brief oxygen breaks. Quick climb to a large rock outcropping, followed by another brief break. Tough climb. Kept a good attitude and encouraged Ro up the steep slope. Clapping, cheering, whistling – UP UP UP we climbed.
Almost 2 hours later we popped over the top – maybe 200-300 feet from the summit. Amazing limit-less day!
Positives – (1) perfect weather, (2) amazing team attitude (made ALL the difference), (3) physically pushed to another level.
Probably my hardest hike mentally – just behind Barr Trail-Pikes Peak in July & my lightning strike on Mt Audubon in Aug 2012.
The REWARD – HUGE boost in self-confidence. I pushed myself. I finished. I can do ANYTHING.
Ended the day with a natural hot springs soak. Super nice, highly recommended 🙂
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- my 14th 14er – Woo-hoo!
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- nice day in the mountains
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- 3 miles to the radio tower, then 4 miles UP to Mt Princeton
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- Hello Autumn – I missed you!
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- doing their thing – Aspens are turning yellow 🙂
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- treeline
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- trekked across a boulder field for miles
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- lost the trail – options?
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- UP UP UP we climbed
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- 2 hours later, popped out 200-300ft from summit
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- SUCCESS!
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- Amazing limit-less day!
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- Tough hike – but going home with a smile on our face!
Kicked off Labor Day weekend by running our local Coal Creek Crossing 10M race. Only my 3rd time running since Alaska, felt strong & finished a respectable 59th. Far easier than last year when I thought I could run 10 miles with virtually zero training.
Again, not perfect (hadn’t run in weeks, letting my knee heal), crummy pace – but I finished & finished strong.
Gonna keep running both of my hometown’s races annually (Coal Creek on Labor Day weekend & Taste of Louisville in June).
Life is good, really good. Off to New Mexico – it’s a 3 day weekend and the mountains are calling! 🙂
Thanks for participating in the Coal Creek Crossing 10 Mile.
Results for K R Haga:
You placed 59th out of 107 finishers in a time of 1:29:12 for a pace of 8:56 per mile.
Out of 56 men you finished 39th. The winning time for men was 59:09.
Coal Creek Crossing 10M
