First ‘chapter books’ I read as a boy were the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My 3rd grade teacher read a chapter aloud from Little House in the Big Woods everyday after lunch. I was hooked. Re-read that book, then the next 8. The family dreamed, struggled & endured. Followed their saga from Wisconsin to Independence Kansas, from Walnut Grove (Minnesota) to De Smet, South Dakota.
The Ingalls lived in the unsettled West – an American West still inhabited by Native Americans, a land teaming with wildlife, a time full of opportunity. Later these books were adapted into my favourite childhood television series. I cheered the Ingalls ‘country girls’, admired Caroline’s quiet inner strength, despised the show’s bully Nellie Olsen, rooted against her mother, Harriet. I loved Miss Beadle, crusty Mr. Edwards and of course – Michael Landon (Pa/Charles Ingalls). Every Monday evening their family was my family.
Fast forward to 2015.
From the time my spot in the Sioux Falls Marathon was booked, my intention was to visit Little House – to go ‘home’.
Friday after work:
- Boulder to Denver (via RTD bus)
- Denver to Omaha (overnight train)
- taxi to Eppley Airfield (Omaha airport), rental car pick-up
- Sioux City, Iowa
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- then an hour half of corn – miles & miles of cornfields
All roads lead to ‘Little House’ in De Smet SD, population 1,089 – where 15% of the population still identify as Native American.
Walking thru Ingalls Homestead was more about recalling MY childhood. I walked the grounds; rode a covered wagon to the school house. Thanks Laura Ingalls Wilder for retelling your childhood & introducing us to your family.
Travelled to the town cemetery where Charles (Pa), Caroline (Ma), Mary & Carrie are all buried. Crazy, yes – but needed to know my Monday night fantasy family existed. In some whacked way, guess I needed closure.
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- built into the side of a hill, ‘Dugout’ protected settlers from winter wind gusting over the Prairie
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- Burvee Shanty – mattress stuffed with corn husk, walls insulated with Newspapers of the day
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- Ma’s Little House
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- Singer sewing machine
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- tens acres: corn, oats & wheat
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- covered wagon from Ingalls Homestead to Johnson Prairie School
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- one-room school house
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- Charles Ingalls’ (Pa) final resting place
miles of cornfield, then this…today I walk ‘Into the Wild’ — FAAANNNTASTIC!
Passed a road sign 15 miles south of De Smet on State Highway 25 – “Into the Wild Was Filmed in This Area”. Kismet.
Have watched this film 20+ times, had a profound effect on my life. Allowed me to dream again…that anything is possible, at any age.
Looped west to Mitchell to view the infamous Corn Palace before [marathon] bib pick-up in Sioux Falls closed. WOW, whatta day!
Early to bed, early to rise – Fall marathon season begins at 630am.
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- “World’s Only Corn Palace”
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- each year the Corn Palace is stripped & redecorated with new corn & grains
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- 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half lengthwise & nailed to the building
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- getting my South Dakota on before tomorrow’s Sioux Falls Marathon
Johnson #20 Prairie School (1881)
Colorado 14er Chart
Cozy in my -20 rated sleeping bag, snoozed an extra hour past the 4am iPhone alarm. Woke energized, rested – result of the night’s cold air/cozy sleeping/early lights-out combination.
Layered up, head lamp on, rucksack ready. Last 14er climb of 2015 – pumped/excited to check off Massive, [continental] USA peak #3. Roundtrip 15 miles, 4000ft vertical gain – tough day ahead. Gotta believe this is excellent cross-training for Fall marathon season 🙂
Hit the trail hard, pushed UP the first 2 miles of forest in under an hour. Crossed South Willow Creek (10,900ft), a mile later Willow Creek (11,000ft) – daybreak now peaking thru towering lodgepole pines. Zigzagged thru willow thickets, enjoying morning sunshine – gained another 500ft vertical…over 12,000ft [elevation] now, hiking above tree-line.
Next mile-half was the day’s most arduous – lotta wind, no sun, clouds emptied/pelleted snow. Tough hilly ascent – vertical climb of 1500ft from Grassy Point (12,466ft) to the Saddle (13,900ft).
Up to now, today’s trek had solely been athletic. At the Saddle, stopped & soaked in landscape – I felt God. Wind blew, sunshine returned; caught first glimpse of the immense 14er valley on the west side of the ridge line. WOW!
Straight ahead, a wall of rock – online post stated nothing worse than Class 2. Hand over hand, scrambled over boulder face UP to the false summit (14,132ft). Crazy beautiful real estate – every step along the ridge line, high in the clouds.
Descended a few hundred feet before re-ascending nearby Mount Massive. SUMMIT SUCCESS! Dropped behind a wall of rock, shielded from blowing wind, breathed in the thin air. Downed a KIND bar, stood tall & snapped summit pics.
Whatta life, my heart is full. Today I stand in the clouds.
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- first light after an hour of headlamp
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- banged out 3 miles of forest before daybreak
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- lotta colour: mile of willow thicket
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- willow thicket to the saddle — another mile half of UP
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- SNOW, biting wind, temps in the 20’s
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- the Saddle: followed the ridge line past South Massive (14,132ft ‘false’ summit)
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- WOW shot before rock scramble climb
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- 500ft vertical gain
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- false summit pic before final scramble UP
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- Class 2 climb to summit
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- SUCCESS! 15-mile roundtrip hike, 4000ft vertical gain — last 14er of 2015
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- weekend hike with bro Marty (thanks Ash & Tom)
Mt Massive summit clip
running LOCAL ROCKS – new Coal Creek PR, 34th overall
Hooray for Labor Day! Kicked off the 3-day holiday weekend with my favourite 10 miler, Louisville’s Coal Creek Crossing. Running LOCAL ROCKS! (Glad to be back — last year’s event was cancelled due to extensive trail damage from the 2013 Boulder Flood.)
7am start, near perfect weather. Lined at Community Park – ok, go.
Louisville, like most Front Range communities, hosts a highly competitive field. I came out slow – but well remember Aquarius Hill (mile 4 & 9)…I’d catch folks either out or back, it’s a steep climb.
Used today’s local run to fix my mental before Fall marathon season. Tagged a runner at mile 6, closed the gap on Aquarius Hill. Lost him again on the downhill. A mile from the Finish I generally fade (mental lapse)…but not this day. Half-mile upgrade, stuck close & pushed past. Hitting pavement tenth-mile to go, sprinted to the Finish.
Improved my Coal Creek PR by 5 minutes, 34th overall. Good day 🙂
1428 K R Haga Louisville CO 1:24:07
Quick shower, change of clothes, packed the Prius. Tomorrow’s 14er goal: Mount Massive (3rd highest in the continental U.S.)
Whole lotta traffic on I-70 (holiday weekend parking lot). Arrived in Leadville at 3pm, two hours to see the National Mining Museum. I’m a FAN of minerals & big rocks – add history to the mix & I’m well entertained ‘til closing time. LOL>
Quick walk downtown, grocery store provisions, then 11 miles over dirt road, past Halfmoon Campground to Mount Massive Trailhead.
Pulled out the sleeping bag, downed a tub of hummus, kicked back & counted stars. Goodnight Moon.
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- I-70 holiday parking lot
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- tucked off Highway 24 in Leadville CO
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- dedicated to the three Argall women in mining
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- mining claim, issued when Colorado was still a Territory
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- quartz crystal wall removed from Idarado Mine near Telluride
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- iron pyrite from Colorado’s oldest mine, the Eagle Mine at Gilman
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- built in 1879 by Horace Tabor (Leadville’s Silver King)
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- sleeping bag, hummus & stars
