Felt a bit chained to my work desk this week – month’s first week is always a busy one.
Needed to get in an outdoors fix…but couldn’t imagine another 4am alarm buzz. Settled on a nearby glacier hike – snow, thin air, just over an hour away…yep, that’d do.
Would be my 4th trip to St. Mary’s Glacier, 20 minutes off I-70: Idaho Springs exit 238. 10am start – still early enough to secure a spot in overflow parking. Warm, sunshiny day…MUCH better weather than the trek last summer with my Sis & family. Cold rain fell all week that July (rare summer precip in arid Colorado)…luck of the Grecos 🙁
Seven-tenths mile UP. UP boulders, ‘cross thin dirt trails thru evergreen cover, more boulders…then clear, pristine St. Mary’s Lake, edges iced – lake located just below the glacier, ringed by bristlecone pine & thick willow. Snapped Colorado landscape, then started the next trek UP…thru a long willow thicket, glacier loomed LARGE ahead. Scaled loose rock & scree ‘round the lip of St. Mary’s.
Hiked another half-mile, peered down at decades old ice, thinly covered by the previous day’s snowfall. Early season snowboarders skimmed the glacier’s rough surface.
Air breezed cool. Kicked back & lunch snacked. Napped 20 minutes..little piece of heaven.
Glissaded a short stretch & made snow angels on the hike return. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Short 15-minute drive away, mineral soaked in nearby Indian Hot Springs. Dated enclosure but the springs’ hot water muscle-soothes whatever ails ya. Great day end. Head back in the game, tomorrow a.m. marathoning local at the Rez.
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- edges iced on St Mary’s Lake
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- glacier snow angel #noregretlife
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- chilly sip: glacier melt-off
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- hot soak before tomorrow’s run
SUNDAY – early start…but the closest commute of my marathon journey to date. 20 short minutes away, running the Boulder Reservoir today (the Rez). 4 laps ‘round, home before noon.
Unfortunately wasn’t feeling it this day. Good first 10K, started puking between miles 11 & 12. Finished the first Half; took a prolonged sit-down in nearby port-a-john. Felt dizzy/unsteady, morning sun & nausea zapped. Walked, jogged, started lap 3. Struggled mentally, tough time. Called it a day before mile marker 15. DNF (did not finish). Returned my timing chip. Dejected, headed home.
Quick shower, hunkered down with Ro, slept the afternoon away. LOVE LOVE my pup. Would reset & regroup the ego tomorrow. Whole ton of excuses – but at the end of the day, I didn’t finish. Failing is a tough pill to swallow.
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- all smiles Start
St Mary’s Glacier (melt-off sip)
You’d think after last weekend’s super long trek to Russia, I’d be kicking back/lying low for a few weeks. Not true, blame Ash. Texted a high-altitude pic last week – snow, alpine lakes, Aspens popping yellow. Autumn in Colorado. Wanna/hafta/gotta 14er hike before the snow blows…usually that’s September, so this hiker’s on borrowed time.
430am start. Backpack, pup, treats – packed, all ready to go. 2 hours west on Colorado’s East-West highway (I-70). Bakerville exit, 8 miles shy of Eisenhower tunnel, east of the Divide. Mountain road weathered by the long summer hike season – 5 miles of dirt & massive potholes. Road wash-out 1.2 miles from the trailhead. Today’s 14er destination: Grays Peak 14,270ft.
My third trip to Grays – first summited September 2012, returned last August (2015). Good day for a hike. Summer lightning season’s passed, day’s seasonal snow squall not forecasted ‘til 3pm.
Chilly start; kept Ro leashed thru the first 2 miles of willow thicket. Easily distracted by ground critters.
Shed layers before the first switchback, crossing & climbing the open Colorado steppe. Glacier remnants on the peaks, blunted tundra colour, nipping wind, tree line disappears just before 12,000ft. Mountain heaven.
Left to Grays, slight right to Torreys. Stopped & took in the landscape.
Not a lotta down time today…Ro was a climbing machine. Stop, stare, wait for me – then hastily UP UP UP. Dog on a mission. Crampon-free day, not enough snow to warrant the trouble.
Summit SUCCESS! Wind stilled. Took advantage & soaked in the magic.
Peaks all 4 corners, expansive Lake Dillon to the west. Ash ice fished there 2 winters back. Appears I missed leaf peeping by at least 2 weeks. Would have to slow-lane the ride home to see any remaining Aspen colour (lower elevation along the highway).
Hike day did not disappoint. WOW. Just WOW! LOVE LOVE my Colorado life.
Ro update: car ride snooze, followed by his favourite spot on the bed – out ‘til morning. Heck yeah I’m jealous. HA!
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- chilly trailhead start
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- willow thicket, open steppe, then UP UP — high above glacier snow
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- blunted tundra colour, nipping wind — mountain heaven
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- dog on a mission
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- impossible not to SMILE
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- westward: Lake Dillon
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- N S E & W, peaks all 4 corners
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- my 3rd SUMMIT of Grays (2012, ’15, ’16)
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- LOVE LOVE my Colorado life!
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- car ride snooze, followed by his favourite spot on the bed
Grays Peak 14,270ft
Driving 4 hours post-marathon can be rough (body gets mighty stiff), scheduling a massage at 6pm – pretty sweet idea 🙂 Passed entrances to both Canyonlands & Arches National Park(s). Giddy feeling, LOVE LOVE the massive towering rock. Hotel check-in, Spa Moab on Main Street, Thai dinner. Early to bed, early to rise.
Not early enough to catch sunrise, but still able to secure parking at Devils Garden Trailhead, far edge of Arches. Backpack heavy with water. Perfect post-marathon therapy: 4.2 mile desert hike, up & over boulders, dense sand, landscaped by tall canyon walls. Panorama more reminiscent of New Mexico than neighboring Colorado.
Under a mile to Landscape Arch, longest of the Park’s natural sandstone arches. Photo stop, long drag on my CamelBak, hike terrain shifted from ‘easy’ to ‘Difficult’. Brochure description: ‘Requires rock scrambling, climbing, and descending steep slopes near drop-offs.’ Marathon Saturday, Rock Scramble Sunday – heck yeah, count me in!
Scaled large sandstone boulders, UP UP UP – uneven arid terrain, but not 14er hike difficult. Cactus, sage, whole lotta SAND & lizards. Amazing vista, landscape opened for miles. Trekked another mile to today’s hike destination: Double O Arch. Brochure description: ‘Sandstone fin, reached via a challenging hike, with a large upper & a smaller lower opening.’ What they didn’t mention? You can actually climb thru the lower arch opening. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Mercury struck 90; car returned for lunch (ice-chest’d turkey/avocado wraps). 4-5 drive hour from home, work day tomorrow, what to do? Refilled my (CamelBak) bladder & started the 3.2 mile hike to Delicate Arch (Park’s most infamous landmark) 🙂
65-foot-tall freestanding natural arch…most widely recognized landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates and on a postage stamp commemorating Utah’s centennial anniversary of admission to the Union in 1996. The Olympic torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through the arch.
…formed of Entrada Sandstone. The original sandstone fin was gradually worn away by weathering and erosion, leaving the arch. Other arches in the park were formed the same way but, due to placement and less dramatic shape, are not as famous.
UP, down, UP down, UP UP UP – temps now soared above 100. Crazy hot. Body bypassed sweating, [went] straight to secreting salt – human salt caked ’round my eyes, sides of my face. …but that view. Yea, it was worth it.
Native American petroglyphs on the hike return. WOW!
my 10 day future: enjoying a marathon mini-break. Next up: R-U-S-S-I-A #noregretlife
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- desert hike Sunday
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- Landscape Arch
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- Double O Arch
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- Delicate Arch
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- today’s WOW shot!
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- Native American petroglyphs
Arches National Park (Moab UT)
