Tent, backpack, will travel. Weekend plans.
Just like all camping treks, kicked off with a blood bath. Ash purchased $20 tickets to a way way way off-Broadway production of “Evil Dead the Musical”. Funny campy comedy where you wanna sit in the back row – to stay out of the SPLATTER zone. Cabin in the woods, college kids slaughtered one by one, audience blood spray – what’s not to like? HA!
Tickets are selling fast for the bloodiest, groovy-est show of the year…
“My wife and I came all the way from Memphis to see Evil Dead and it was worth every penny! We loved every minute of it! Amazing cast and gorgeous playhouse. Thank you for so much fun.” – Haywood E. via Facebook
Don’t get me wrong, it was a super fun night…but these nuts drove from Memphis? LOL>
Saturday a.m. start – destination: Vedauwoo, an hour west of Cheyenne. Goal: locate a camping spot early & get in a day hike. Super popular climbing spot. For us though, it was more – let’s go camping/how can we avoid west-bound traffic on Colorado’s east-west highway, I-70? one word: Vedauwoo.
Known to the Arapaho Indians as “Land of the Earthborn Spirit,” the rock formations of Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-da-voo) attract experienced climbers, campers and hikers. This area is conveniently located off Interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Laramie (exit 329) and for westbound travelers is their first introduction to the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and its more than two million acres of public lands.
I-25 North to Cheyenne, west on I-80 to Laramie. 28 camping spots – luckily, located an empty one…that would have never happened on a Saturday in Colorado.
The campground is composed of two loops, winding around the boulders, slabs and cliffs of the Vedauwoo rock formation which comprises 10 square miles of weathered Sherman granite. The vegetation is a variety of Limber pine, Engleman spruce, Douglas fir and Aspen. The general area was once used as a hideout for outlaws. Native Americans thought playful spirits piled up the boulders. All the tent sites are walk-ins and some of them are so secluded, one might feel the “outlaw’s spirit.”
big boulder terrain & wind – 2 biggest differences between Colorado & our northern neighbor. Scoped out a spot. Pitched our tents. Chucked 4 good sized rocks inside. Time for a day hike. Off-leash fun for the pups; easy 3 mile trek to Turtle Rock.
Green aspen-filled forest eventually gave way to rocky terrain. Pronghorn antelope & beaver, today’s wildlife count.
The rock making up Vedauwoo’s fantastic rock formations is the 1.4 billion year old Sherman Granite, which is some of the oldest rock in Wyoming. The uplift of the Laramie Mountains that began around 70 million years ago, exposed this rock. Younger and looser layers of rock and sediment have progressively eroded, and this continues today. The hard granite of Vedauwoo is made of large crystals of quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, and some mica and is more erosion-resistant, resulting in unique, wind and water-sculpted forms.
Back at our campsite, restored Ash & Tom’s windblown digs…and the heavens opened. Piled into their 3-man & passed time with a deck of cards. Tick, tick, tick…hot dogs on the brain. Kept checking/rechecking, waiting ‘til we could evac & start a fire.
an old Nat Geo, twigs & 2-year old firewood – we have FIRE! Maintained a blaze, despite intermittent rain. SUCCESS!!
canned chili, not a huge fan…but fire-roasted hot dogs – FAAANNNTASTIC!
Better idea? Marshmallow s‘mores. Heck, YEAH! We should go camping EVERY weekend 🙂 Eventually abandoned our fire digs & tent-retreated from steady rain. Snug in my rug, held on to Ro ‘til he settled. Strong rain pelted outside. Nite fall.
6 a.m, clear skies & sunshine. Vedauwoo, pretty sweet spot (& only 2 hours away).
Evil Dead the Musical (The Bug Theatre)
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- Denver’s Bug Theatre
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- pre-camping slasher fun
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- luckily, stayed out of the SPLATTER zone
Vedauwoo WY (Medicine Bow Nat’l Forest)
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- road trippin’ with the pup
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- sunshine & smiles
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- Colorado Aspens…in Wyoming
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- dog model
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- happy hikers
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- water break
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- beaver dam
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- home away from home
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- cozy card game – campground rain delay
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- we have FIRE!
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- only way to eat a marshmallow
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- rain didn’t stop us — or these 2 climbers
today’s WOW shot at 12,000ft
Change of the seasons is a constant tease – summer for a span of days, quick afternoon storm, snow & winter temps in the evening. Spring is a tough time of year. Don’t get me wrong…I love the snow – just hard to make weekend mountain plans more than 2 days out. Either it’s snowing or I’m marathoning. Good life 🙂
Back on a marathon hiatus after my 50 State finish, this weekend begged ‘thin air’ adventure. [Registered for Sunday’s Colfax Marathon – but still on the fence whether I’m gonna compete…determined to train hard & run injury-free rest of the year.]
2012: my first 14er attempt was Mt Evans, 45 minutes west of Denver. Not expecting to summit today (most likely still a lotta snow) — but convinced mountain air would reset my internal balance. Good to feel small amongst lodgepole pine & snow-capped peaks.
Crazy early start for a Saturday. Ro saw the backpack & started pacing: WE’RE GOING HIKING. Dog stays at my heel, no chance he’s getting left behind. LOL>
Light rain at home, fog past Denver, flurries in Idaho Springs. Trailhead condition: sunshine. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Peeled off the parka, pulled off my cap, fast paced UP the first 4 miles. Temps were crisp, air was thin, the snow patchy – easy footing, hiking boots no crampons.
Lost tree line at 12,000ft & the wind blew. 50 mph headwind, little progress forward. Gusts shifted & I’d push ahead. Bare rock, 15-20ft snow drifts, bare rock again. Crampons on, crampons off, crampons on again.
HUGE smile.
Called it at 7 ½ miles – mile-half from Summit Lake, another 5 to the summit. Beautiful mountain day. Medicine for the soul.
Sunday 4am UPDATE: heck no, I’m not marathoning. Yesterday’s 14er thin-air snow hike kicked my butt. #noregretlife
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- 14er magic
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- just above treeline — FAAAANNNTASTIC!
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- lunch break’d behind a 20ft snow drift
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- alpine lakes remain frozen, still winter in the mountains
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- #noregretlife
Swim, bike – hike…triathlon Colorado style.
Limited to only swim & cycling since St. Louis. Tough knowing the exact right thing to do (while injured), to successfully prepare for next weekend’s 50 State Quest finale – a double marathon weekend: 2 states, 2 days, 2 marathons, 2 time zones.
Physical rehab 4 days a week. Lap swimming. Cycling every other day. Running? No miles, nada.
Technically, no one prohibited hiking. Not as much knee impact as road running, but the downhill return over boulders & trail debris – probably not ideal physically. Mentally however, I needed a mountain hike as much as I need air.
trivia nite w/ Tom’s folks
Fair weather week so hoped high altitude sunshine had burned off much of last weekend’s snowfall to make a (8000ft) Boulder Flatirons hike possible. [Still another month/6 weeks before Continental Divide hiking would be doable.]
Street parked at Shanahan Ridge trailhead, met up with Ash & Tom for a fido-friendly hike; today’s destination: Devil’s Thumb. Hadn’t successfully summited this peak since my 52 hike year, 2012. Honestly, not even sure it’s still day-hike accessible since the 2013 Boulder Flood. Never mind trail destruction, road damage from this epic 500-year flood still exists today (County Road in Louisville remains closed ’til 2017).
Overcast cool start. Pups were LOVIN’ an off-leash day. Whole lotta mud – hike day would mean ‘bath’ day later 🙁 Followed Mesa Trail to Shadow Canyon, took the split toward Bear Peak (& South Boulder Peak, 2 bagger possibility here).
Sloppy seasonal swamp gave way to ice & exposed snow as we increased elevation.
If you’re ever short on time or expect an early afternoon weather change, Boulder summer hikes are definitely the way to go. Short mileage, but killer incline – I’ve tagged our trails: ‘butt busters’. Half-mile stretches where each step UP is slightly higher than comfortable, a real glute workout.
Bushwhacking & possibly ropes now required to top Devil’s Thumb. Trail ascent to Bear Peak moved/shifted ~100ft since the Flood; the original trail a maze of battered rock & fallen pine. Snapped a pic, closest we’d get (route no longer dog-friendly).
Up, up, up another 500ft – over ice & snow, toward Bear Peak. Clock stuck 11 & we called it. No summit this day.
First hike of the season: timing slower, steps a bit more labored, lack of oxygen still noticeable. Mentally though – FAAANNNTASTIC! Nothing like snow, thin air & Ponderosa pine. Happy day 🙂
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- Marty blazing down Mesa Trail
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- the Flatirons
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- remnants from last weekend’s storm
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- snow & ice trek to Bear Peak
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- Devil’s Thumb
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- off-leash hike happiness
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- mountain therapy, Colorado-style
Wed April 27th: More Than a Feeling
Tom’s parents in from New Jersey for a family wedding. First night in Colorado? Trivia night at one of Ash & Tom’s favourite local brew haunts. As luck would have it, tie score. Solution? Air-band playoff. Humiliating…but memorable 🙂
Ashton • April 27 • Brought in reinforcements for trivia!! ❤ these people!! — feeling determined at 4 Noses Brewing Company.
Ashton • feeling proud • Sooooo won an air-band play off to “More Than A Feeling” at trivia tonight. With our parents. It was epic.
The Care Bears vs The Fates
Scotty Danger
Be careful what you say at Quiz, the Fates are always listening! Care Bear Elite had some parents in town tonight, and they brought them to Quiz. Then I went and opened my big mouth about, “how this one time, at Quiz…” Anyway the story was that another team had parents in town and how funny it was that they ended in a tie for 2nd, hence they forced to get up and rock out in an Air-Band Competition for the decision. Haha, laugh laugh, I said, “so just know that there’s that possibility…”
Having heard me say that, Murphy, the Fates, and I’m pretty sure some mischievous garden gnomes decided it was going to happen. Swear to Quiz, I did nothing to rig it, but after a 13-point Round 8 with a Joker, guess who ended up in 2nd place, tied with Christopher Robin had No Friends. Anyway, at that point I had to reprise the original encounter, so Air-Band they did, and to none other than the greatest of Air-Band-able songs, More Than a Feeling, by Boston. Classic, simply classic…
The video is now in my own personal archives, and I will enjoy it when I’m feeling down and need to laugh and someone trying to play air… oboe? I’m not really sure what was going with Christopher Robin, they seemed to be just going down a list of instruments throughout the competition. But congrats to the Care Bears who took it by applause. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t wish they had a good memory of Air-Banding with their parents!
The rest of the night was fairly status-quo, which for us means a better time than most would have on a Wednesday evening! Good Beer, Good Teams, Good Questions, and Good Doggies all around the bar.
Oh, except for Eve and her bunch who decided to ruin our new “Silent Seventh” tradition. Don’t worry Eve, I’m coming for you…
Stay Dangerous, people,
Scotty Danger…
