hiking

hike #54: Devils Thumb (Boulder CO)

Published March 30, 2013

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.)

: today’s hike destination: Devils Thumb

: Flatirons base

: Ro leads our trek UP

: W-O-W shot – my life in Boulder County!

: group hike tag-along

: end destination in sight

: Ro stayed back while Dad scrambled to the top

: summit roster signing

: SUMMIT PIC!

: group shot before Ro & I start Fern Canyon trail run

: wore “Y” cap to support BYU’s run to NIT semifinals

: happy dog, happy day

: crisscrossed dirt, snow, dirt then snow again – AWESOME trail run thru Bear Canyon!

hike #53: Gem Lake (RMNP)

Published February 23, 2013

Had been flying high for several weeks, marathon training right on track, successfully finished my 1^st 10 mile race Saturday past, then BAM – unexpectedly hit by the blues. Not 100% sure why…maybe one too many ‘All by Myself’ Valentines, maybe too much running (body needs a break), maybe nutrition/diet issues (have dropped too many pounds lately) – either way….

After almost a week of struggling with the February blues, couldn’t have been more excited to see my Colorado hiking friends – for a moonlight hike to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park. FAAANNNNTASTIC!

In addition to John, Annmarie & myself, we added Lisa, Paul & Terri to our Gem Lake group – making our team tally 6! Who wouldn’t want to snowshoe at night in February? HA!

Fortunately/unfortunately our biggest snow storm of the season didn’t start until after 8pm, so only microspikes (or crampons) were needed for tonite’s moonlight hike – left our snowshoes behind. Gem Lake is only a 1.7 mile hike (one-way) so tonite was all about the journey – and enjoying laughs with friends.

Snapped a few group pics showcasing our snowy Rocky Mountain view – WOW shots! ALSO snapped a shot of twinkling Estes Park down below – very Christmas card-esque. In addition to crampons, snowshoes & poles, packed a head lamp which I found wasn’t needed because of moonlight reflecting off the white snow. Such a BEAUTIFUL nite!

Our full moon dashed in and out of impending snow clouds until we reached Gem Lake, hemmed in by rock & frozen for the season. While Annmarie & I made ice angels on the lake, John unpacked a Bunsen Burner and fired up some s’mores. Seriously, my Colorado circle o’ friends ROCK!

Snow started blowing on our hike return but that didn’t deter us from stopping at the Stanley for some apps & light dinner (portabello fries were amaaazzzzing). Let the East Coast wait ‘til summer, every month is s’more season in Colorado 🙂

: group moonlight hike

: LOVE LOVE my Rocky Mountain view!

: full moon (in and out of impending snow clouds)

: Estes Park twinkling below

: making ice angels while John fired up s’mores

: hot chocolate & s’mores – ROCKSTAR circle o’ friends!

: Paul Bunyan’s boot (we called this Holy Rock)

hike #52: Mount Monadnock (Jaffrey NH)

Published December 31, 2012

No better way to celebrate completion of my 2012 Hike Challenge than to share hike #52 with my friend Stephen in New Hampshire. But where to go? Could there be something worthy outside of Colorado?

Arrived in Manchester on the 29^th in between snow storms! Literally started snowing 2 hours after landing – 8 inches of fresh snow which delayed my East Coast ‘welcome home’ party ‘til Sunday but…fresh powder is a mighty cool welcome of its own.

New Hampshire climate is not so different than Colorado with 3 exceptions:

lack of East Coast sunshine makes for lotta ‘grey’ days
lack of evergreens which makes for lotta winter season ‘stick’ trees
hard-core NH hikers are all-about 4’s – not 14ers. Elevations in New Hampshire shoot up fast from sea level but nothing rivaling our Rocky Mountain peaks. Tree line drops off at 4,000 ft in NH; 12,000 ft in Colorado.

All said, being outside & climbing a mountain ANYWHERE on New Year’s Eve is ROCKSTAR! And similar to Colorado, we were not the only hikers out on Holiday Eve. Epic hike challenge finale 🙂

Dressed a-ok for the sub-zero peak wind chill but could have been better equipped with poles & crampons. Ice on granite makes for an arduous peak scramble – and creates a bigger calorie burn. Selected the White Dot Trail to summit – most direct, but also the steepest climb. I’d select a point on our trek horizon, then we’d push to reach ‘the 2^nd dead tree’, or ‘the 1^st boulder after the curve’, take a break & push to our next target point.

Reached tree-line where our trail flattened for half a mile, temps dropped, and the evergreens & underbrush sparkled under a dazzling coating of ice and light snow…like something from a Jack Frost Christmas special — BEAUTIFUL!

Two and half hours in & one last scramble UP, then SUMMIT SUCCESS!

Snapped a few pics, took a short video clip, then blasted down the mountain side in quick time…sliding on my heels most of the journey. My Colorado seasoning hadn’t prepared me for bitter New Hampshire wind. LOL>

52 week Hike Challenge — yeah, it’s possible. Set a goal, stick a goal. Done.

Mt Monadnock (summit clip)