When my Colorado hiking buddy Annmarie asked about interest in a road trip to Yosemite (6 months ago), I said heck yeah. Why not? There’s tons of hikes & I’ve never been.
Road trip? Whew – it’s a long way to California but then again, why not? The trip was scheduled over my birthday, perfect way to celebrate – in the great outdoors!
Started our western trek from Denver – John taking the first shift behind the wheel to Grand Junction, near the Utah border. Gotta say I missed the next 3-4 hours as I caught zzz’s in anticipation of my shift 2-5am near Cedar City, Utah. That’s when we left civilization. No cell reception, no food, no gas. Car kill count: 2 birds & 4 rabbits. Entering Nevada, we drove hour after hour through desert on the Extraterrestrial Highway hugging Area 51. The truth really is out there 🙂
Daybreak…more cactus, lack of fuel – nestled among large scenic canyons. Located a small station just over the California border & shelled out almost $5/gallon. Next focus – food. Diner breakfast at Nicely’s, check done.
30 minutes more, Yosemite. Stopped for a few pics & reentered the lottery for Half Dome – an amazing cable climb high on my Yosemite wish list. Failed to secure a hiking permit for a Thursday climb; but no worries, there’s always Friday.
Lottery Results – CABLES ON HALF DOME – Daily Lottery 2013
We are sorry to inform you that you were not successful in securing a permit to hike to the summit of Half Dome from the Cables on Half Dome Lottery.
Another hour half to our campsite in Hetch Hetchy. Couldn’t check in for 2 hours – kinda weird since we were camping but no biggie, just road weary. Plan A – shower & sleep by a pool near the lodge (where some folks rent cabins).
10 minutes of shut eye, then was abruptly awakened by a fire marshal who commanded everyone to evacuate immediately. A HUGE forest fire – the Rim Fire – had grown quickly & was only mere miles away. CHAOS. No cell reception. No one could provide information. Just folks yelling to leave, leave NOW & instructions to go to a Red Cross Relief Center in Yosemite Valley (an hour plus away). Roads were closed west to San Francisco, east & south Yosemite our only choices.
Fire drama had permeated our group – bad mojo. Found a place to sleep, then sadly headed back to Colorado the following day.
The drive back via Fresno, Bakersfield, Death Valley & Las Vegas was far longer than our trek across the Nevada desert…but 20 hours later we returned to Colorado – John & I switching off every hour on the hour, staying alert in the early a.m.
In a world dominated by social media, we see only happy snapshots of our friends & family’s lives. It’s not realistic however that life rolls without any bumps along the way.
I felt a bit beaten at 5am Friday – but super relieved to be home. I pull strength from my Colorado surroundings — from the Flatirons (my mountains), from our 300 days of annual sunshine, from the snow. Colorado is my home.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We cannot build faith/character without being tested. AND it’s how we carry ourselves in these less than perfect circumstances which shows growth.
Yosemite will happen another time.
Disappointed, of course – but I feel a Colorado hike in my near future & it’s there I feel close to God.
25 Habits Of People Who Are Happy, Healthy & Successful
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- Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway (‘the Truth is out there’)
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- rainbow over Mono Lake
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- Tioga Pass Entrance Station (Yosemite)
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- Lembert Dome
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- who wouldn’t want to rope up? (climb envy)
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- Half Dome
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- bucket list climb – but sadly, not this time
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- Pothole Dome (8760ft)
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- very different hike terrain from Colorado
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- LIFE finds a way (growing thru cracks in the granite)
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- Tenaya Lake
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- Yosemite Valley
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- Yosemite ‘Rim Fire’
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- 30,000ft smoke plume over Hetch Hetchy (western edge of Yosemite)
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- 20 hour road trip – next time, taking a plane
3 months down, 3 months to go. Time for a half-marathon.
Left work early on Friday to get a start on the 6 hour haul to Moab. Surprisingly I didn’t mind the drive as much as I had been dreading. With Ro at Camp Bow Wow in Boulder, I took time to take in the view. Nothing like the drive on I-70, crossing the Continental Divide, followed by the winding curves through Glenwood Canyon to Utah. Beautiful.
Arrived in Moab, found my hotel sold out and was given a voucher to the Ramada – where they had reserved a room for me literally feet from Highway 191. ARGH! Luckily I was super tired; put the TV on low to drown out passing 18-wheelers causing my door to rattle & door to shake 🙁 Wake-up call never happened (double ARGH!) but luckily brought a back-up alarm. Ready to flee my Ramada rental space — looking forward to Saturday race day!
Race packet pick-up at 630am then parked at Swanny City Park where school buses shuttled runners to Canyonlands for the start of my first half marathon. A bit cooler than expected but soon forgot the chill. Gorgeous rock caverns made this race by far my most scenic run to date. Hard to peel the smile from my face.
Half marathon didn’t start ’til 10am – so had a few hours to kill. Could have carried a negative attitude about the wait, but looked around – WOW! – & decided to immerse myself in my geo- surroundings. There was time, I am strong, I could do this. Hiked up the canyon wall – the natural rock providing several easy hand-holds. No worries.
Who hikes before a half marathon? I do! What’s the point of a life journey if you don’t stop and enjoy the ride. AMAZING!
Grabbed a hot chocolate & lined up in time for our race gun start. Was placed in the last wave (no pre-qual time) – but on a positive note, passed more than 2,000 people before crossing the finish line 🙂
Overall pace was slower than expected but finished strong, literally sprinting the last hundred yards.
Devoured post-race oranges & bananas, then caught some zzzz’s in the park…soaking up the day’s sunshine.
Hooray my half is in the past – 13.1 miles to go and I’ll be marathon ready!
Got something even bigger planned for April – before my 25K trail race in Colorado Springs. Sky diving for the first time on April 13th! How cool (& scary) is that? LOVE LOVE LOVE my Colorado life!
Here are your results for the Canyonlands Half Marathon:
Your final time is 02:05:15 at a 00:09:13 pace.
You finished 1379 out of 3189 in the HALF MARATHON.
You finished 75 out of 129 in your class.
Moab Half Marathon (pre-race clip)
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- pre-race pic in Canyonlands Nat’l Park
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- more than 2 hours ’til race time, decided to climb UP
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- quiet reflection time ABOVE the other runners
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- last wave (no pre-qual time); so literally passed 2000 runners to finish
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- motivated by native drumming at mile 9
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- post-race pic in Swanny City Park
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- caught some zzz’s in the park before Colorado drive home
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- victory dinner at McGowan’s home in Vail
Hike # 4-0…woo-hoo!
A few weeks ago, new hiking buddy Annmarie asked: are you more about the journey or the end destination? After summiting 6 14ers and 3 13ers this summer, honestly I had to say I was completely 100% destination-driven.
Today – this hike – was all about the journey.
Started the morning at my friend Kimberly’s family’s cabin in Fairview UT. The plan was to leave early (Fairview is an hour closer to Moab than Salt Lake) but when I woke at 6am, I hadn’t thought thru the obvious….mountain cabin location. Hadn’t planned on waking to a majestic mountain panorama — viewed thru a mammoth window, in a room with 15-20 foot ceilings. Hadn’t planned on crashing on a comfy couch by a blazing pellet stove…with outside morning temps in the 30’s. Yep…just gets better and better 🙂
Woke Kimberly and went on a short walk while her family was starting their morning. Beautiful day!
Didn’t actually hit the road ‘til 8:30 – took one wrong turn (typical…argh) so enjoyed a scenic, yet completely unexpected, drive through Scofield State Park. From there it was smooth sailing to Arches (except for one police stop just south of Price :().
The landscape from Price to Moab was dry, desert-like, pixelated by tall rock-wall canyons. Quick stop at the Visitors Center (changed from fleece to t-shirt), then off to Delicate Arch (depicted on Utah’s license plate).
The 3-mile hike to Delicate certainly wasn’t challenging but the journey, the landscape, the amazing canvas of all that is Moab – certainly was hike-worthy. Completely lost track of time watching the late afternoon sun.
Perfect weather, perfect company, perfect day.
(Ro will be back next week. National parks do not allow dogs – so little guy spent the weekend at Camp Bow Wow.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB_p3jjER6c
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- the 3 Gossips
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- all smiles at trailhead
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- desert landscape (ice water is a good thing)
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- colorful sandy vista
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- Delicate Arch
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- hike SUCCESS!
