Mindy's Epic Adventures!

I'm Back!

2009-12-07T20:14:00.018-07:00

Ok folks, don't die of shock, but I'm back! It's time to catch up a bit and though I can't promise detailed accounts of every hike and crazy adventure, I'll do my best to share the best stories :-)

Before I get inot my trip to South America this past October, here are a few of my favorite photos from this past year...

Visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Virginia in March, 2009

Me, Matt & Courtney at Barboursville Winery, Charlottesville, Virginia

Leah and I took a boat trip to Fort Sumpter, here she is on the boat.

I also got to visit Jane on this trip! And met her boyfriend, Ryan

DC is one of my favorite cities and Jane humored me by visiting the museum of American History as well as this lovely conservatory.

June, 2009 Liz and I travelled to Seattle for the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon and then took a little vacation up to British Columbia. We drove up to Penticton to tour a few wineries and also visited the Harrison Hot Springs. It was a ton of fun!

Champions! Liz ran the full and I finished the half. We had a gorgeous day!Liz and I in Harrison Enjoying a glass of wine in Penticton

I'd always wanted to run a race on my birthday and I randomly found one down in Phoenix and couldn't resist!! Liz joined me and we had a wonderful time!

Pre-race pic, we were ready to Rock 'n' Roll!

Liz had the idea to make a cape for the race, and it was so fun!!

I guess I did a few races in 2009...here's Nell, Kelly and I at the Rock Canyon Half in Pueblo last December, 2009

In between races, I still found some time to ski. Charity and I are gearing up for a day at Keystone President's Day weekend.

We all had such a great time the first day, we decided to stay a second day and ski Breck. Liz and I at the top or Peak 6 or 7, I don't remember which one.

In August one of my very dear friends got married! Congrats, Danielle and Brian!

Our Colorado family picture. December 2008

Mike, Carrie and me

Last summer, as I have every summer before, I made it out to New York to visit my sister Heather and her beautiful family!

Jacob and Katie

Making cookies. Mmmmm!

Katie got to sample the dough, I think she liked it!While I was in NY, Heather and I ran Utica's Boilermaker. Jacob ran the kids 1/2 mile the day before. Here we are before his big race!

It's also become a tradition to go to a fun little water & theme park. Jacob is growing up so fast, he loved the Tilt-a-Whirl!

Heather, Katie and I on the Merry-go-Round

In May, 2009, my parents came out to visit. I took them on a "gentle" hike a little ways up barr trail and then back down. I think it was a little more than they wanted to do, but were such good sports!

We also visited the top of Pike's Peak! Yup, there was snow in May!

Now some of my hiking adventures...

The crew climbing up The Lost Rat Couloir. My first couloir climb and I loved it!

Sarah and I after a hike up to Barr Camp in August

Mike and I drove out to hike San Luis Peak in September, 2009 and brought Princeton and Cali

They were pretty pooped out after a long day of hiking!

On the summit! On our way up. The pictures are backwards, apparently!

On the top of Kit Carson with Challenger in the background. August, 2009 I think

August, 2009

This was atop the toughest hike of my life to this point! Such a rewarding experience! I can't wait for more challenges next summer!

Crestone Needle after the traverse from Crestone Peak

Crestone Peak...again pictures are backwards!

Here's Cali on her way up her first 14er! My friend Clark joined us up Missouri Mountain in August, 2009

She's such a good little hiker! She especially loves it when there's water to cool her off! Took a trip the end of July 2009 to the San Juans-they were gorgeous!

More of the San Juans

Don't remember what this one was, but gorgeous, huh?

Whew! That was a lot, but now I feel like I'm at least a little caught up :-)

I hope the 5 of you that actually look at this blog enjoy it!

Another exciting day on Shavano & Tabaguache

2008-10-04T16:24:00.008-06:00

Shavano & Tabeguache
August 31, 2008
14,229 ft & 14, 155

This was my second attempt on Shavano and Tabaguache. The first time I only made it to Shavano before descending and then getting lost...feel free to read that post from May. So this time, when Emily told me she wanted to do Shav & Tab, I was ready to give it another try. We had plenty of time to make both summits, and no snow this time, so I was psyched :-) Little did we know, we still had quite an adventure ahead of us...

At the trailhead, ready to start our day!The beautiful southern SawatchHere's a view of what would be the Angel if there had been more snow. The summer trail was much easier than the winter Angel trail. Here we all are on the summit of Shavano. It was pretty cloudy up on the summit, but the clouds were very non-threatening and we made sure to keep a close watch on them. They looked more like snow clouds-I was kind of hoping it would snow for a little bit, but we never did see any flakes.

Jill, Chad, me, Emily and Jenny (in the front)The Shavano register w/a 14ers.com sticker :-)

So we hung out on the top of Shavano for a little bit as we discussed whether or not to continue onto Tabaguache. The clouds looked perfectly harmless, we felt great, so we decided to go for it!

Here we are on our way to Tabaguache. The clouds had parted and we had a beautiful view! After maybe an hour or so, we'd made it to the top of Tabaguache. Woohoo! After my second try, I'd made it! Summit number 22!Emily, Chad and I made it up first and hung out while we waited for Jill and Jenny to make sure we got a summit shot :-) Em and I on Tabaguache :-)Here we are beginning our traverse back over Shavano. Emily, Chad and I started ahead of Jill and Jenny. We should have stayed together... Traversing just below the Shavano summit. This was the last picture I took because from here on out, well, we were pretty much running away from a storm. Yes, a storm. So as I said before, the clouds all day had been not even close to threatening, but a storm came in out of no where, and fast. So we decided we had to get off the summit as fast as we could. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay ahead of it. We were well below the ridge, but still well above tree line. Not gonna lie, it was perhaps the most scared I've ever been on a mountain! Plus, two of our friends were higher up and I was a little worried about them. The storm was moving extremely fast, and even before we made it to tree line, the storm was long gone.

After a loooong walk back to the car, we'd finally made it back and we were relieved, but unfortunately, Jill and Jenny were still on the mountain with the car keys. So all we could do was wait. We were still pretty wet and knew we needed to keep warm so we decided to build a fire. Unfortunately, all the wood was wet because of the storm that had recently passed through, and as soon as we started to get a decent fire going, it started raining. Again. Go figure. By this time, another hiker and his young son had returned to the trailhead. We'd talked to him briefly when they arrived back at the trailhead, and told him of our situation, and graciously, he said we could hang out in his van with his son and their dog if we started to get too cold. He said they were planning on hanging out for a while, but I honestly think he was waiting for us to make sure we were ok; and I genuinely thank him for that!

So it was close to getting really dark out, and Jill and Jenny were still somewhere on the mountain and we had no idea where or how they were. We were getting a little worried because we weren't sure whether or not they had a head lamp or warm layers. What if they'd slipped on the rocks because of the rain, or a zillion other things! So after waiting for a good two hours, we decided that it was too close to dark and we should call SAR. So I went to get my phone, and who would have guessed, that before I even got my pack open to get my phone, Jill and Jenny are walking down from the trail! We couldn't believe it and we couldn't have been happier to see them! We were grateful they were safe, and even more grateful to get into the warm car and head home.

Yet another exciting day on Shavano and Tabaguache!

Sarah's first 14er!

2008-10-04T14:56:00.005-06:00

Mt. Evans
August 28, 2008
14, 264 ft.

So my best friend from High School had just moved here to Colorado a couple weeks prior to our Evans adventure, but she was excited and up for her first Colorado fourteener! We decided on the Summit Lake trail because it was shorter with less elevation gain for my flat-lander friend. Plus, it was a beautiful trail! This was our view when we started...

Here's Sarah and I ready for a great day!

Sarah's here, reading up about Summit Lake and Mt. EvansThe first little bit there was some scrambling. Come on Sarah, you can do it!On our way, the view was fabulous! And with a clear blue sky,

we couldn't have asked for better weather!

Another gorgeous view!
As it was August and Sarah was so excited to see snow! Lots of snow here!
Sarah didn't make it all the way to the top, but I was so proud of her-well done, my friend!

And the summit shot!

Road Trippin'

2008-08-26T18:51:00.003-06:00

A Lovely Summer in Maine

August, 2008

Before Sarah and I headed across the country we spent a few days enjoying beautiful Maine! I got to meet some of Sarah's friends and had a fun night of dinner and played a couple games of "Scene It; Friend's Edition" and it was a ton of fun! But before long, it was time to hit the road! Day 1, on our way to New York!
Sarah drove for the first two days, a total of 18 hours or so. It's ok, I entertained us both ;-)
By the end of Day 2, we'd arrived in Chicago and because we'd crossed into Central Time, we gained an hour. It was great! Here we are enjoying a coctail in the Lounge of the John Hancock Building. What a view...I wish I had a picture!
That night, after a little window shopping, we'd heard about the pizza place to eat at, so we had to check it out. Giordano's. And it was, the best pizza I've ever had!
We enjoyed our hotel room-The Inn of Chicago, right on the Magnificent Mile. It was the first time I'd ever stayed in a city before-it was great!

Anyway, the next morning we went out to explore the city. We started at the Navy Pier.

We rode the ferris wheel...
...then to the Millenium Park...
...and as we walked through the park, we heard an orchestra rehearsing, and it was incredible. It reminded me of a time when I used to be on a stage like that. I missed it a little. They were performing the following night, but we would be in Colorado by then. But we had some exciting plans for that night..."Wicked"

my new favorite musical!
Here we are in our hotel on our way out to the show. It was so great, I'm still listening to the soundtrack!
We had a great time in Chicago, but the next morning we had to leave early so we could get to Colorado at a decent hour. It was a looong last day, but we made it, safe and sound, all the way home :-)

2008-08-26T18:11:00.004-06:00

Visiting the Family!
July, 2008
I had a wonderful week visiting with my sister and her family. It was wonderful spending time with her two beautiful children and seeing how much they've grown in the past year since I last saw them.

The weather wasn't always the best, so we found ways to entertain oursleves inside. They have a Wii, and it was my first experience with this wonderful game! Jacob's favorite was Dance Dance Revolution. I have to say, he was better than me!

Heather loved it too!
Even Katie's practicing for when she's old enough to play!
We did have one beautiful morning when we got to go to the Utica Zoo! It was so fun to see how excited these kiddos were seeing all the animals! They loved it!
One of my favorite parts of my visit was getting to hang out with Jacob and Katie together. It's amazing how well they got along! I never remembered being like that with my brothers ;-) It was so great to see them as such good friends and I know their bond will only grow stronger over time.
Such cuties!
Sliiiding!
What a precisous moment, Katie reading with Daddy

After postponing it due to weather, we made it to the water park the day before I had to fly out. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we had such a blast! Jacob loved the rides, and we were so proud of him for going on some really big rides! Here's Heather and Jacob (and me) on the Scrambler!
One of my favorites...brother and sister flying high!
Drive safe, Jacob! Ring that bell, Katie!
After some fun on the rides, we decided it was time to hit the slides :-) We went on one all together and then Jacob and I went on a really fast one and he was so brave! So then he wanted to go on it again, and again, and again! Here we are eating some lunch waiting for the circus to start.
We had a wonderful day at the park and a fabulous visit! One of the days I was in NY, I got to drive up to Syracuse to catch a ride with my cousin to have lunch with my aunt and uncle and other cousin and her husband. I hadn't see everyone in years, so it was wonderful to get to spend some time with them! After lunch, I drove back to Syracuse with Melissa and we ended up hanging out and talking for hours!I love New York and can't wait to go back!

The Sawtooth

2008-08-26T17:10:00.005-06:00

Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans (though we didn't quite make it to the top of Evans...)
July, 2008

What a beautiful day! Or at least it started out that way.

For all the 14ers we've done, my brother and I had never done a 14er together. So while his wife was out of town, he and I headed to the hills for a very memorable hike! Mike is posing here with Bierstadt and the Sawtooth in the background. Mike and I had both already done Bierstadt, so it was a pretty quick hike to the summit. We stopped a couple times to talk to other hikers on the trail, but not too many people were out, as it was a Tuesday. Really random, though, I met the sister of two of my students from school. Small world!
It was beautiful on the summit and it was the perfect temperature, I could have stayed up there all day! We had a snack, started getting pumped for the Sawtooth and met a couple of other hikers who were thinking of the Sawtooth, so we invited them to come along with us. So Becky and another guy (I forget his name!) joined us. Here are Becky and Mike as we begin crossing the Sawtooth. I was really encouraged because it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be. It definitely looks a lot scarier than it really is. The only thing scary about this traverse were the clouds we were watching form all around us. As we continued the traverse, we also watched the clouds grow darker...
We made it to the saddle of the Sawtooth and found ourselves stuck. We looked up at Evans, and dark thunderclouds crowded the summit. We looked behind us thinking we could just go back up and over Bierstadt, but those clouds were even more ominous. So, instead of sliding down the face of the Sawtooth, we decided to just sit and wait it out.
The clouds eventually cleared over Evans and we continued quickly on our way. It started getting a little steeper with some more exposure, but it was a lot of fun!
We made it to the ridge, stopped to take a break, and five minutes was all that was needed for more clouds to roll in. That is the summit-that is how close we came. Now you're probably thinking, "Those clouds don't look that bad, why didn't you just go for it?" Well, it was one of the most difficult decisions we'd made, but...

...this is what was coming from the other direction, straight for us. We contemplated dropping our packs and racing up to the summit, but when we saw lightning touch down just over the summit of Spaulding, we realized it was too close and we needed to get down as quickly as we could. There's nothing more disappointing than getting so close to a summit and turning around, but it's just not worth the risk.

We hiked quickly, but carefully down the ridge, but realized that as we were getting hailed on, we were right where lightning could strike any minute, so we ducked under a rock to wait out the storm and protect ourselves from the lightning. I'm not sure if this was any safer, but it was kind of fun!

The hail let up and the storm passed. Part of me wanted to go back to the summit, we were less than an hour from the top, but we had no idea whether or not we were safe from other potential storms, so we decided to continue on down towards our car.I'm not sure we were really following a trail, but we did all we could to avoid the willows and the myriad of little rivers flowing as a result of all the snow we got this winter. Every now and again we'd look back at the summit and there was nothing but blue sky (grrr!), but I still don't regret our decision. By the time we made it back to the car, it was beginning to rain again. Here's one last look at the Sawtooth. Evans, I'll be back soon to get you!

Even though we didn't quite reach our goal, the Sawtooth had been on my list since last summer and I was grateful to have put that under my belt. And of course, I'm always thankful when everyone returns safely. We met some new people, and I had a blast hiking with my big brother ;-)

Tanzania, one of my new favorite places!

2008-07-04T09:18:00.021-06:00

Mt. Kilimanjaro

19,340ft

"The Rooftop of Africa"

June 19-24, 2008

The last of the New Life Church mission teams left on the evening of June 16. Our pastors, Aaron and Evan wished us luck on our adventure hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro and they got on the buses too, bound for the Nairobi airport. Emily and I stood in the parking lot of the Guest House where we were staying and waved goodbye. We were on our own in Africa.

We stayed an extra day in Nairobi and ended up running all over the city trying to exchange my traveller's cheques. Remind me never to use those silly things again! Despite the challenge, or perhaps because of, it ended up being a great day and we got to experience downtown Nairobi and we made it to the bank and safely home-though not before stopping at one of our favorite cafes, Nairobi Java House.

It's hard to see, but this is Simba Street!
More of downtown Nairobi
One of my other favorite experiences was the taxi ride. It was actually a taxi bus and we were on our way to the center of Nairobi when we heard something on the radio that sounded a little familiar...were they saying, Barack Obama! It was a fun reggae song about Obama and all Emily and I could do was laugh! As most of you probably know, Barack's father is from Kenya and they all love him there and everyone wants to know if we're going to vote for the "hope of America". Oh boy!

We spent one more night in Nairobi and then woke up early the next morning to catch our shuttle heading down to Moshi. We were finally getting closer to our next adventure!

We boarded our shuttle, thankful it was there to pick us up because were weren't exactly sure it was actually going to happen. Against my better judgement, we bought two round trip tickets, which would come back to haunt us later. The bus company we used, Jamii, were aweful and totally tried to take advantage of two American women traveling alone, assuming we didn't really know what we were doing. Little did they know who they were messing with...boy I straightened them out, but the lesson I learned, was only buy what you need when you need it.

So anyway, back to the story, we started on our long and bumpy ride down to Moshi. The boarder crossing was fun, we got completely assaulted by con-artists trying to exchange money with us and overwhelmed by Massai women adorning us with their jewelry to sell. I will from now on, fly into the Kilimanjaro Airport. It was a slightly different situation for us because we were already in Nairobi for other reasons, so it didn't make sense to fly from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro, but I wish somehow we could have just avoided all this nonesense with the shuttle!

Well, seven hours and two buses later, we arrived in Moshi!! We'd made it! Now we just had to find Ady, our contact and new friend, though we'd never met him before. The bus dropped us off at a taxi station and once again, we were mobbed by all kinds of taxi drivers wanting to take us wherever we wanted to go. The trouble was, we didn't know where we were going! One of the taxi drivers graciously let us borrow his cell phone and we called Ady and he was there in no time. And we met, for the first time, someone who would become a great friend in the days to come.

Now this is not the fun part of the story, so I'm going to be brief because this was just a small hitch in our adventure. Plus, it's good information for anyone planning to hike Kilimanjaro in the future. As it turned out, the company we used to book our trip mislead us and in my opinion, cheated us, and booked us not with the company we asked for, but another one I had never even heard of. We wanted to climb Kilimanjaro with Zara Tours and the people at Zara were so incredibly helpful to make it happen. Adventures Within Reach, however, was definitely not making it easy for us. But in the end, it all worked out and we were able to climb with Zara, the company about which we had heard so many wonderful things!! My advise would be to book directly through Zara-they are so helpful and simply wonderful people!

In the middle of all the craziness and stress of trying to get our trip figured out, God gave us this beautiful, and uncommon view of Kilimanjaro the first afternoon we were in Moshi. For me, it was kind of a reminder of the beauty of God's creation and the blessing that it was to be, experiencing something I'd only dared to dream of. This time of year (June), the summit is often covered in clouds hiding the peak. But on our first night in Moshi, the skies cleared enough for us to be mesmerized by this spectacular view. I could hardly take my eyes off it!

We stayed the two nights prior to our hike at the Springsland Hotel. It was beautiful, even though the rooms were tight. We enjoyed hanging out and just relaxing and decompressing from our mission trip the two previous weeks. It was much needed!
Emily got some great pictures of the flowers and grounds of the Springsland Hotel.
We often enjoyed our morning tea in these beautiful gardens!
I don't think we could have asked for a better backdrop. I swear, it's real! In just five short days, we'd be at the summit!

DAY ONE

After resting at the Springsland and touring the town of Moshi, June 19th, the day of our departure, had arrived. We were packed, dressed and ready to go! Here's the first picture, just before we left the Springsland Hotel bound for the Machame Gate to begin our 6 day trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro!

Emily, Ady, John (our Guide) and me
We drove about an hour to the gate where we signed in, and waited, waited, and then waited some more. We had to wait for our permits or something. All I know is that it was cold and wet. All I wanted to do was get moving! I certainly learned patience during this time. "Hurry up and wait" became a phrase we used often...
Machame Gate, 5,400 feet

As we waited, we had lots of opportunities to take pictures. Emily got one of the warnings posted. It was pretty amusing. I wish everyone would have seen the "Do not litter" part. It was unfortunate that we saw so much trash and especially toilet paper on the trail.
Here are the porters getting everything ready to bring up the trail.

These guys are my heroes, they were truly incredible!

Finally, we got to start up the trail. It was pretty wet and while moving through the rainforest, this first biome of Kilimanjaro, hikers would normally see monkeys swinging from tree branch to tree branch. Unfortunately, the only ones we saw were at the very beginning of our hike, and then no more. The first day, we only hiked for about 4 hours and John let us go at our own pace. He warned us, however, that the next day he would go first and we'd follow him, "Pole, pole", Swahili for "Slowly!" To this day, I'm not exactly sure why we have to go so slowly, but I guess it's so we don't get too tired or become suceptible to altitude sickness. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, we got to look around and enjoy the scenery more, which I really enjoyed, especially once we got above the clouds!
No, this is not where we stayed. We slept in tents, this was just the cabin where we had to sign in to prove we were there. It was kind of neat to look through the roster and see where other people were from. There were certainly a lot of Americans, but there were also a good number of Brits and other Europeans; some South Africans, and a couple from South America.

This is our team, our amazing team!

Setting up the tents...I guess this one goes somewhere else!
There we are, me and Ady, we'd made it to Machame Hut Camp at 10,170ft.This picture above shows just how spoiled we were. Every afternoon when we arrived at camp, Robert would bring us warm "Water for Washing". Those of you that know me know I love camping and getting all dirty, but getting to wash every morning and afternoon, well it was heavenly!
After "Water for Washing", we went to our dinner tent and had some yummy popcorn, biscuits and tea. Mmmm! I was hungry!

DAY TWO

After a good night sleep, and truly it was, we started our second day on the mountain. After only a couple of hours, we found ourselves above the clouds.

Below's a look at the trail, but a little further up, we caught our first glimpse of...

The Summit!

It was truly amazing and I'm pretty sure my heart skipped a beat! (even the memory still takes my breath away a little!)

After catching my breath, we continued on a little way to our lunch spot. I think overall, lunches were my favorite meals. Here's Emily digging into some chicken. Mmmm, protein!

"Food is fuel" became an encouraging motivation for us. Sometimes as we got to higher altitudes, I didn't always feel like eating, which is normal, I guess.

After a nice lunch break and admiring the summit again, we continued on our way. There's John in the front, setting the pace...pole, pole!

Here's John again, our fearless leader! We reached Shira Hut Camp, (12,300ft) early in the afternoon and after a short rest, we set out for a brief acclimatization hike. It was great! We had the trail to ourselves (a unique experience on Kilimanjaro) and such a fabulous view of the summit!
Ady, John, Emily and RobertJohn, me, Ady and Emily
Walking on clouds!
Mezmerizing, isn't it?
Shira Hut Camp. As you can see, we weren't the only ones...

DAY THREE

Day three we started hiking and I remember it being pretty quiet most of the morning, we were all just sort of chuggin' along. This was until, however we arrived at the Lava Tower! Aside from the summit, this was my favorite thing we did! This was also the point at which we realized we were at the highest altitude we'd ever been at in our lives, just over 15,000 ft! The best part was that I felt great! I was really wondering how I'd do at the higher altitudes, but so far so good! It was so much fun!

So the Lava Tower is just that, a tower of lava from when Kilimanjaro was an active volcano. John, Emily and I decided to climb to the top, and a climb it was! It was the closest thing to rock climbing I'd done in a long time. Definitely a worthwhile side trip!

Some groups camp at the Lava Tower, hence the tents. But here it is, the Lava Tower!

Me, John and Emily at the top of the Lava Tower. Too bad it was too cloudy to see the summit behind us.

Climbing back down the Lava Tower-so fun!!
Ady, waited for us a the bottom, but now, I think he's ready to go!
As we continued on from the Lava Tower towards Barranco Camp, we ran into these plants, though I don't remember the name. Kind of funny looking, but when you lift up the leaves...
..these beautiful blue flowers are revealed! John showed them to us. He knew EVERYTHING about the Mountain!
A beautiful little waterfall towards the end of our hike for that day

We arrived to Barranco Camp late in the afternoon. The clouds were beginning to float away, but throughout the afternoon, they continued to dance around the summit, it was spectacular. This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip.

That night, while we were eating dinner, the most bizzarre thing happened. All of a sudden we heard all this cheering from all over the camp from various teams all over. We thought maybe something was happening with the Mountain and so I popped my head out the door of our dinner tent, but of course it was too dark to see anything. We had no idea what was going on! About a half hour later, it happened again, wild and crazy cheering! When Robert came back in, we asked him what was going on, and he simply said, Tanzania is playing Camaroon. Of course, the porters were listening to this soccer game on the radio! Futbol, as it is called in Tanzania, is definitely something to get excited about!

We finished dinner and headed to our tents. Because of the clouds, we had still yet to see a clear African night sky. That night, however, was the first time I had to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. When I stepped out of our tent and looked up at the sky, I think it took my breath away and I just had to stand there for a few minutes, completely forgetting how cold it was! There have only been a few other times I have ever seen a sky that clear! I would have loved to stand out there watching shooting stars dance arcross the sky all night! Truly amazing!

DAY FOUR

Today we started the day by hiking Barranco Wall. It was a lot of scrambling and tons of fun! Here's a shot of one of our amazing porters. It's hard to see, but he has a backpack on his back as well as a burlap bag filled with God knows what balanced on his head. These guys were truly incredible!

At the top of the wall, my heart skipped a beat, again! I felt like we could reach out and touch the summit! It was the closest we'd been up until that point and what an amazing view!

Emily and I had pushed ahead on our way to Karanga Hut.

Groups that hike for 7 days stay the night at Karanga. We pushed through in 6 days so we just stopped for a quick lunch and then continued on our way.

Emily, glad to have a seat!
This is a picture of Mawenzi, one of Kilimanjaro's three volcanic cones. Reaching to 16,890ft, it is also dormant and I think would be fun to climb...some day :-)
This is Barafu Camp, our last camp before the summit. The camp was pretty rocky, but we had a great spot for our tent. Wow, butterflies are returning even as I just think about this night! The anticiapation of what the next morning would bring was killing me! I was always at my best when I was hiking. Emily and I arrived more than an hour before Ady and John. Unfortunately, Ady was not doing very well and made the difficult decision not to try for the summit. I was so proud of him for making it as far as he did. He really pushed himself to get to Barafu, well done, friend! Next year, Ady, you'll make it to the top!!
We were over 15,000ft at this point and I was tired! It had been a long day. It wasn't a tough hike by any means, but we started hiking around 8am and by the time we arrived at Barafu, it was 4:30pm. I finally broke out my down jacket for the first time-even with the sun, it was pretty cold.

What an exhilerating evening! In about 12 hours, we would be standing at the top! A million things were racing through my head: Will I make it? Will I freeze? Will I be able to keep up? What's it going to feel like? What am I going to see?

After dinner, John came in to talk to Emily and I to give us the program for the next day. We would wake up at 11 to get ready for a midnight departure and hopefully make it to the top by sunrise, which would be a little before 7am. We would fill our water bottles in the morning with hot water to keep it from freezing for as long as we could!

It was important to get to sleep as early as we could, but with all the excitment and energy racing through my veins, any sleep I got was brief. It was more of a 3 hour rest before our summit push.

I think it was Robert that came at 11:20pm to wake us up, though I don't know if either of us were really sleeping. We gave him our water bottles, gathered our day packs and packed up our sleeping bags and everything else as quickly as we could. We enjoyed some hot tea and biscuits and then the moment I'd been waiting for...we slowly began to ascend to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro!

I don't think we took any pictures for the first five or six hours. It was cold and any stopping was to rest, get a quick drink or refuel. The sky was so clear, and although we didn't plan it, the moon was almost full and I didn't use my headlamp at all. I don't think we could have planned for a better night!

Soon enough, the sun began to rise, and it was incredible to watch. We weren't quite at the summit yet, but we were getting really close.

The sunrise behind MawenziWe'd gained more than 4,000 ft in elevation, from 15,000ft to more than 19,000ft in about 7 hours and it was quite a trek. There were portions that were quite steep and I think it was good that it was dark so I couldn't see where I was going! Emily raced on ahead with James, our assistant guide, but John was great and stayed with me the whole time encouraging me, step by step all the way to the top. He was a phenomenol guide!
The glaciers were gorgeous as we got increasingly closer to the top. The sun rising made it spectacular.
Another shot of the sunrise.

And then finally, after six and a half hours...the summit! I could hardly believe I'd made it-it was quite a surreal feeling. Emily gave me a big hug and I'd be lying if I denied that a tear or two fell down my cheek. It was so incredible to see the view. We were so high up that you could just barely make out the curveture of the earth. I wish we could have stayed up there all day, but it was freezing so we enjoyed it for a few minutes and then headed back down to Stella Point. James (our assistant guide), me, Emily and John

It had been a wonderful four days and we had succeeded! We rested for a bit at Stella Point and passed another group that was heading to the top. They congratulated us on our summit, and then one gentleman said something that was quite funny, "Don't forget, the summit is only half of the journey...you still have to get down!" And that's where we were headed...down, down, down!

We made it back to Barafu, but it seemed like it took forever! It was fun sliding down, though, through the sand. It was pretty soft and therefore not too hard on the knees which I appreciated! We rested at Barafu for an hour or so, had some lunch and then continued on our way. Ady had already made it down with some of the porters to Mweke Camp, where we'd be staying that night, so John, Emily and I contined on to meet up with him. The trail down was much more direct and we were moving pretty quickly. Our legs were a little tired, but I think we were just excited to make it down to camp. I don't know if we said more than five words to each other during the entire 3 or 4 hour hike for no other reason but that we were all pretty exhausted! We'd been hiking for HOURS on very little sleep! It didn't take us long to get down below the clouds again, and I lingered a minute to get one last look at the summit. It was like a dream.

Finally, we'd arrived at the Mweke Camp and we were reunited with Ady. He was back to feeling like himself, hanging out with some of our porters. We all had tea, relaxed for a bit and I really wish I could speak Swahili! Next year... :-)

As it turned out, we were really only another 2-3 hours from the base of the mountain and John gave us the option, if we wanted, to continue down and back to the Springsland Hotel that night. Emily and I barely had to talk about it, we both wanted to stay the night on the mountain. As for me, I know I wasn't ready to leave just yet.

Ady, on the other hand, was anxious to get back down to see his wife and daughter. So John went down the rest of the way with Ady while Emily and I stayed back. Dinner was great, and then we had tea with James and Killian, the two assistant guides that ended up hiking the rest of the way down with us the following morning. We really enjoyed getting to know them better :-)

The next morning, we woke up early for an early start to make it the rest of the way down. It was pretty rainy and we were just about soaked to the bone by the time we reached the gate, but we really didn't care. There's something fun about hiking in the rain sometimes, especially when you know a hot shower is in your near future!

Here we are, the end of the trail. We'd made it! James, Emily, me and Killian. We had a great time hiking down with these guys. I was hiking most of the time with Killian and I really enjoyed listening to all of his stories from previous hikes.
Soon after arriving to the gate, and signing in one last time, we loaded into the truck and started back to the Springsland Hotel.
There we were, back at the Springsland Hotel where we met up with John and then Ady joined us a little later. John was all showered and clean since he'd come back down the night before, he cleans up well! Em and I still desperately needed a shower but first our "after" shot! It was bittersweet, returning to the hotel, but isn't it true that all good things must come to an end.

Overall, we had an unbelievable experience and met some wonderful new friends. I would go back tomorrow if I had the opportunity, but for now, making plans for next summer is keeping me occupied and inspired.

After our hike, we spent a couple more days in Moshi and Ady took us to one more school that he has been working with through the Asante Foundation. Below is the Headmistress and one of the teachers along with Emily and talking to much of the school during an impromtu assembly. It was great to meet these teachers and see their school and all they are doing for these students. It is Ady's hope that through the Asante Foundation, he can help many of the schools in the Moshi area develop and receive the teachers and equipement necessary to properly train the future leaders of Tanzania. It's exciting to see!

On our way back to the hotel, we had one last view of Kilimanjaro.
I don't quite know how to close this novel of a post, except to say that I have fallen in love with Tanzania. It is such a beautiful country with such incredible people. It is one of my new favorite places and I can't wait to go back! Thank you to everyone who made this trip a wonderful and memorable one.

Ethiopia, forever in my heart!

2008-07-02T15:25:00.010-06:00

On June 1, 2008 I set out with my team of 9 other 20-somethings to the Denver Airport bound for Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia. We had no idea not really knowing what the next two weeks would bring, but excited for any and all of the opportunities the Lord had waiting for us there.

We worked with Compassion International, a child sponsorship program that works to support underprivileged children all over the world. We worked with three of Compassion's projects in Addis Abbaba and it was wonderful to be able to serve these communities.

The first project we plastered classroom walls the first day, painted them the second day and the third and final day we were there, we got to play games with the kids! Aimee getting the plaster up on the previously clay walls.Uzzi up on some homemade scaffolding reaching those high places.The crew...almost done!

Now the reward! Playing with those kiddos! They were so fun! Always wanting to teach us new songs and games! This was my favorite time we spent here.

The second project we went to was on Saturday. This day every week is when all the kids that are sponsored through Compassion get together in one place and the moms attend classes about nutrition, caring for their children and a myriad of other things, and the children attend Sunday School classes, or I guess you'd call them, Saturday School classes ;-) The morning we spent playing with the kids, and in the afternoon, we went into their classrooms and taught them the story of David and Goliath and then some songs of our own. I was amazed at how many of the children spoke English, but it is, apparently, part of their school curriculum.

These were two of the girls I met, and below is a video of a song they taught me.

The third and final project we worked with was a much smaller one than we'd worked with previously, but it ended up being one of my favorites! The classrooms at this compound were also in need of some TLC so we painted the walls, fixed broken benches and desks, and then decorated the outside. These were two of my favorite kids! Maharin, in the red, loved telling me all about the history of Ethiopia. He was an incredibly intelligent young man and it encouraged me and showed me all that Compassion is doing for these kids who otherwise would have no opportunity to quench their thirst for knowledge. When I wasn't receiving a history lesson or being tutored in logarithms (yes, that's right), they would teach me fun card games!
Sorry, it's so small, but here is one of the classrooms we worked in. Our third and final day at this project we painted with water colors with the kids, and they just LOVED it!

Again, a small picture of Uzzi, our resident artist, decorating one of the walls. Steph with some of the project children

One of the project staff members serving coffee for the coffee ceremony. Ethiopia is very proud of their coffee, claiming that it originated in their country. During the course of this activity, they wold roast the beans in the pan in the back left of this picture, then take them away and grind them before brewing the coffee in a beautiful pot. This was some of the best-and strongest-coffee I've ever had! They sure know how to make a good cup of coffee!

After our work at the projects was done, we had a free day where Compassion took us to a famous hot spring in western Ethiopia. It was fun to have a day to relax and enjoy the weather. I missed those kiddos, but we got to see monkeys! Actually, they were part of the ape family, but I think they looked more like monkeys. This was the hot spring where we got to swim. They actually collected the water from the spring into this pool and it was really warm! Nice to dip in, but not really swim. The actual spring was up a ways, but people would actually bathe (naked) there, so we decided not to visit that part!
The river beside the spring
One of the many monkeys we saw. They were like seagulls at the beach, it was crazy! See the little baby! Those little guys could really hold on when it was time to move!

On the way back to our compound after a long day...we were all pretty tired!

We left the next day for Nairobi, Kenya where we met up with all the other teams from theMILL that had been spread out all over eastern Africa. It was great to see everyone and hear about their wonderful experiences. We enjoyed the last two days all together and then it was time to go home...well at least for everyone else. I met up with Emily and we stayed behind, excited for our next adventure together. We thought we were just going to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, but little did we know what God was going to do on this "vacation".

Always an adventure when you hike with me...

2008-05-19T20:14:00.010-06:00

The Angel of Shavano
14,229ft
May 11, 2008

Be warned...whenever you hike with me, it's always an adventure!

It all started on the drive up when only a small portion of the road was blocked by a huge snow drift! Luckily, however, we had Crystal and her CR-V! After a couple tries, we made it up! So we all piled into the CR-V for the last few miles to the trailhead. Here we all are! Ready to start! It was already a gorgeous day!

Derek, Zach, Leah, Crystal, me and Rachel Checking out the map...maybe we should have studied it a little more... Leah and I ready to go! Heading up. Despite the snow, it was incredibly warm and I don't remember putting on my long sleeves until well above treeline. I believe I said at one point, "I could hike all day with weather like this!" Oh, had I only known what was in store...Posing with the AngelClimbing up the body of the Angel. I got to test out my crampons and what fun! The snow was just a little too soft, but definitely far easier with crampons than snow shoes. Somewhere around 2 I finally made it to the summit. I was bummed that I just didn't have time to make it over to Tab, but this way, I can adhere to the 3,000 ft rule, right?

Antero is in the background which is where this all started. In November, Heather and I hiked up Antero and she pointed Shav & Tab out to me and told me all about the Angel hike and I've been dreaming of it ever since.

On the summit!

Crystal, Leah & MeTabaguache from Shavano. If you could zoom in really closely, you'd see Zach & Rachel on the summit...well done friends!!Crystal on the way back down, enjoying the view My butt track! It was my first experience glissading. It was fun, but I'm not sure the snow was the best for this...kind of a bumpy ride at times, but oh what fun!
Below is a video of us working as a team to get down the mountain. Leah was frustrated with her snow shoes, and we found this to be a good alternative...way to go, team!

After this, I didn't really take many pictures because, well, we got a little lost... If you can see the trail in the above video, everything was completely snow covered and we thought we were following the right path, but eventually, we realized that something was not quite right and we had no idea where we were. Each one of us thought we should go in a different direction, which confused us even more! One of these days I'll learn to bring a map or compass, but really, it's these adventures that I love! I'm not sure the rest of the group felt the same way because there was quite a bit of tension in the air. It had been a long day, and a rough go at times, and truthfully, all we wanted was to be done!

Well, to make matters worse, Zach and Rachel were somewhere behind us. We had no idea if they were following our tracks, or if they had followed the correct path, all we could do was pray! By some miracle, and it truly was a miracle, we stumbled upon a trail with a map. Trouble was, we didn't quite know where we were going, and therefore, the map wasn't too helpful, except there was one little clue we recognized and decided to just go for it and by the grace of God, we found our trail and by 9pm, we'd made it back to our car! Woohoo! Well, sort of. Remember I said Zach and Rachel were behind us? Well, they hadn't made it back to the car yet and at this point, we had no idea where they were. To be honest, we'd thought they would have caught up to us by now because we were going pretty slowly for that purpose, but they were no where to be found!

Luckily, getting back to the car, we were all able to retrieve our cell phones and we called Zach immediately and they were safe, but lost, just like we had been. They had decided to follow our tracks, but when the snow ended, so did our tracks.

So there we were, no idea where our friends were and trying to think of what we could do to find them. Leah and Crystal were exhausted and so they stayed at the car in case Zach and Rachel found their way back, and Derek and I went back out onto the trail...with our whistles! It's kind of funny because Zach and I had had a conversation about the whistle calls we learned in 24/7 survival training and sort of joked about it just earlier that day and there we were, using the whistles to try and find our friends! Derek and I went in probably a mile or two blowing our whistles, when Derek brilliantly looked up at the stars and realized we were almost directly under the big dipper. So I called Zach, asked him what he saw above him and what do you know, he said the big dipper so we knew they weren't too far away. And let me tell you, the sound of his whistle in response to ours was one of the best sounds I'd ever heard!

Big hugs all around, and then we called Leah and Crystal to tell them the good news as we headed back to the car. What a day!

It was only about 45 minutes that we were waiting/looking for Zach and Rachel, but it seemed like an eternity! I'm just thankful we all found our way back safely and lessons learned, bring a map, know where you're going and stay on the trail!!

Mt. Democrat-Possibly the Hardest Hike of My Life!

2008-04-23T08:05:00.005-06:00

Mt. Democrat
14,148 ft.
April 20, 2008

Humbled by the Mountains

The plan was to complete the Decalibron on this sunny Sunday morning. I was, however, humbled by these deceiving peaks. Three in the group, Zach, Karen and Andy were successful in completing the circuit-they were amazing! Brian and I, as it turned out, just didn't have it in us. It killed me to have been up there and not finish what I set out to do, but to be honest, I'm not at all disappointed with what we did accomplish, and at the end of the day, I was able to look back and think, what an epic adventure!

Karen and Andy spent the night at the trailhead-which maybe we should have done too-but instead we got up at 3:30 am (ouch!), packed up and were on the road by 4am. It was just Zach, Brian and I, as a couple others canceled at the last minute. It was a nice drive up, not many people out on the road at that hour, and we made it to the trailhead a little after 6am. Met Karen and Andy for the first time and two others, Sam and another Brian. We packed up our gear, layer up and were ready to hit the trail. We had to park about 3 miles below the Kite Lake trailhead b/c the road wasn't plowed, so that added a little extra onto our trek, but it was worth it.

We started on the trail by 6:30am. The sun was rising, hitting the peaks, revealing their splendor. We were in the shade, however, for much of the beginning of our hike.

From L-R, Me, Zach & Karen

with Democrat in the background

Taking a quick water break.

Brian, Zach, Andy, Karen & Brian in the corner.There it is...man we have a looong way to go...little did I know what was in store!We finally made it to the real trailhead: Kite Lake. This was the last time the six of us were together. We stopped for a picture and then continued on our journey. From this point on, Zach, Karen and Andy were consistantly ahead of the rest of us and were really making great time! There they go!

The sun continued to rise, and I got this sweet video of Brian hiking above.

So this is where is started to get hard. We were above 12,000 ft, not usually difficult for me, but the altitude we were gaining for the distance we covered was crazy and it just kept getting steeper. I didn't take many pictures from here to the summit, unfortunately, but to be honest, I was most of the time just too tired! I chose to forget that I had been up since 3:15am!

It was one of the strongest mental battles I had fought in a long time. I kept looking up at the summit and getting so discouraged-it looked so far away with so much ground to cover. Plus, I saw Zach, Karen and Andy gaining ground slowly and thought, if they're having a tough time, how in the world will I ever make it?! It was easy to let my mind wander like that, but I wasn't going to turn around, I was going to make it. It's times like these, though, that I really have to ask myself, why the heck do I do things like this?! (keep reading for the answer)

At about 13,000ft or so, I called over to Brian, who had been struggling all the way up, and asked how he was doing. His back was killing him and he was able to push through for a while, but at this point, he called back and said that he needed to turn around. On the ride home later, he told me that he was feeling sick from the altitude and really having a tough time. I commend him for getting as far as he did! Well done, my friend!

I continued on as the slope got increasingly steeper. The other Brian caught up to me around 13,300 ft and I was so grateful for his company and encouragement. I was still in my snow shoes and wished I had my crampons with me. I tried to hike up this last section, but it was so steep, I ended up "bear crawling" on my hands and feet up as best I could. Some spots brought me literally to my knees as I rested, getting ready for the next push. Some spots the snow was packed from the wind and pretty easy to find your footing, but other parts were beginning to melt from the sun and it was like climbing up sand where you lose two-thirds of whatever ground you're trying to gain! Talk about discouraging! Plus, beyond that, there was a new kind of exposure I was dealing with.

I've hiked on some sketchy scree (Harvard-Columbia) and along steep cliffs (Long's), but never have I hiked up a mountain of snow off of which I could have slid all the way to the bottom going God knows how fast! This was a new kind of fear-I couldn't lose my footing because I don't know where it would have sent me! This is where I really have to thank Brian for talking me through the last bit of this climb. With his periodic altitude readings from his GPS, his coaching and direction as to how I should make it up were what helped me make it to the summit-I don't know how I would have made it without him!

Just before the summit, we ran into the three muskateers descending from the summit. We had a brief check-in where we discussed the rest of the circuit. They were all still game to complete it but I knew that if I went for it, it would have been a terribly long day and we never would have made it back to the Springs so I decided to take my one summit and be done. Karen offered to drive Zach back to the Springs so Brian and I could make it back in time for our Paradigm meeting we had that night. With that, I bid them good luck and be safe as they continued down the saddle towards Cameron and I turned to face the wind and the summit just ahead... Slowly, with every step we were one step closer and finally, at about 11:45am, we summited Mt. Democrat! Victory! Here is the obligatory Summit Photo! Was I ever relieved to make it to the top! As I said before, I think this was one of the, if not the most difficult climb I've ever made. Of course, it didn't help that I grossly underestimated what I was going up against...I guarantee, that's the last time I'll do that!

Mt. Bross is behind me, the peak I had intended to end on, but it looks like I'll just have to save that one for another day...

We didn't hang out on the summit for too long b/c it was unbelievably windy! Brian and I started to head down and this is where we went our separate ways. He had stashed his snowboard a little ways down and as soon as he was reunited with it, he was gone! I, on the otherhand, went down the hard way! I decided that going down to the saddle between Democrat and Cameron was my best bet-there was no way I wanted to go down what I had just come up, though maybe I'd have made it down a lot faster... ;-) I did get to glissade down a little bit, but the conditions weren't exactly ideal, nor did I feel comfortable enough just yet. I'll wait for the Angel next month for more glissading. The little bit I did get to do was fun and next time I'll make sure I have my ice ax with me! It was a long hike down, but I took my time, enjoying the beauty of God's creation!

I fianlly met up with both Brians again down at the Kite Lake Trailhead. We hung out for a bit and I was grateful to rest-I so wanted to be done!!

The wind wasn't that bad down here, but we'd get these crazy gusts every now and again that literally almost blew me over! We waited for a little bit, trying to decide whether or not to wait for the other group and finally realized they were at least a few hours behind so we went back to the cars. These last two and a half miles were possibly the longest of the entire day! The end of the hike is always the worst when you want to be back at the car, but the trail is a neverending trek. To make it worse, these relentless gusts would come and freeze us for about 5 minutes and then die away at which time we would boil in the sun. It was riduclous, I finally just left my jacket on, convincing myself that were were almost there! A little before 3pm, we returned to the cars and I was so relieved to be back, I can't even put it into words! We packed up and decided to go ahead home. As we left in the shadow of these majectic peaks, I remembered why I do this-I don't know of many other things that are as truly gratifying as climbing a mountain!

A Beautiful Day on Quandary!

2008-03-24T20:32:00.006-06:00

Quandary Peak, 14,265 ft

What a beautiful day we had! Here we are, all geared up and ready to go! In less than 15 minutes, however, I'd shed at least two layers! "Start cold," one of these days I'll learn!

Ryan, David, me, Lauren, Dave and Zach

On our way up, with a gorgeous clear blue sky!

Zach and me

Still going...

Ryan and Lauren, taken a breather

Above treeline. We stopped for a little lunch and continued on our way.

Here is the first view of what I think is the summit!Getting closer...Zach went on ahead of us and made it to the top three times before the rest of us caught up to him. Here we all are! I was so proud of us, for some of us it was our first winter summit, and others their first 14er summit! Way to go!! David, Dave, Ryan, Lauren, Zach and me

And now the fun part-down, down, down!Taking a quick break to enjoy the view! We made it! Back at the trailhead for a victory photo :-)

The Unexpected Sunset Summit

2007-11-23T14:48:00.001-07:00

Humboldt Peak, November 18, 2007
my 17th 14er

For whatever reason, it seems whenever Heather and I set out for a hike, we end up on some sort of adventure we didn't necessarily plan on...

Last Sunday, we decided to head down to the Sangres and the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and we were looking forward to a wonderful day. We made it to the 4WD trail which had been greatly improved this past year, but was still pretty rocky and so we just set out and tried to make it as far as we could. Neither of us were feeling adventurous enough to hike from the bottom of the 4WD drive road which would have added anywhere from 6 to 11 miles to our hike. About 2 1/2 miles into the drive, we noticed a pretty large patch of ice ahead of us and so we hopped out to check it out to see if the car would make it down and then back up again. It looked great so we turned back to the car and that was when we saw it...we had a flat tire.

We pulled off to the side of the road, and to make a long story short, it took us forever to change this silly tire. The incline of this mountain road made it especially challenging...
The jack didn't go high enough for us to take the tire off, so we had to find some sturdy rocks. Yes, we realize it's not the safest thing, but we were getting pretty desperate!

After probably something like an hour or two, we decided to go back into town and get the tire fixed and then decide whether or not we still wanted to go for the climb. Thankfully, there was a shop open and he patched our tire and we discussed what to do...

Well, neither of us needed much convincing, though we realized that if we went back for the hike, we'd get to experience a sunset summit...something neither of us had done before so I reconciled with the fact that we'd be hiking back down in the dark and we took off down the trail. We took our chances and continued down the same road where we got our flat, and made it about 4 miles with no issues which was great.

It was a beautiful day...

This is a picture of South Colony Lake, a little bit of ice, but not bad. The upper right is one of the Crestones...gorgeous peaks!!
We made it to the ridge! Finally! I was getting pretty tired, it'd been a long day. But what I didn't realize is that behind me was a false summit and in trying to get to it, I led us up the wrong side and on a much more difficult path...sorry Heather! Had we stayed to the right and bypassed the false summit, I think it would have been much easier...ugh!

We made it! We took a couple quick pictures, but it was pretty cold up there with the wind. I had to take my gloves off to catch a picture and I don't think my fingers had ever been so close to frost bite!

We did get some fabulous sunset pictures. These are the Crestones...pretty spectacular!

It took us quite a bit to get down, but we made it down the tricky part with the last bit of sunlight which was a blessing because it was a lot of bouldering and headlamps would have been tricky. By the time we got to the car, I think we were both so relieved! It had been an incredibly long day, but a really great one!

My Second October Summit...and a Windy One!!

2007-10-30T21:28:00.000-06:00

Sunday, October 28, 2007

The agenda for the day was Mt. Sherman and Gemini, a neighboring 13er and one of Colorado's Centennials, but weather proved to be a bit of an obstacle this day, unlike Saturday on Antero.

We started at 6:30am and it was COLD! We bundled up ready to start and had to get a picture! I think I look like a turtle!! One of these days I'll heed Christopher Beard's good advice and "start cold" because within the first 5 minutes you inevitably warm up, but I still haven't learned....

This was our first view of the summit, before the sun even rose! The moon was still pretty full and we didn't even need our headlamps. It was fabulous!

Mount Sherman is the site of an old mining village. We're not sure what they used to mine, but the ruins were really interesting to see. I have to say, however, that with the early morning light and the gusting wind, it made for some pretty eerie scenery!

The sun finally poked its head out from behind a neighboring mountain. This picture does not do it justice, the sun was a firey red and absolutely stunning!

By now we were probably an hour and a half to two hours into the hike and the wind was relentless! We were getting close to the summit and knew it was definitely within our grasp, but it took a lot to battle the high winds. This is Heather to the left gazing upon the summit...almost there!

And of course, here's our summit shot! We didn't stay too long on the top of this mountain as the winds would probably have blown us right off! We snapped a couple shots and headed down. We had hoped to zip over and bag Gemini as well that day, but the wind was too much and we were both just as happy to get down as quickly as we could!

On the way back down, we took a short cut down the snow. Luckily, it was still early and the sun hadn't melted it and so it was pretty hard and we were able to walk right down. No gaitors needed today!

Before Heather joined me at the summit, I took this video which gives you a little idea of how windy it was!

I just remembered this picture too...gives you an idea of how cold it was. I had to thaw my nalgene before I could even open it and it was completely frozen! Yikes!!

My First October Summit!

2007-10-30T20:06:00.000-06:00

Saturday, October 27, 2007, Mount Antero

So as it turns out, my hiking is not over for the season...thank goodness!! This past weekend Heather and I set out for a weekend of hiking, not knowing what to expect. It is the latest in the year I have ever hiked, so it was an adventure! We prepared for the worst, but lucked out with some fabulous weather and very minimal snow, at least on Saturday...

This was my view on the way to the trailhead as the sun was rising.

We met at the Baldwin Gulch trailhead at 8am hoping to drive up the road a little, but there was too much ice so we decided to just hike it. We were in no hurry and the extra couple miles was a good warm up. By 8:30 we were packed up and on the trail.

We stopped for a little snack and met a few new friends. Heather called them Grey Jays, but apparently, they'll eat right out of your hand! It was pretty fun!!

After some food and fun with the birds, we continued on our way and it wasn't long before we were above treeline and started looking for the summit. There was this beautiful summit to the right of our trail that we thought could be the summit and we contemplated taking a short cut over there, but it's a good thing we didn't b/c it turns out it wasn't the summit!

We hiked a little further and rounded one last corner only to see we had been chasing a false summit...ugh! This is me to the left, a little annoyed that we still had quite a ways to go!

These were some of the rocks we had to cross on the way to the summit in the background.

Here's Heather on her way to the summit! We reached the top around 2:30pm, about 6 hours after we started. We didn't rush the hike and simply enjoyed ourselves. We stayed on the summit for almost an hour too before we started back down. We were enjoying reading the register, something I don't usually do. I saw a couple names from Buffalo, NY!!

Here's our summit picture! Mt. Princeton is in the background. The views weren't all that great b/c it was kind of a hazy day, but it wasn't too windy at the top and absolutely no threatening clouds so that made the summit quite enjoyable.

On our way back down I saw this rock about to fall and cause a terrible rock slide, so I pushed it back up to stabilize it...haha!

As we were hiking down, I looked down at my watch and realized it was almost 4pm and that was when I first realized we might be racing against the sun! We ended up making it back to the trailhead at 6:45pm just as the light of dusk was all but gone. To the right is Heather and I at the end of a wonderful 10 hour day :)

Race Pictures...finally!!

2007-10-20T22:33:00.001-06:00

Well, after a couple weeks finally, I have pictures from the race to share : )

Before...

After...and we still look great! The day after the race, we went for a little stroll through the city...this time with a few more stops : )

First, Buckingham Fountain. This is where we had ended our race the day before...I think I enjoyed it more the second time.
After the Shedd Aquarium, we took a water taxi to the Navy Pier.
This is Kelly's photography...very patriotic!
On our way from the Navy Pier to the Sears Tower, we ran into Bob Newhart, so Kelly decided to get a few things off her mind : )Before making it to the Sears Tower, we took a detour to the Millennium Park which has some very extraordinary modern art like this, nicknamed "The Bean", it's real name is "Cloud Gate" by Anish Kapoor.It was fun taking pictures with it-check out that Chicago skyline!
Next, the Sears Tower, probably one of the highlights of the trip!
A beautiful view of Chicago.

By the end of the day, we were pretty tired! Between the Art Institute, Shedd Aquarium, the Navy Pier and Millennium Park, we probably ended up walking another marathon, but it was worth it! We were sure to make the most of this opportunity : )

Chicago Marathon...A Survivor's Story

2007-10-10T12:07:00.000-06:00

So any of you that may have seein in the news, the Chicago Marathon this past Sunday was certainly a marathon to remember... Breaking record tempertures in Chicago for an October day, they ended up closing the race around 11:30 or 12:00 for a variety of reasons. They said they ran out of water, which I never experienced, but it was definitely hard to come by, but they for sure ran out of paramedics! More than 300 people were rushed to the hospital, which does not include all those who were treated at the med tents on the course. Five of those taken to the hospital were in critical condition and one man lost his life. It was insane-the worst race I've ever run! Fire hydrants were open, firetrucks sprayed water onto the runners as we went by. We were told to stop running, that the race was over, but as long as I felt ok and had water in my hand, I was running. It was a disappointing race for the fact that I had hoped to get a PR because I trained so well for it, but I ended up getting my worst time! On the plus side, it did feel incredible to finish the race, it was probably one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do and in that sense, it was a great victory. Regardless, I got to be a part of this incredible race which took me to Chicago, for the first time in my life!

Monday, the day after the race, my friend Kelly (who had also run the race) and I took a train back into the city to do a little sight-seeing. It was a long day and I'm pretty sure we walked the equivelant of another marathon, but it was worth it. Chicago is a beautiful city! I unfortunately forgot my camara so I'm waiting on Kelly for the pics to post, but as soon as she does, I'll post them here : ) We first went to the Art Institute and admired Chinese sculptures, Renaissance art, modern photography and American Art, among a myriad of other things. My favorite, surpirsingly enough, was the American Art collection. I really enjoyed the paintings of the early American landscape and of course, the mountains. I always thought the Monets and VanGoghs would be my favorites, but the photography and the American Art were spectacular. I almost could have cared less whether or not I saw anything else!

After the Art Institute, we went to the Shedd Aquarium. As it was Columbus Day, a holiday for most schools, the aquarium was flooded with children, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I really enjoyed the animals and the shows. Kelly tricked me into seeing a Sponge Bob show, but other than that, it was a great time!

When the Aquarium closed, we took a water taxi over to the Navy Pier. By this time, we were pretty tired and walked around for a little bit, but we were more interested in the Sears Tower and getting home! So we headed out to the Sears Tower but not before we stopped for some cool pics at Millenium Park! We barely made it to the Sears Tower before it closed and took some more fun pictures at the Sky Deck. Then it was definitely time to go to bed, so we caught the train and headed back to Kelly's aunt & uncle's home about an hour away. Luckily, we just hopped back on the train and enjoyed the long ride back.

Well, that's all for now, but the pictures will come soon, I hope, and then there will be more to share : )

Tara's Visit and two 14ers!

2007-09-23T12:31:00.000-06:00

I'm not really sure what it is, but I have some sort of infatuation with the mountains of Colorado. I am constantly awed by their beauty, especially when I least expect it. I've been hiking all summer long and have had the opportunity to take in some of the most incredible views, but this past weekend I went on my first Fall hike and was once again, amazed! Three words pretty much sum it up...I love Colorado.

Tara, my college roommate, was visiting in town and we had been talking for months about climbing a 14er when she came to visit. So I brainstormed and tried to think about what would help her to "make the most of [this] opportunity." So after throwing a few ideas around, we decided on camping in the Missouri Gulch and hiking 1,2 or potentially 3 14ers; Belford, Oxford and Missouri.

On Friday, Tara arrived in the Springs, and we were ready to hike! Zach and Jeremy, two friends from the Springs, met us at my house, we loaded up my little CR-V and we headed West to Buena Vista.

We made it to the Missouri Gulch trail head a little after 5pm, made all our last adjustments, loaded up our packs and we were off! We forgot to get a before shot, I think we were all so excited, well, at least I was : )

We stopped about a mile or so in on the trail to take our first pictures. I think this is one of my favorites from the whole weekend.

The boys being boys...

The girls

We made it to the fork for Belford & Oxford and Missouri-our goal for the night, found a great little campsite a little after 7, and managed to get our tents up and settled in before we lost all the light of dusk.

As the last ray of light disappeared, the moon began to rise over Mt. Belford.Tara and our tent!

I wish I had taken pictures of our little fire and dinner, but I guess I forgot, we were hungry! After eating and talking for a little bit, we decided to turn in and try to get a good night sleep for the next day's hike. We had been warned by another hiker who had been up there for the past three nights that the wind had been pretty intense, but aside from a few gusts throughout the night, it really wasn't that bad.

After a little bit of a late start (us girls were too cozy in our sleeping bags to get up on time) we started up the trail our focus on Belford and Oxford around 7:30 am.

An epic pose, about halfway to the top. Yes, that's snow in the background!

We made it! Tara, the flatlander, did great! I, on the other hand, was doing all I could trying to keep up with her!

Tara and I on the top or Mt. Belford with our next challenge of the day in the background...Mt. Oxford...

We only stayed briefly on the summit of Belford because it was so stinkin' windy and we were getting cold fast, so we decided to just keep going. Going down the saddle was fun, it was nice to be going downhill for a change! But inevitably, we had to start going up again in order to reach Oxford. After a few stops to catch our breath-13,000+ft is high!!- we summited our second 14er of the day! Way to go Tara!

Here are the four of us, Tara, me, Zach and Jeremy.

It had been a great day so far, two 14ers, what more could you ask for : ) Well, we had met this other guy on the trail who was shooting for Missouri on top of Belford and Oxford, so Zach and Jeremy, eager to make the most of every opportunity, decided to attempt the difficult and technical traverse to Missouri. As much fun as that would have been, Tara and I decided that two in one day was good enough for us, so we wished the guys good luck and they were off. We hung around the Oxford summit a little longer until the wind made us shiver and then decided to head back towards Belford and the trailhead.

Here's Tara on the rocky traverse back to BelfordBack on Belford for the second time that day, with a fun picture of Oxford behind us. The wind had died down a bit on Belford so we decided to enjoy warm sun on the summit for a while. Besides, we had plenty of time since Zach and Jeremy had gone to do Missouri, or so we thought...

Tara and I made it down Belford back to the fork (where we had left our packs) chatted with a nice couple from Fort Collins, trying to see if they had seen our friends, when Jeremy emerged from the willows! We were shocked and thought he had beaten us, but as it turned out, he started the traverse, but then decided against it and went straight down while Zach continued on. Well, we weren't sure what the weather was going to do, so as nice as it would have been to hang out in the willows just off the trail while we waited for Zach, we packed up and continued down the trail. We took our time, figuring we'd have to wait for Zach back at the car, but at one of our rest stops, we heard a familiar voice coming up behind us and sure enough, Zach had caught up to us! He told us his amazing story of the traverse to Missouri, and though I wish I could have made it, it sounded like it would have been pretty insane! Anyway, well done, Zach, three in one day!

One of my favorite parts about this trip was the foliage. Not quite at the height of it's colors, but still radiant!Here we all are, finished at last! Tara, did you ever think you'd make it up two 14ers in one day?! I am so proud of you! After a long day of hiking, what's better than a nice big dinner! Unfortunately, nothing in Buena Vista opened until 5, so we waited around for something to open. Tara and Zach were a little tired...

I really think this was one of my favorite hikes of the year. Thank you Tara, Zach and Jeremy for making it such a great trip!

8 Hours of Tri-ing!

2007-09-05T22:15:00.000-06:00

Oops! So, I just realized that I had downloaded the pictures from my most recent race, but never posted them! So here's the report from my first (and probably only) triathlon of the season! But don't worry, after the Chicago Marathon, I've decided to shift my focus from marathons to triathlons and can't wait-already-for next summer!

Anyway, so the Colorado Springs Tri Chics all started when I got this email from Helen asking if anyone would be interested in competing as a team in this 8-hour triathlon race. And me, always looking for a grand adventure, jumped at the opportunity! Plus, it would ensure I'd get to race this summer, so I was in. I trained off and on, around my marathon training and mountain climbing as much as I could but I was really just looking forward to having fun at this event, and we certainly did!

So the day started with the alarm going off at 3:45am. It's a good thing I'd done some pretty early hikes this summer...3:45 didn't really seem that early. (I think this is a sign I'm going insane...) Anyway, I packed up, met Dee and Helen (for the first time as well) at Dee's house where we loaded up into her XTerra and we headed off for Denver, well Aurora actually.

We made great time and got to Cherry Creek State Park right around 6am and met up with our other two teammates, Susan and Beverly. We finally figured out where we were supposed to park and set up our "pit" area. Helen brought this sweet tent that kept us cool and out of the hot hot hot sun in those long afternoon hours! This is Beverly's picture that she so eloquently calls, "The Set-up"

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous, and the butterflies were definitely fluttering around, but once the race started, it all turned into adrenaline.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the race, let me explain it for a minute. It's basically a race against time. For our race, we had 8 hours to complete as many complete triathlons as possible. It was a 1/2 mile swim, 9.2 mile bike and a 2.8 mile run. Competitors had the opportunity to compete solo or as a team. We opted, obviously, for the team and for many reasons, I'm glad I did, but most of all because I got to meet and compete with four fabulous and very talented women : ) So I wasn't actually racing for 8-hours straight, but we were as a team, make sense? Anyway, aside from being a little disorganized, it was a fabulous race, and I'd love to do it again next year!

Ok, enough details and onto the race!

I got this picture just after the gun-the first swimmers racing down to the water to begin the race! There are the leaders! The water was beautiful!

And here's Susan, in the white cap, coming up from her first swim of the day.

Here I am, getting pumped for my first event...the bike! The course was actually pretty nice, and other than almost getting lost, I did pretty well-29:34

And I'm off! Catch me if you can...I dare you!

Here I am cooling off before my run...it was hotter than hot early in the afternoon just before my run and the water made all the difference in the world! For 2.8 miles, I ran it in 23:05. Not bad, for a distance runner!

Cool transition shot. Dee's ready to take off for the water!

So, by this time of the day, around 2pm, the clouds were continuing to slowly creep in from the mountains and we were afraid we might get some lightening. Now, those of you who know me, know that I'm a swimmer at the core and having just bought a new wetsuit, I wanted more than anything to try it out and see what it was like. My team knew this and so after discussing it for a bit, they decided to send me out for my swim before they closed the waterfront. I couldn't have been happier! After my run, I raced back to the pit, peeled on my wetsuit-no easy task after a sweaty 3 mile run, by the way-and waited for Dee to come back from her swim. I had no idea how I was going to do in an open water race. I knew how I would have done in a pool, but open water with currents and waves from passing boats, there are a lot of unknowns. Well, after less than 20 minutes rest from my run, Dee tagged me in and I ran down to the water and took off. The water was a perfect temperature, though it did take my breath away for the first 50 yards or so. But as soon as I got into my groove, it was like I was flying through the water, passing people left and right and it felt great-I could have stayed in there all day! I finished my two laps and ran up the hill and tagged Beverly in for her next swim. I looked at the clock and realized that I'd swam it in somewhere around 15 minutes, and I was elated! I was expecting to make it in around 18 minutes, so to come in a little under 15 was far more than I ever expected!! Me in my wetsuit-I just had to!

It was a wonderful race and a fabulous day, but it of course eventually came to an end. Here's Helen, our final runner, crossing the finish line to officially complete our 8-hours of Triathlon!

The Colo Spgs Tri Chics with our medals! From left to right, Beverly, Dee, me, Helen and Susan

So the race was over and we had a bit of time to kill before the awards, so we went back and grilled some dinner, which was delish! We hung out for a while, I know I tossed around the idea of skipping the awards ceremony, but we decided to stay, and it's a good thing we did...we took first in our division! Yeah, we rock : ) This was our award which our fearless captain, Helen will proudly display in her home for us!

A great day and a great race. Thank you wonderful ladies, for making this such an enjoyable and memorable experience. I'm looking forward to future races with you all!!

The Beautiful Longs Peak

2007-08-13T20:09:00.000-06:00

Longs Peak, August 12, 2007

Well, the summer is winding down and so are my hikes : ( School starts on Thursday and I'm hoping to continue hiking through the fall and winter, but as the Chicago Marathon is quickly approaching, I need to start concentrating on that training. Even though hiking is great cross-training (lol!)...

So two years ago I attempted Longs Peak during Cadre Training, but I only made it to the Keyhole, because I got super dizzy from the altitude and never made it any farther. Yesterday, however, I finally reached the summit of that amazing mountain! The ascent, however, was not easy...

I met Heather and a couple of new friends at the trailhead at 2am, yes, that is 2 o'clock in the morning, and let me tell you, there were at least 25 other cars in the parking lot and quite a bit of activity! I was amazed! Anyway, we packed up the last of our gear and hit the trail at about 2:20am.

Here are Heather and I an hour or so into the hike. You can't tell, but we're above timberline.

So one of the reasons we chose this hike on this particular weekend was because there was a meteor shower and it was fabulous! There was one shooting star that literally streaked across the sky and was so bright, it left an imprint, if you will, across the sky that lingered for a few seconds. It was radiant : )

As the sun began to rise, I saw the silouhette of Longs appear and the keyhole turned a beautiful red.

Around 5:30, as the sun began to rise, we hit the boulder field which was perfect, because crossing that in the dark would have been a little tricky!

We crossed the boulder field to the other side of the mountain and without the sun, it was a little chilly, but it felt nice. This is when the hike turned a little more technical and it becamea climb!

Up, up, up we go!

This peak had some of the most amazing rock formations, had to be careful not to look down though!

Follow close to the trail...one wrong step and it could be your last!

More spectacular rocks

On the summit!!

Coming back down the summit was rough, but once we made it back over the keyhole, the sun was shining bright and it was a beautiful day!

Just beyond the boulder field we stopped for a little snack and we captured this picture. That's Longs Peak behind us.

I think Longs will be added to my top three : )

Wet, Wet, WET!

2007-07-30T14:47:00.000-06:00

Crestone Lake, Crestone, CO
July 28-29, 2007

What a great and unforgettable weekend! As some of you know, I set out with a couple friends to hike Kit Carson and Challenger Point this past weekend, but what most of you do not know, is that we climbed the wrong mountain! I'm almost embarassed to say, but the trail to Kit Carson and Challenger was very well marked and quite obvious, in fact, and yet, we still missed it! I think our eyes must have been closed, or something! Anyway, despite the fact that we did not end up accomplishing what we had set out to do, it was still a great weekend! Aaron, Matthew and I met Heather at the trailhead at about 3:30pm on Saturday afternoon and by 4pm we were loaded up and ready to go! The plan was to backpack up to a lake on the trail, and camp Saturday and summit Kit Carson and Challenger Point on Sunday. Here's what we did instead...

To be honest, I didn't take too many pictures on the hike up because, well, we ran into a bit of rain. And when I say "a bit", I mean steady rain for at least an hour. And a lot of good my rain jacket did, I was soaked to the bone from head to toe! My rainpack cover, on the other hand, kept my pack and all my gear perfectly dry! Luckily, it wasn't that cold out, as long as we kept moving, which made the hike up relatively enjoyable. The trail was fairly remote and didn't seem to be well traveled which was nice, but that also meant even when it stopped raining, we'd get soaked brushing past the plants and trees along the path, it was great ; ) It was wonderful! I remember at one point, Aaron asked, "Are anyone else's feet going squish squish?" We hiked for a couple hours, trying to follow the directions we had printed out, but it was not matching up with the trail we were on, and it had us pretty confused. We finally made it to a lake, the one we thought was the one we had planned to camp at, but it was not! The map had a picture of a huge waterfall with cliffs, and there were neither. Again, confusion... We ended up deciding to hike down away from the lake to camp and there we started a little fire and after about an hour and a half, we were almost completely dry! Unfortunately, I had also laid my socks out to dry, and you can see to the right, one of them got a little too close! Around the campfire, we talked about what we would bring next time...extra socks, fire starter, rain pants, etc...all things we had left at home, oops!! Above is the view from our campsite of the sunset. You can see the lingering clouds that had unloaded on us just a short time before. Gotta love Colorado in the summer!

So the next day, we woke up with the sun, made a small fire, had some breakfast and started discussing what we were going to do for the day. Would we leave our big packs and continue with our day packs hoping to summit something? Take everything in hopes we find the trail we were supposed to be on, summit and then take that one down? We didn't really know what to do, so we decided to just take our day packs and hope for the best. I think we were tired from hiking up with our big packs already. I know I was ready to shed mine! Anyway, so we hiked back up to the lake and as it was a much clearer and sunnier day, I got some great pictures which you can see below. As I said before, Sunday was a much nicer day and it was far more enjoyable to hike dry than drenched : ) So, there's not much else to tell, but it was definitely a great experience, I love the adventures that hiking can bring. Even though we never made it to the top of a couple 14ers, I found a beautiful, peaceful place that I will love to go back and visit again!

More Pictures

Another view of the South Crestone Lake (below)

Waterfall on the hike down

As the sun came out, all the rain that had come the night before evaporated creating beautiful misty clouds. It was incredible!

Not sure if this peak even has a name, but it sure looks majestic!

Another waterfall on the way down. I missed taking pictures of so much because of the rain!

Drying my feet by the fire

This is the map of the area where we were. We started at the "TH" at the very bottom where it says South Crestone Lake. We should have gone straight to the right to Willow Lake and then to Challenger Pt. and Kit Carson Mtn., but instead went left to S. Crestone Lake. We weren't anywhere close! *sigh* No worries, another adventure for another day!

These were some mountain goats we saw on the drive down.

Here's the sign we totally saw on the way up, and yet still went the wrong way!

Looks like we left just in time...this is the storm that was coming in just as we were leaving...yikes! I'd have hated to be caught in that!!

Visiting Family, a week in New York!

2007-07-27T14:42:00.000-06:00

Pictures from New York!

I had so much fun visiting with my sister and her family and

got some great pictures of my niece and nephew.

Making blueberry pancakes with Jake, yum!

Jacob, the artist!

Going for a trike ride!

nephew & aunt : )

Swinging, swinging...

The adorable Katie!

Girls night out! Heather's laughing b/c I'm beating her in Scrabble...well, sort of ; )

Thank you, Tom, for watching the kids so Heather and I could have a "sister's day"! We drove up to Olde Forge for the day! Here we are at the trail head of our first hike of the day...check out the summit elevation! All of 2,225 ft...whew!!

At the summit.

Canoeing! Just a couple of "Nellie" girls out on the lake!

So the water was a little too choppy to stay out on the lake, so we decided to head in early and went for another hike. We made it to the waterfall...or water-trickle. A great hike, though, and great sister time!

Mommy and baby : )

Mommy and son : )

Jacob at gymnastics! Such a little monkey!

Mt. Yale and the near death experience...

2007-07-25T15:25:00.000-06:00

Mt. Yale, 07.08.07

I see it's time to catch up a bit, I forgot that I hadn't posted my experience summitting Mt. Yale, and my near death experience! Well, not really, but it was close! The picture to the right is Yale from the top of Harvard the day before. If you look really close, you can see Jodi, Mae and Lexi hiking ; )

So just the day before Heather and I had spent 15 hours hiking Harvard and Columbia, but I had it in my head that I was going to do Yale that weekend too! Heather opted to go home, check out her blog to see what she had accomplished the weekend before and you'll know why she went home Saturday. But anyway, Saturday night, I drove to the trailhead and turned in for the night-I was out like a light! I had a nice long rest in my car and then finally decided to get going and was on the trail by 7:45am. It was a little later than I would have liked to start, but I needed the rest! So the first part of the trail was really nice, lots of trees, and the flowers were breath-taking!

This was definitely one of the more scenic trails I've been on all summer! It really made hiking alone a lot nicer.

Somewhere around 9am I broke above treeline and got my first glimpse of the summit. Yeah Yale, here I come!! (I'm not sure what kind of face I'm making, I think I was just trying to get myself and all of Yale in the picture!

There were quite a few people on the trail that day, including a group of 7 or 8 hikers with, if I remember correctly, 5 dogs with them! It was great! If you know me, you know I love dogs and it was fun because we kept leap-frogging each other and their dogs did great! Just goes to show there are well behaved dogs, and owners, for that matter!! Maybe that'll be me one of these days...

Getting back to the trail, which was quite steep by the way, I continued trekking onwards, and finally got up to the ridge, and everyone that had passed me on the way back down said once you got to the ridge, it was much easier, so needless to say, I was relieved, however, only for a moment. I realized quickly that the wind was picking up and that the storm clouds that had been gathering were getting closer and soon, it started to snow. Yes, it was the beginning of July and it was snowing! Granted, I was somewhere around 13,000+ feet, but still! I was not ready for this! I put on every layer of clothing I had and the wind was still getting to me! I climbed over to the other side of the ridge where it wasn't so windy and continued to climb. I reach the first false summit, if you can really call it that and by then the snow had stopped and there was very little wind, thankfully. However, as I stood looking to the summit a roar of thunder came out of seemingly nowhere! I had not seen any lightening or heard any thunder prior to this. I quickly scrambled down out of harms way. I sat, guarded by the rocks for a moment, comtemplating what I should do...now I'm not one to give into "summit fever" but it was killing me to be so close (less than 10 minutes to the summit) and turn around giving up the summit for that day. A couple of hikers passed me coming down from the summit, and I asked them how the clouds looked from the summit and where they were going. I was encouraged when the one guy said that the clouds were actually moving away from the summit and if I waited it out maybe five minutes or so, I'd be in the clear! Woohoo!! Just the news I wanted to hear! So I took his advise, waited five minutes or so, and then went for it. And just as he had said, the summit was clear and the clouds were quickly moving away. Even though the storm had passed, I didn't know what was in store for the rest of the afternoon so I only stayed on the summit long enough to get a couple of pictures and then scrambled down. As you can see, I replaced my yellow "Life is good" hat with my beany...it was cold up there! The other picture is of the storm that had just a short time before been hovering over the summit of Mt. Yale. The rest of the descent was quite windy, threatening snow the whole way and it held off until I reached timberline. I finally made it back to the trailhead around 3pm. That was the first time I'd ever hiked three peaks in two days! It was great, I'm glad it's over and I can't wait to do it again : )

Harvard & Columbia:The Longest Hike of my Life!

2007-07-09T09:45:00.000-06:00

07-07-07, an epic date with an epic adventure to go along with it! Saturday morning, my friend Heather and I set out from the N. Cottonwood Trailhead with Harvard and Columbia on our minds for the day. We met at 4am and were on the trail by 4:11am. It was a little chilly, great for hiking but by the time the sun came up, we were ready to be warmed by it's rays! To the right is Mt. Columbia as seen from Harvard's summit ridge.

You can't really see the sign, but Mt. Harvard is to the right...off we go!

We didn't take too many pictures on the way up, but here we are on the summit of Harvard. We arrived at 9:01am.

Mt. Columbia and the traverse from the Mt. Harvard summit. We actually went down in the basin on the other side of the ridge. I think the real trail was supposed to stay closer to the ridge, but we made the mistake of following the people in front of us. We ended up practically sliding down because it was so steep. There were a ton of loose rocks and at times, I thought I might end up in a rockslide! I was able to avoid some of the loose rock and ended up literally climbing down parts of it...well I always wanted to go rock climbing!

Here are a couple pics from the traverse. Truthfully, it was pretty miserable, but one of those good experiences. It really started to get scary when the storm clouds started rolling over Columbia's ridge. The only problem was that the only way back to our cars was over that ridge. We had two options, we could hang out and wait for the storm to pass, or keep going and hope for the best! As it turned out, the clouds only hovered over Columbia for about 30 minutes and then started to move South, it was great-truly the answer to prayer!

We had slowly descended the ridge of Harvard and came up across this little pasture, and with the mountains all around, it was very Sound of Music-esque.

Finally, at 4:09pm, 6 hours and 38 minutes after we left Harvard's summit, we conquered Columbia!! In the background, you can see Harvard.

This picture is from the summit of Columbia. These are the storm clouds that were only a short time before, stuck over Mt. Columbia. We even saw lightening, it was amazing! I do need to point out that we were perfectly safe though this whole adventure : )

The storm clouds were moving away, but nevertheless, we didn't stay on the summit for very long, just enough for a couple pictures, and then started the descent. After an incredibly steep descent, and a seemingly endless hike through the woods, we finally made it back to the trailhead a little after 7pm...making that an almost 15 hour day!! Aside from being a little delirious from exhaustion and hunger, we had had a great day, but we were really glad it was over! Now all that was left to do was rest up for the next day...

Yale, here I come...

Kathryn & Perry:Two More Friends Hitched

2007-07-09T09:11:00.000-06:00

Congratulations, Kathryn and Perry Bacalis!!

What a beautiful wedding! I only wish I had taken more pictures! The wedding was outdoors in a gorgeous park in Denver and the weather was perfect; the sun was setting over the mountains and there was a nice breeze through the collesium-like structure.

Leah, Sarah and Me before the wedding

This was the runner, 1 Cor. 13, very elegant.

Thanks, Leah, for grabbing this shot, they look perfect!

And the kiss! Congrats, my friends, I love you both and couldn't be happier for you!!

The reception was tons of fun, too, but unfortunately very dark and none of the pictures came out, but trust me that it was one of the best receptions!

Moonlight Hike Up Mt. Belford

2007-07-02T15:30:00.000-06:00

So, those of you that know me, know I love 14ers.com and about a month ago, one of the members wanted to do a midnight hike the evening of June 30 because it was going to be a full moon, and having wanted to do one of these since last summer, I jumped on board immediately. After asking around for someone from town that wanted to go with me, I had pretty much settled on driving up by myself and making some new friends. However, around 5pm, Leah Crystal and Derek called me and apparently, Derek had convinced the girls to come. Woohoo! They had four hours to get ready, and we were off!

We ended up getting to the trailhead a little after the big group, so we started up around 12:40am, July 1st.

Here I am to the right, waiting for Leah, Crystal and Derek...check out my sexy headlamp! Haha!

Temps must have been in the upper 50's, but as you can see below, I've already shed my long sleeve shirt. It was starting out to be a nice night. Once we got above treeline, we turned off our headlamps and were able to hike just from the light of the moon. It was gorgeous to see the surrounding mountains and the shadows the moon cast on them. I'd never seen anything so magnificent. I wish I could have taken pictures! Mt. Belford, the peak we were after, was only a dark and ominous silhouette, but it wouldn't be long until we'd reach the top. Not until we passed over two or three false summits, however. Oh, how I hate those false summits-especially when you're climbing at 4 o'clock in the morning and all you really want is to be home in bed! The last hour or so of our hike, and probably the most dangerous, I was fighting to keep my eyes open! One wrong step, and I could have slipped down the steep and jagged incline we were climbing up-yikes! Must stay awake!!

At 4:30am, we finally made it to the summit of Mt. Belford, and it was great! The crest in on the left, proof we'd made it to the summit! Unfortunately, we still had at least a half hour until the sun would rise, so we found a cozy spot and huddled together to try to stay warm! It was easily below freezing at the top and we didn't bring quite enough layers, so we did what we could to stay warm. Luckily, however, there was no breeze, so it could have been worse! To the right, is me, Leah and Crystal, and below, Derek joined the picture : )

The first half hour, we snacked a little bit, but mostly laughed because we were all snuggling together, and shivering at the same time. Not to mention, we had been up all night hiking and were starting to get a little loopy! Everything was funny and every time Leah would laugh, she sounded like an old man...oh, good times!

After a lot of laughing, the sky was just barely beginning to lighten and we got up, to get some pictures. And then...the first light peaking over the mountains. We were still freezing, losing feeling in our hands and toes, but we didn't care.

This made the whole night worth it!!

Admiring the sunrise.

Here is Crystal, Leah and me, back at the trailhead. You can't see it, but there's a beautiful river under the bridge we're standing on! Anyway, we'd made it!! It was 8:45am and we were ready for bed! Such an amazing experience and I can't wait to do it again!

My Solo Trek up Mt. Massive

2007-06-26T09:32:00.001-06:00

Mt. Massive
June 25, 2007

What a great hike! The summit of Mt. Massive was my 8th 14er...only 36 to go, haha! Here's a picture of Mt. Massive from the road. The summit is the second peak from the left. The trail I took led me to the saddle between those two peaks to the left, South Massive and Mt. Massive, and then I climbed the ridge north (to the right) to the summit!

Finally on the trail at 8:30 am, I started my ascent. Here I am with a beautiful mountain stream flowing. We've had a lot of snow this winter so there is a lot of melting this time of year in the mountains. I started on the Colorado Trail, but here I go, connecting with the main Mt. Massive Trail.Just above treeline, a great view.

Most of the snow had melted, but there were a couple snow fields I had to trek through. Lucky for me, I wasn't the first to go through : ) There was one snow field closer to the summit that I tried to go through, until I realized that the snow that had been packed down had melted too much and I was falling even further through to my waist. Not a big deal, except for the fact that I was in shorts!! Brrr!

Almost to the summit, this is a picture to the west. And finally, the summit! Check out my crazy hair! It was pretty windy, so I didn't stay at the top for too long. I met a couple who had hiked up the back side and had an adventure of their own, after losing the trail and hitting North Massive before making their way over to the summit. Losing the trail? I have no idea what that's like ; )Mt. Massive's neighbor, Mt. Elbert, the tallest 14er in Colorado.A little mountain goat! Believe it or not, the first one I've ever seen on a mountain!

He was cute : )
This is the trail...flooded from all the snow melting!Some pretty flowers : )

All in all, it was a great day! Unfortunately I neglected to put sunscreen on my legs and incidently, they got fried and I'm paying for it now! But it was worth it! There were some great views, great pictures and a great experience : )

Court & Donald's Wedding!

2007-06-24T16:03:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to my friends! After listening to Courtney,

my former roommate, count down the months, weeks, days and minutes,

they finally made it, Courtney and Donald just got married on June 23, 2007!

Here they are, their first dance as husband and wife.

The head table.

Donald giving a toast to his wife.

Sam, the best man, giving his unforgettable speach..."in Jesus name..."

Three roommates no more! Michelle, Courtney and me.

At the reception...Me, Leah & Sarah

Steph, the Bride, and me (and Layne's finger-lol!)

May God Bless the happy couple in their new marriage for the rest of thier lives together!

Rafting through the Royal Gorge

2007-06-24T15:30:00.000-06:00

Here we are, getting ready to go rafting! We drove out in the morning expecting to do some little class 3 rapids, but when we got to the "Lost Paddle" we decided to truly make the most of every opportunity and upgrade to the Royal Gorge and take on those class 5 & 6 rapids, and it was worth it! We almost didn't get wetsuits, but after thinking about it, we decided to go for it, and it's a good thing we did! The water was somewhere in the 50's and the wetsuits definitely shielded us from the cold : )

To the left is Crystal, me, and Leah.

Here we all are (Leah, Parker, Crystal, Jim, me, Heidi and Sara), suited up in our sexy wetsuits and ready to go! Our guide, Jim, was fantastic! He was a ton of fun and we knew that he was in this buisiness because he loves it. So, we hit some really great rapids, and on one, I literally felt like I was about to pop out of the boat, which would have been fun, but I'm glad I didn't! We had beautiful weather, too, and we couldn't have asked for a better day!

After the rapids, we had a bit of drifting time, and Jim said if we wanted, we could jump in and float down the river! We would never pass up an opportunity like that, so in we went!!! The water cold, but so nice and refreshing, too! We floated down the river for a little bit until Jim called us back and dragged us back into the boat. After he pulled us up, he, literally, piled us on top of each other and something about that was so funny to me and I was laughing so hard I couldn't move! I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard-what a great day!

So we had had a great morning rafting and now we were
hungry! So we asked Jim what was good in Canon City and he directed us to this great little family Mexican restaurant for lunch and it was delicious! We ended our meal sharing some yummy fried ice cream. Mmmmm! Parker and Heidi were a little more excited than the rest of us ; )

After lunch, we wanted to find a good place to swim, or at least jump in the river so we went for a walk down the riverwalk, I think it was called, but didn't really find anything mostly because the current was too strong for us to enjoy it. So after a nice leisurely walk, we jumped back in the car to drive to another spot and this one was perfect! Nice and shallow and the current was fairly calm. I put my feet in the water, and swiftly decided that I would not be getting back in the water! It was cooooold!! Leah and Parker, however, were brave enough to jump in while I remained dry on the beach taking pictures : )

Lost on Huron Peak

2007-06-16T14:34:00.001-06:00

Huron Peak

I never thought I'd go through so much for Colorado's third shortest 14er! At 14,003 ft, Huron Peak has been my most difficult 14er thus far, though not because it was a difficult climb, but because not only did we take the wrong trail, but we also got lost on our way back down! So the story begins on Thursday, when Crystal and I set out to conquor another 14er, but it required a true battle and tested us far more that we had anticipated. We hit the trail at 10am and had anticipated on driving two miles up the trail, but it turned out to be far too rocky for my little CR-V, so we parked and started hiking up the road. You can see in the picture above that this is where we made our first mistake. We came to a fork in the road and we, well, let's just say, sometimes it's better not to take the road less traveled by, because that made all the difference!
Not realizing we had gone the wrong way, we were having a wonderful time, and truly enjoying the hike! We couldn't have asked for better weather. In the picture above, we had just summitted our first 13er, not realizing it was a 13er, and boy was that a discouragement! We should have known it was too good to be true. To the right is the second 13er we hit before conquoring Huron on the left.

There it is again, Huron Peak

Here's a shot on our traverse from the second 13er to Huron. Here we come!!

Do you see Crystal? Look closely, down at the bottom in the rocks.

Frightening, huh?! Still a long ways to go...

At last, victory! And it was truly worth it, even if it did take us 6 and 1/2 hours!!

The view of the two 13ers we summitted from Huron.

And now, the decent. We didn't spend too much time at the top because we had no idea how long it would take us to get down. This picture is after all the snow and slush we slid down from the summit. I only slipped once, Crystal was amazing and didn't fall at all! I'm still not sure how we made it down-it was scary!

This was taken right above tree line around where we lost the trail. You can't really see it from this picture, but there was still a lot of snow down here that was melting, creating little rivers below the snow fields. Furthermore, due to all the melting snow, these little rivers were causing us to lose the trail...not good! Anyway, we followed a trail down the mountain until it somehow disappeared, and we were stuck on the wrong side of the mountain. We tried to make our way back across, but it was a very slow process because the slope was getting very steep! We ended up following various deer trails and it was getting late very quickly. We knew we only had an hour or so of sunlight left. Crystal suggested that we go back up to tree line, hopeful to find the trail that way. At least we might have been able to get cell reception. Anyway, long story short, we found our way back to the trail, but not before we had run out of water, that made it rough!

Here the sun is setting behind the mountains. We were close enough at this point and we weren't worried about losing sunlight and we finally made it back to my car at 8:30pm. I don't think I've ever been so excited to see my car! Now that it's over, however, I don't think I would have done it any other way. It was a fabulous hike, with spectacular views and to say it was an adventure would certainly be an understatement. And if you know me at all, you know I live for the adventures of life!

A Week in Virginia!

2007-06-11T09:27:00.001-06:00

Yay for Virginia! One week after the last day of school, I flew out to Virginia for a week long vacation, and it was full of fun and adventures! The first part was a four day backpacking trip along the Appalachian Trail.

Here we are at the very beginning, packs packed and ready to go, even Merlin, the dog, has his own little doggie pack! Crysty's on the left, then me in the middle and Jane is on the right.

These are the trail posts telling us we're going the right way.

Thanks to Jane and her fabulous map, we never lost our way : )

Here we are and it's starting to get dark! Luckily, we won't be camping too far from here!

Merlin found this little guy, probably scared the poor thing half to death! Aside from being a little frightened, I think he was ok and was shortly reunited with it's mom.

Stopping to refill our water. Luckily we were hiking by a stream most of the weekend, so that was convenient : )

This is where we stopped for lunch and I think Merlin was pretty tired! The night before, we had a family of deer and probably a variety of other nocturnal critters wandering around our campsite and I don't think Merlin slept much!

Here Crysty and I are splashing our faces with cool stream water, it was hot! We hiked mostly in the shade of the trees, which helped for sure!

These are a couple of group pictures on our last day.

One of the few places that had a nice view of the mountains. Merlin and I are posing for one of our final pics : )

Overall, the trip was a blast, but we were definitely ready to go home after four days : )

On our way home, we stopped at a couple of wineries including the prestigious Linden Vineyard. We had an educational wine tasting upstairs and then signed up for a cellar tour.

Here we are in the wine cellar with our fabulous tour guide, who after we told her about our camping trip, gave us a free glass of wine in celebration! She was sweet : )

We got home Sunday night and then Monday and Tuesday, I got to hang out with my brother Matt. The last time I visited Virginia I didn't get to see any of the sights, so I put my brother through the torture of checking out all the memorials. I got to see the WWII memorial for the first time, and saw some others that I hadn't remembered from when I was a kid. It was great, and I loved getting the time to catch up with my "little" brother : )

The Hope Diamond, a girl's best friend ; )

Tuesday, Matt and I drove up to Charlottesville and he showed me where he and his wife, Courtney, will be living when they move in a week or so, and it was really beautiful! After, we took the afternoon and toured Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

That night I met up with some old college friends for dinner and then went back to Jane's for my last night in Virginia. It was a fantastic trip, and I only wish I could go more often! Thanks to all of you who made it a great trip!

Mt. Elbert, my 6th 14er

2007-06-09T14:43:00.000-06:00

Well, I successfully summitted my first 14er of the season! And what an incredible one to start with! Apparently, Leadville and surrounding areas had a little storm the night before we drove out there. Initially, we were worried that there'd be too much snow, but it was nothing we needed to worry about. So Friday, June 8th, Crystal, Aviv and I began the drive out to meet the great, Mt. Elbert!

We were on the trail just a little before 9am and began the climb, and a climb it was. So in all the books I read up to arriving at the trailhead, I got the idea that although Elbert is Colorado's highest peak at 14,433, the hike is steady at a Class 1. Well, steady works when describing it as steadily steep! It helped that we met two other groups of hikers on our way up, and they were all really nice and shared some good conversation. It definitely took my mind off the pain of hiking : )

I only wish this picture did justice to how steep the slope was! Oh, and the "summit" you see in this photo is actually a false summit...the true summit is still about 500 ft higher. The first time we were actually able to see the summit was not until we rounded the ridge to the left, I think.

This is the first view of the summit...oh no wait, that's another false summit! We've definitely got more snow though! Luckily, very little, if any postholing : )

Finally! The summit! For real this time...only about 30 minutes to go! Unfortunately, I was still stopping every 20 steps or so...the altitude was killing me!

WE MADE IT!!! And check out that view! Whatever amount of snow they had had the night before really added to the mountains behind us! The weather up there was great by 1:30pm when we summitted, occasional winds and gusts, but we probably stayed up there for a good half hour at least simply enjoying our victory!

Now it's time to go home! Down, down, down we go! Can you see how steep it is?! We met a couple of little critters on our way down too. We actually saw lots of marmots throughout the whole day, but this one was brave and came right up close to us!

I do have a question, however, does anyone know what kind of bird this is? It was moving really slowly and didn't seem to be able to fly, at least it didn't around us. It totally blended in with the rocks too, I never would have seen it except that it started moving right as we were passing it. Interesting.

Anyway, it was a blast and I would recommend this hike to everyone! Thanks for reading my first blog, and I hope you enjoyed it!