Hikes To Date in CO

In case you haven't figured this out yet... I'm a dork. I like to track things, like where I've hiked/snowshoed and camped in Colorado. Here's my HTD (Hike To Date) map:

Click picture to enlarge...

I think the icons are pretty self-explanatory, but here's the rundown:

Legend

Hikers - Hiked

Snowflake - Snowshoed

Tent - Camped

Blue dots - peaks climbed

Red dots - 14ers climbed

I hope to add a ton more icons in 2011!

Got Talus?

The other day, I posted about our class hike in Eldorado Canyon State Park. Well, when we were at Maroon Bells, I saw this slope and snapped a quick shot so I could show you an example. This is a slope of talus. Boulders are bigger, scree is smaller and more gravelesque (yes, I just made that word up). I am happy to say that we did not climb up this hill.

I'm still sorting through my pictures that I took at Maroon Bells... but here's Koda wishing you a happy October too. 

Hope you had a great weekend! 

Catch-up: July

I'm still trying to catch up... We kicked off July with our trip to Jackson, WY and then kept rolling. Here's a list of highlights:

• Renaissance Festival: Went with some friends and enjoyed the junk food and people watching, but I think I'm good for another few years before I need to go back!
  
• Lilith Fair: I was able to score $10 tickets to Lilith Fair, so I got some girl friends to go with and we had a good time. I swear what money we saved on tickets was easily spent on food and drinks! Bottled water (which you couldn't bring in yourself) was $5, and this concert started at 2PM and went until 10 PM! The highlights for me was Erin McClarey, Ingrid Michaelson, and obviously Sarah McLachlan. I have to say I was disappointed in the format of Lilith. If you wanted to reserve a good spot on the lawn for the main artists, then you couldn't be at the other stages. I really wish that ALL the Lilith artists went to ALL the Fairs nation wide, like they did in the late 90s. I've heard that they are trying to make it better 2011... I hope so!

Sarah McLachlan

Finale - all artists

• Rocky Mountain High: Event at Denver Museum of Nature and Science... we met up with some friends, and made some new ones! We had a great time, and learned about how the Rocky Mountains were formed over cocktails while enjoying this view:

Sunset over the Rockies

The Denver skyline

• My little brother came to visit for 10 days! He's 8 years old, and wow, what a whirlwind that was! We kept busy, as I tried to show him all that Colorado has to offer :). Here's a run down of our activities:
• Hiked the loop around Red Rocks
• Saw the movie Despicable Me, and we both loved it!
• Hiked at Elk Meadow Park and saw a mountain lion (from a safe distance)
• Took a lantern tour of Cave of the Winds - his favorite part of his visit!
• Walked around Garden of the Gods
• Went bowling with M & K :)
• Camped and hiked at Rainbow Lakes - fire and s'mores need I say more?

Whew, I think that's it for July! 

Catch-up: July 4th in Jackson, WY

This summer has been crazy, and I've loved every minute of it... but it's starting to wind down and it is time to play catch-up on some posts. July was packed and flew by... Um, happy belated Independence Day!

We took a road trip for July 4th weekend to Jackson, Wyoming. It only took us about 9 hours to get to the Grand Tetons - how great is that?! We rented a house in Jackson Hole with 7 other people and had a fantastic time... I swear, it was like being back in college. We spent a day in Yellowstone National Park (elk, bison, deer, and bears, OH MY!), a day chillin' by Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park, and a day roaming downtown Jackson Hole. It was such a great time... I can't wait to go back! Here are some highlights...

Yellowstone National Park:


I got up before the crack of dawn on July 4th to go with my hubby, the photographer of the family, to take pictures of the Grand Tetons at sunrise. It was cold that morning - in the 30s. I thought my gloveless hands were going to completely freeze and fall off! But seriously, what a fantastic way to start off Independence Day! Here are some somewhat decent shots I got with my iPhone 4 while John did a photo shoot with his D40...


We celebrated Independence Day hanging out at Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. This day pretty much goes down in the books as one of the best days ever... I was so sad to leave!


Jackson Hole, WY:


I seriously can not wait to go back... the Grand Tetons are still my favorite mountains. We had such a great time, met some new friends, and hope to travel with them again!

Hike: Goose Creek Trail

This post is long overdue! In June, I met up with some great girls to hike the Goose Creek Trail in the Lost Creek Wilderness. We started at the Goose Creek Trailhead, and hiked up to shaft house and back for a total of 9.4 miles round trip.

These pictures do not do the area justice, it's absolutely beautiful. The boulders are just... HUGE. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trail:



This was one of my first hikes using our new point and shoot camera, and I regret that I didn't learn how to use it properly beforehand... I'm a little disappointed with the pictures.

I'm a Slacker

Last weekend I participated in the 2010 Slacker Half Marathon. I say participate because I didn't do it for the race, but the scenery, and also to help condition my body for walking/hiking long distances. The Slacker starts in the beautiful Loveland Ski Area at 10,630 ft of elevation and the course ends downhill in downtown Georgetown at 8,400 ft. Here's a course description:

"The half marathon/relay begins on a dirt road at Loveland Ski Area and descends five miles to Bakerville. At this point, racers travel a paved road 4.5 miles to Silver Plume. From here, racers travel 3.5 miles of paved bike path and paved/dirt road to downtown Georgetown. The 4M begins at Silver Plume and travels 4 miles on paved bike path and road to the Town of Georgetown. These courses offer a fast race time for the serious runner and a scenic, fun route for the novice!"

What a great way to spend a Saturday morning! Here are some pictures that I took on my iPhone 4 (heart!) from the day... I should mention that most of these were taken during a quick pause in walking as I didn't want to stop for too long:

At the start line, waiting for the gun.

Past the 10 mile marker

Looking down on part of the Georgetown Loop Railroad

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the finish. My husband was there along the route taking pictures with his DSLR but I haven't seen them yet. I'm sure he got some great pictures! Since my friend K and I were walking together we missed out on some of the after party festivities so we had our own party at Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs where we had mountain pies (Yukon is my fav, yum!) and Tommyknockers. That's my Jack Wacker Wheat Ale front and center. Mmm... Since the Tommyknocker Brewery is a couple of doors down from this Beau Jo's they have their beer on tap.

Perfect ending to a beautiful morning in the mountains! Here are some fun tips on how NOT to train or race a half marathon:

• Wait until 10 days before the big day to start training (I got sick TWICE in the month before)
• Stop at every water station and take two cups of water or gatorade (we were paranoid about the altitude and were not carrying water)
• Use the potties at mile 5 and mile 9
• Stop along the route to take pictures of the pretty scenery :)

Haha, this was the SLACKER Half Marathon people!

AccuTerra App Review

UPDATE 8/31/2010: I've been disappointed by this app... at first it seemed to work great, but the last 2 times I've used it, it wasn't able to locate me and gave up. The first time I was along a mountain winding path, so it seemed understandable, the second time I was climbing a 14er in plain view of the sky. So... I'm taking back my rave review. It's a nice app, if it works. Maybe it's the fault of the iPhone 4?


Last week I downloaded the AccuTerra App for the iPhone, and wow... it ROCKS! Hands down, I think it's the best app for hikers or outdoor adventurers. They have a huge catalog of maps you can download directly from the app. Some maps are free (usually parks and rec areas) but others you have to buy, however they are fairly cheap ($2-3 for a large area). The best part is that this app works even when your phone has no service. We were camping/hiking in the Pike National Forest this past weekend and had no cell phone service but it was still able to track us. I love how you can save your "adventure", and even share it by email or on facebook. It keeps your bread crumbs, allows you to take notes, and mark places of interest. You can also take photos while recording so they are geo-tagged and shown on your map where they were taken. LOVE it! 

The version of AccuTerra I downloaded was free, but now they also have a version called Map Candy where for $2.99 (limited time) you get the app and unlimited map downloads. Since I've already spent $1.99 for one map of southern Colorado... I think it's probably worth it. In case you're wondering, no AccuTerra is not paying me to advertise for them, I just really love their app! :)

Camping in Pike National Forest

We went camping this past weekend and had a great time. I felt like a kid again! We didn't do much planning... just found a campsite near a creek, packed up the car, and went for an overnight. We kept the meals simple since we didn't really prepare - hotdogs, s'mores (of course!), and cereal for breakfast.

We all had our roles - John chopped wood, I made the fire, and Koda guarded our site. Here's a few of my favorite pictures:

Deer Creek

Columbine, the CO state flower with wild yellow daisies

Koda on guard

Mmm... s'mores!

The next morning after packing up the car we went to the Mount Evans Wilderness just down the road and hiked along the Tanglewood Trail.

Crossing Tanglewood Creek

We didn't hike in very far because we started out later than we hoped. It's a beautiful area, we will be going back!

In other news, the bee hive we found just beyond our back yard fence was completely gone when we got home. I'm a little sad. I haven't asked around yet, but I'm betting one of our neighbors gave it a new home. I'm sure they're OK!

It's a bee hive!

Look what we found this morning!  I was looking out our back window and noticed a swarm of something... and on closer inspection it's a bee hive just beyond our back yard fence. John took some more pictures with his DSLR... when I get my hands on those I'll post them. 

I heart bees! Maybe I can harvest honey from it... hmmm...

Hike: Eagle Peak

Well, for some reason sleep evaded me last night so I decided to catch up on some posts...

On Memorial Day we met up with family visiting Colorado Springs and hiked/scrambled up Eagle Peak which has an elevation of 9,368 ft. I have to admit it was a challenge for me - probably the hardest hike I've done here so far... but the views at the top of Pike's Peak and the Air Force Academy below were worth the climb (click picture for full size).

Including the walk from the parking lot up to the trailhead, it was ~2,000 ft of elevation gain in a little over 1.5 miles. This steep trail is 3 miles round trip (in and out, not a loop) and is mostly loose rock (read material great for slipping and sliding), and includes a nice yet short segment through a meadow of aspens, and scrambling up a boulder field to get to the peak.

One of the several waterfalls along the trail.

I loved hearing and seeing the creek and its little waterfalls along the trail. Then of course the views from the top were the best part:

Pike's Peak

View of Air Force Academy below - we started from that crescent shaped parking lot.

Rock formation near Eagle Peak that we scrambled up. Living on the edge I tell you.

We had fun climbing to the top of that rock formation pictured above... it was scarier getting back down that it was going up for sure. See that tree in the foreground? That is a very tall tree... and this formation is fairly narrow.

I have a bunch more hikes to blog about... hopefully I'll get them posted soon but it's hard to keep up!

Snow... in May!

This was taken around 11AM when the snow was mostly melted. I'm guessing we got about 1", maybe 2" of snow last night. Yes, it is May 12th. That's Colorado for you... I LOVE it! Even if it messed with my plans for planting flowers in my window boxes and starting my vegetable garden.

It's supposed to be back in the 70s again by the weekend, so it's all good. My only concern is our trees... I hope they haven't freaked out and decide to loose their leaves! Here's a picture taken a couple of days ago of our flowering tree when the temperature was in the high 60s... it's in full bloom.

Spring's Little Surprises

Happy belated May Day! We spent this past weekend in Santa Fe, NM and on May Day were hiking among the cliff dwellings in Bandelier National Monument. I will be blogging about our trip soon, and will probably be breaking it up into a few posts because there is so much to share! 

I have been meaning to share pictures of the flowers popping up in our yard this spring... it has been interesting to watch as this is the first spring we've spent in our new house. Everything is a surprise... now if I can just keep them all alive! I tried looking up the blooms I don't know with little luck. I'm going to have take pictures to our local nursery to learn more.

Daffodils, a little worn after the snow the night before...

Tulips, with it's poor leaves nibbled by the bunnies.

Bright pink tulips!

More tulips... with a view of the "lake" in the background.

Flowering tree (what kind?) outside our kitchen window! 

Beautiful! The buds are all blooming now.... need to take an updated picture.

Flowering bush in our front yard.  I think it may actually be a plum tree but not sure.

An unfocused picture of the pretty ground cover in our front yard flower beds. 

Earth laughs in flowers.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

We also have a ton of bunnies, birds, and ducks around here along with a few snakes. Right after we moved in, a bunch of trees and ground behind our house (not IN our yard) were removed because it's supposed to be an area for water retention and drainage and apparently it was out of code for some time. I don't remember the lingo... but we were so sad and I was a bit (OK a lot) angry to see the trees ripped out. Never mind the fact that a few trees became many trees *sigh*. Well, now we have a pond... and a couple of weeks ago when we had a lot of rain, it was more like a lake. So now we joke that we have waterfront property! I have warmed up to our lake, as we now have Canadian Geese and ducks enjoying the water... Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the geese yet. But here are a few that were taken in our yard.

Taken through a window since Koda (or me) would scare it away.

One of the many kinds of birds, not sure what kind it is yet.

This guy likes to hang out next to the garden bed.

We've found a few snake skins since moving in... which I think are cool. As long as they're not poisonous, I think snakes are a good thing (I know, I'm weird).

So what changes have you been seeing around your house this spring? I'm glad to say that the short bursts of snow we've had recently (which don't stick or melt quickly) haven't seem to damage our flowers. I haven't planted anything new yet... I'm waiting until mid-May when supposedly there is no risk of frost. I have plans for a vegetable garden, and pansies in our window boxes!

Happy Earth Day!

I have neglected this blog recently, as I have been busy enjoying spring in Colorado! However, I had to drop in and wish everyone a Happy Earth Day! I was all revved up to volunteer today but I guess I waited too long. I was turned away last week from volunteer opportunities around here for today and Saturday because they are all full. Apparently there are a bunch of tree huggers living here besides me :). Have I mentioned lately how much I love this state? I plan to do some catch up posts about some of our hikes but here are a couple of pictures until then.

Koda and I taking a rest at Red Rocks

View of Mt. Evans from the summit of Evergreen Mountain

Forsythia

Since spring has arrived and the weather has been gorgeous (in general, today it's stormy and rainy) we have been hiking as much as possible... at least twice a week. It would be 4 times this week if the rain hadn't decided to show up! I really can't complain about the rain though, it's making our lawn green and all the trees and flowers bloom. I need to take pictures of the flowers in our yard... we have daffodils, tulips, and a huge forsythia bush (picture to the left, but not of ours...)

Saturday, to celebrate Earth Day we plan to hike Bergen Peak which is at 9,708 ft! I'll admit I'm a little nervous as it's a 9 mile hike with 2,100' change of elevation. But I need this challenge to get into better shape to hike 14er's this summer.

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? Do you plan to make any "go green" changes?

Lair O' The Bear

I am in beautiful Colorado. I love this state! This morning I went on an easy relaxing hike along Bear Creek at Lair O' The Bear Park. It was the perfect trail for me, considering I have a cold - which is such a bummer for this trip. Here are some pictures I snapped with my iPhone (that got no service by the way...), I will add more or replace these with ones from my digital camera when I get home.












I think it was after taking the picture above that we came across a garter snake, ~1 foot long, sunning along the side of the trail. We stopped to check him out and I took a picture with my "real" camera. Then a runner came along and scared the little guy away.





After this picture we were chatting and walking along when suddenly we came across the largest snake I've ever seen that wasn't behind glass. It was at LEAST 3 inches in diameter! We startled the poor guy and it moved quickly out of our way. By the time we realized he was there, what he was, and how BIG he was, he was gone and we were half running down the path! Our hearts were racing! Once the shock wore off, I walked back to see if I could see him in the grass, and get a better look. And before you freak out at me - I didn't go after the snake (I'm not crazy!) - just went back to see if I could observe from a distance but he long gone. We only saw him briefly but noted that he had gold/orange and brown stripes, with some kind of markings, and about 4-4.5 feet long (maybe longer)! We did not hear a rattle. It was exciting/cool/scary.






I just realized that I didn't take any pictures of the wild flowers with my iPhone but they were everywhere, and so pretty.





This was such a relaxing hike (minus the large snake encounter) with the sound of babbling creek, and the tall grass swaying in the breeze.





I highly recommend this park for families. There were picnic benches in the shade with charcoal grills for grilling, people fishing, areas for wading, and the path was smooth and flat. Though we were there between 10 AM and noon, it wasn't crowded at all. I would definitely go back. I have to add that I felt a little guilty enjoying this hike without Koda. I wish I could have brought her with me. There were so many doggies on the trail and happily jumping into the creek (on leashes).

-- Post From My iPhone