postaweek Archives - Page 7 of 9 - ETB Travel Photography

The Rockies: Sights of Steamboat Springs

A few days in Steamboat Springs offered a variety of fun activities from hiking to tennis and paddle boarding at Catamount to dining out at a choice of restaurants to simply relaxing with friends and family.

My visit started with a hike to Gold Creek Lake along trail #1150. Ellen recalled the hike being mostly flat and pretty. The book of hikes in the area reported the roundtrip was just over six miles. It sounded like a perfect adventure for both of us as six miles is my favorite distance and Ellen needed a flat hike due to a problem with her achilles tendon.

Upon leaving the house, Gary asked if we had our hiking poles since it was “hilly”. I suppose I should have read the description in the book and noticed the 1,000 feet of elevation gain so Ellen didn’t have to suffer through the incline. Certainly none of the hike was difficult, but with an injury that is aggravated when walking up hill, this may have not been the best choice. To Ellen’s credit, with a few times resting her ankle, we followed the lovely trail beneath aspens, pines, and across the creek as we admired wildflowers all the way to a breathtaking lake where we enjoyed our lunch. Our trek down was much faster on this clear day, one of the few we have had this summer.

On Monday, we took a break from hiking and spent the day at Catamount, Steamboat’s Country Club. Ellen and I played tennis with my sister-in-law, Katie, and my niece and nephew, Sam and Mollie. It was so much fun! Tennis may have to replace my recent soccer void. After lunch, we tried out paddle boarding. It was my first time. Nice to try…glad I did it…but not my thing. While we played, my brother Bart was at work and Gary worked on projects at the house as well as dinner. It’s nice that he enjoys cooking, so we got to enjoy a nice dinner on the deck.

My final day in Steamboat called for rain. All morning was overcast and cool. We chose a short hike to Lake Dinosaur. I think it took longer to drive to the trailhead, which is unmarked, on the rough 4-wheel drive road than it did to walk the 0.75 miles to the lake. I’m told on the drive up, it is not uncommon to spot a deer, bear or moose. Today, however, the animals were elusive. They must have been hiding from the looming storm. I think we spotted a chipmunk and a bird.

On the other hand, the meadows of wildflowers were absolutely magnificent! Reds, whites, purples and yellows popped on the lush green slopes. The marshy trail crossed the flat grassy area, making it an easy stroll to the tranquil lake. After a short time by the water, we returned to the car and prepared for a bouncy descent back to the house. What a nice end to a lovely visit to Steamboat Springs! ETB

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photographic note card, moose in wyoming — MOOSE

The Rockies: Four Fourteeners…One Day!

To bag four peaks in a day, our weekend started on Friday at 4pm when we were supposed to leave the church for Kite Lake Campground. While the scout troop was organized, the adults weren’t incredibly punctual resulting in a departure around 5. Eventually, we made it to the Subway in Conifer and joined the rest of the mountain traffic as 285 narrowed to two lanes after our short dinner. The delays, however, provided the most beautiful sunset after we passed through Grant, over Kenosha pass, and down into the green valley of farmland situated just perfectly beneath the super moon, dramatic clouds, and pink sky. I was pleasantly surprised by my point and shoot pictures while caravanning 65 mph down the highway!

Soon we reached Fairplay, where we turned right on Highway 9 toward Alma. Upon reaching the middle of Alma, we turned left onto a rugged, dirt road and traveled a very rough 6 miles in the dark to Kite Lake. It was so rough, that my Fitbit which requires five fast taps on its face to switch to sleep mode, managed to change its mode on its own from the vibration of my steering wheel. It was nearly 9pm by the time we prepared to set up camp. All the scouts, the scout leader, and other adult chaperones popped up their tents beneath a sky full of stars and bright moon. I was the only one opting to sleep in the car which was currently toasty warm from the heater. Had I been willing to get chilled above the treeline at 12,000 feet, I probably would have fiddled with my camera to see if I could shoot the big dipper shining over Mt. Democrat. It was magnificent. Unfortunately, I know very little about night photography and knew it would take me an hour to figure it out, in which time I would be frozen. Instead, I took advantage of the campground pit toilets and settled in for a good night sleep in the car.

I’m not sure a good night sleep in the car can be used in the same sentence, especially when I nabbed the last spot in the parking lot directly in front of the trail head information board. Climbers began their treks at 4am. The bright light of the moon nor the headlights of each car that drove to the end of the lot throughout the night and then turned around didn’t help matters either, though it was all that I expected. I wonder what it would be like to climb a 14er on full night’s sleep?

We planned to tackle the four peaks beginning at 6am. I was so toasty warm in my sleeping bag, I almost didn’t want to venture outside, but I was bright-eyed by then and ready to go. While I was wandering around from the campsite, to the toilets, to my car, a young lady asked if I could change her $20 so she could pay for parking. I couldn’t change a $20, but I just gave her $5 as if it weren’t for her, I would have had no idea I needed to pay $3 to park. A large sign stood to the left of the parking lot, but in the dark, it was indiscernible, especially with cars parked on the road in front of the sign. What a lucky way to start my day…much better than returning from four fourteeners to find my car towed or ticketed. That would have stunk. It turns out, our group was less than punctual, so I had time to find Tanya and tell her about the parking and camping fee as well. Toes frozen, the group finally started toward the trail a few minutes before 7am.

The trail travels through a grassy basin of alpine flowers, across a creek, and past Kite Lake before it begins ascending over rocks. The path rises at the rate of approximately 1,000 feet per mile as it passes by remnants of mineshafts, shacks, and rusty equipment leftover from the silver and gold mining days of the 1860s. I was unaware these fourteeners had been extensively mined, as I hadn’t visited http://www.14ers.com, so these historic sites were a pleasant surprise. All I really knew about this hike was from an article in 5280 magazine I read approximately a year ago and a few tidbits from a friend who had made the climb last weekend.

To sum up the information, I knew I could bag four peaks in a day, the official roundtrip mileage was 7.25 miles though my girlfriend suggested it was more like nine and that the descent from Bross was steep. Given the route was listed in 5280 magazine, I assumed the climb ranked on the easy side (if there is such a thing as an easy 14er) as well. For the most part, the information I had was correct, though the mine shafts weren’t our only surprises for the day.

Back to our climb. We began as a group of around 18 and planned to hike at our own pace, but to regroup at each peak, and to always descend in pairs should we wish not continue climbing each of the four mountains. Based on this plan, I intentionally slowed my pace, as I did not want to freeze at the summit. It also gave me a chance to see if a slower pace would reduce my chance of getting a headache (not so). The slow pace did give met a good look at several pikas that scampered across the massive rock field. It’s the most I’ve ever seen. By the time we reached the first saddle between Mt. Democrat (to the left) and Mt. Cameron to the right, the group was so spread out that the first set of climbers were already feeling cold when I arrived and about half the group was still behind me. As such, we reassessed. As much as it would have been nice to have the whole troop together on the summit, it was important to keep everyone warm and moving, so we carried on up the face of Mt. Democrat.

As I climbed over the large rocks, I compared this trail to my recent ascent on Mt. Elbert. I thought to myself, “There are a lot more rocks, but at least the trail ascends gradually over switchbacks.” I thought too soon as I was met with a section so steep, the climbers coming down looked like they were having a harder time than I was going up. I sure wish the new shoes I ordered made it to REI before the promised Saturday delivery. I could have used some tread. The steepness leveled off as I passed by some snow and the remnants of another mining cabin before finally reaching the summit. I really hope the miners left the Mosquito Range with TONS of silver! I can’t imagine wanting to climb any fourteener more than once with anything more than a pack. Working in this landscape had to be tough.

With only a light breeze and the bright sun shining above, we enjoyed a lovely stay on top of Mt. Democrat, 14,148′, as we snacked on our bars, trail mix, beef jerky, fruit, sandwiches and more. The views varied from the summit. We could see the other 14ers we wanted to tackle, the surrounding mountain ranges and what was once the world’s largest molybdenum mine in Climax, Colorado. Molybdenum has the sixth highest melting point of any element and is therefore used in superalloys. I never expected to see such a place from the summit of a fourteener. Around 9am, it was time to continue on as we had rested for a while. I hadn’t even finished descending to the saddle from Mt. Democrat before my Fitbit buzzed at me to let me know I had hiked 10,000 steps which is usually the equivalent of 4.5 miles. I must have weaved significantly on my way up given the roundtrip mileage from Kite Lake to the summit of Mt. Democrat and back is said to be 4 miles.

At the saddle, those who needed a little relief took a bathroom break. I must admit, this is not an easy feat given there is absolutely no tree cover. From here, we hiked approximately a mile along the ridge to Mt. Cameron. Technically, Mt. Cameron doesn’t count as a fourteener because its summit doesn’t rise 300 feet above the saddle. Whoever made that rule clearly doesn’t suffer from headaches or altitude sickness. Anytime I’m over 14,000 feet, I’m counting it, and Mt. Cameron’s rounded mound clocks in at 14,238′. Frankly, I don’t know how any of these mountains count individually as I thought there was a requirement to gain 3,000 feet of elevation which seems rather hard to do when beginning at 12,000 unless you ascend and descend to all the saddles. Regardless, the others count in the rankings, which is fine by me!

The climb to Mt. Cameron’s summit was much easier than the climb to Mt. Democrat. The smooth trail gradually climbed through interesting rock terrain peppered with green leafed, white flowers. Though the two mountains were right next to each other, the landscape was entirely different from the color and size of the rock to the shape of the summit to the plant life. I was quite fascinated by the variety and couldn’t help but stop to enjoy some of the fantastic views as well. To my right, in an offset diamond shape, I could see how Kite Lake earned its name, and to my left I could see wto lakes that both looked like hearts! Last in the group of teenagers, a few scout leaders, and Tanya, I took a long time to land at the summit of Cameron which was basically like standing in a wind tunnel. The fast hiking kids patiently waited as long as they could and they just started toward Mt. Lincoln as I topped Mt. Cameron. Tanya snapped my picture to prove I made it, and she continued on with me after my brief stop.

I actually prefer not to stop for very long anyway as my headache seems to worsen and I stiffen up, so trekking across the desolate landscape to Mt. Lincoln was perfect. If the dark clouds hadn’t begun peppering us with pellet snow, I would have said I felt like I was in rocky, sand dunes of the desert, but it wasn’t quite warm enough for the middle of a summer day. It was fascinating again to see the difference in terrain. The rock had turned from almost black on Mt. Democrat, to chaulky on Mt. Cameron, to reddish brown on the way to Mt. Lincoln, named for the president. The “expansive desert” turned to a narrow ridge that led to Mt. Lincoln’s pointy peak of grey rocks. Lincoln’s peak was small, though may have been my favorite, despite the view of mining roads below. I just loved the rocky outcrop, though admittedly there was about one foot of the trail that I could not look down without a wave of nausea overtaking me. It also didn’t help that ice began accumulating on the rocks, and I watched one guy fall down in front of me and heard another slip behind me.

Amazingly, as soon as we reached the summit, however, the snow pellets stopped stinging our face and the sun came out. This was a welcome relief as we settled down for another quick snack which included Pringles, Goldfish and all the other aforementioned goodies. I was also quite mind boggled by the sight of two mountain bikers at the top of Mt. Lincoln…REALLY?!? They had ridden up the mining road and then carried their bikes the rest of the way. A pack was enough to carry on my back. So the forecast had called for significant lightning somewhere in Colorado after 2pm. We were at the summit of Mt. Lincoln, 14,286′, around 11am with three down and one to go plus the descent. Armed with this information, already being pelted with snow and knowing I’m a slow downhiller, I kept glancing over my right shoulder. Dark clouds and showers blanketed the distant ranges. “Let’s mosey,” I suggested after I tugged on my windbreaker, and we turned back toward Mt. Cameron and then veered to the left to follow the trail to Mt. Bross, 14,172′, and named for a miner.

The trail followed flatly across the side of the mountain as it offered more amazing scenery including an incredible view of Mt. Democrat. About a half mile from the summit, the trail split. The trail to the left expanded to a road which led to the summit, while the trail to the right circled around Mt. Bross’ peak to the descent. According to the posted signs, the Mt. Bross summit was closed to climbers as it is private property. I had recently seen on news coverage, however, that the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative had worked out an agreement with the owners to allow climbers access to the summit. I don’t know which information was correct, but it didn’t seem to stop dune buggy type vehicles from driving up the road. It was a shock to see power vehicles on a fourteener as well. This hike was certainly not short of surprises. I have to admit, the road was an easy walk to a wind-laden, flat summit on which we spent about one dull minute. While it was an anti-climatic final peak, the descent back to Kite Lake’s grassy meadow and lovely waterfall was far from boring.

The trail drops 1,500 feet over seven tenths of a mile of extremely loose rock. At times, the descent was so steep, I ditched my hiking poles and sat on my bottom to slide down. So much for my new hiking pants that now have a tear in the rear pocket! I guess I should be thankful I wore pants, as I used to always wear shorts. In one spot, I also has a small panic attack, but this was because I’m not too fond of ledges, I knew the tread on my shoes was worn out, and I felt like I’d slide right off the mountain if I mis-stepped. My friend had mentioned the descent was steep. She wasn’t kidding. For my own edification, upon return home I visited the 14ers website to see the rating and description of the combined trail. The combination ranked a class 2 and the descent didn’t earn much of a warning. In addition, these are some of the easiest fourteeners. I’m not sure I’m cut out to complete all 54, but I hope to get a few more under my belt over time. I’ve crossed ten off the list since I climbed my first fourteener last July. This hike ranks near the top of my list. I’m thankful I got to join Tanya and her son’s scout troop. It was nice of the fast hikers to accept me as the straggler of the four peakers as the other half set out to conquer the first peak and then go fishing. What a great day! ETB

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photographic note card, log cabin — LOG CABIN

The Rockies: Mt. Elbert, The Tallest Mountain in Colorado…My First 14er of the Season

What a lucky ten days I’ve had, starting with a random act of kindness when a gentleman approached me on the sidewalk near my drive way and asked for a few minutes of my time to give me a DVD of a movie, to the rain gods blessing our girls trip to Mt. Elbert providing the best two days of weather we’ve had in the mountains for the last two months, to stopping off at West Side Books (as they carry my photographic notecards) on my way home to pick up a small gift only to get a book for free! I’m not usually a horoscope reader, but with all this luck I read my June/July horoscope by Susan Miller after the fact, and she was right on!

This is the sixth year, our fearless leader Karla, has organized a sojourn to climb a 14er. It began as a celebration for her 40th birthday, though she hasn’t reached the tender age of 46 yet. Last year was my first year to participate, and as soon as the date was scheduled, I was signed up again this year. As always, the trip includes repeater hikers and new faces. The only restriction is, “women only.”

This year the trip included first timers; flat-landers from Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania; and seasoned veterans from Denver. About twelve of the 28 girls, the largest group yet, planned to meet in Leadville for lunch at High Mountain Pies. Most of the drive to Leadville was through a sprinkle, a drizzle, or a solid shower, as our wipers cleared the rain and road water away from the windshield.

The restaurant was tiny with only a few tables for indoor seating, though the fenced in backyard was enormous. With the sky overcast, the tables soaked in rainwater, and the temperature a cool 50 degrees, for a few minutes we debated whether we should find another lunch spot, but the pizza smelled divine and the bathroom called our names, thus we ordered.
It turned out to be a good decision to stay.

The staff quickly squeegeed the outdoor tables and soon thereafter the sun poked through the clouds! To top it off, the pizza was superb. No sooner did we finish lunch, did it start to sprinkle. The mountains, covered in dark clouds, looked even worse. As such, we made an executive decision to stroll around town instead of looking for and setting up camp in a deluge. After browsing though an antique shop and a second hand store that had some useful winter gear for a few of our flat-landers, we warmed up over a cup of coffee as the skies cleared.

The mountains came into view, so we caravanned to the Mt. Elbert – Northeast Ridge Trailhead located five miles down a relatively decent dirt road lined with several campsites leading to Halfmoon Creek. Karla always likes to know where the trailhead is before we search for a campsite. Jess and Nilou left us at the trailhead parking lot, while they scoped out a campsite. They returned in record time with a great spot just a ¼ of a mile down the way. They promptly claimed, “The site found us. It was the only one available.”

It was a great site for us, as with 28 girls, we probably had 15 cars, and we were located across from the overflow parking area for the Mt. Elbert Trailhead. While “No Camping” was allowed at the trailhead, no signs were posted at the overflow area; therefore, we essentially had two spots next to each, of course one was much more picturesque than the other. While there were many amazing things about camp, the best may have been that it had stopped raining! Some girls pitched their tents beneath trees, while others prepared to sleep in their cars. We wandered around enjoying the creek that gurgled along-side our awesome site. With a lot of patience, brown paper bags, and pine needles, we finally got the wet wood to burn into a toasty campfire.

Soon the rest of the group trickled into the San Isabel Forest. Karla prepared an excellent carb-load dinner – cold pasta with shredded chicken, cabbage, snap peas and asian dressing. We formed a circle in our camp chairs around the fire, each us taking turns explaining how we ended up on this amazing adventure!

4:30 a.m. arrived early, though I don’t many ladies slept well. It was a cold night camped at 10,000 feet. Our packs were stuffed with rain gear, cliff bars, sandwiches, chips, fruits, dessert, water, and Andrea even brought a flask of whiskey to celebrate summitting the highest mountain in Colorado at 14,433 feet. The Mt. Elbert – Northeast Ridge Trail is rated Class 1 (the easiest), begins at 10,040 feet, and gains 4,700 feet (because it goes up and down) to finally end at the top of the second highest peak in the 48 contiguous states. The roundtrip hike is nine miles.

We started on our 9 miles around 5:15, a few minutes later than planned, though relatively timely given we were rounding up 28 girls…that’s sort of like herding cats. Dressed in multiple layers, ski caps, and gloves, we donned our headlamps, and ventured up the trail in the dark.

The rocky path ascended immediately and veered to left at the Colorado Trail Junction. We individually crossed a make shift bridge across the shallow creek and continued up the trail through the lodge pole pine forest as the orange glow of the sunrise glimmered above the low lying clouds and behind the mountain range.

We followed the switch backs until we reached a flat portion of the trail surrounded by a green ground covering and pine forest to which I commented to Tanya, “I’m really enjoying this part, but that only means we’ll have to gain all the elevation over a shorter distance.” This comment will come into play later.

We hiked for about 2.3 miles through the forest up wood and rock steps before we finally reached the tree line. This steep section stretched out the group as some of the flatlanders struggled with altitude sickness despite acclimating for a week and the super fit zoomed toward the top without a picture while the rest of us filled out the middle. Upon leaving the trees, we enjoyed a magnificent view of the cloud filled valley with the sun gleaming overhead. The fallen trees that lined the trail were blanketed in frost. A twisted one looked like a brown and white candy cane.

After several photos, we followed the path as it zig-zagged through the tundra. With all the rain, I was expecting to see a bunch of wildflowers as they have been magnificent this year, and we saw tons last year on Mt. Yale. Unfortunately, the flowers were lackluster.

Slowly, the tundra turned to rocks and the path began steepening again. Marmots sunned on the piles of stones as pikas chirped and scampered beneath them through their tunnels. It took forever to finally find one. One with calico markings poked its head out of its hole right by the trail that followed the ridge in a very steep section up to the first false summit. By this time, I had stuffed my good camera, with my heavy lens into my backpack, so it wouldn’t be smacking into the rocks as I leaned forward and lumbered up almost vertical trail.

I have to say, the trail was extremely well maintained and for the most part was smooth. We finished one steep portion in order to earn a 30 foot flat segment and geared up for the next steep section. Is there another word for steep? I can’t imagine the grade. A few times a felt like I was going to fall backwards. My feet slid. Occasionally I stepped sideways or backwards to keep my balance, though admittedly, there wasn’t any loose shale which was nice! I think my problem was the lack of soccer. Having quit in January and not supplemented my exercise with any other kind of cardio, my lungs and legs were challenged, but for the first time ever, I started out hiking a 14er without a headache, so I had that on my side, though I felt one coming…it was only a matter of time.

With the sharp incline, this part of the path was a doozy and we spread out even more. Tina zipped past us. Tanya and I hiked together. Others lagged behind. We could see the next false summit. I wondered out loud, “How many false summits are there?” as I heard the girls saying there were many. This false summit was the one we could see for much of the hike, and it turned out to really be the only one. The last one hundred feet to the rock pile cairn, I walked at a snail’s pace…that’s what my headache, the thin air, and legs whose muscles didn’t feel like they wanted to flex did to me. I turned to Tanya, “Am I going too slow for you?” “A little,” she responds as she passes me. She nicely waited for me, as once we reached this flat area, we could see all those who had summitted and we only had a short distance to cover. We could summit together in a few minutes!

That sight was the most encouraging sight of the day. With an added zip in my step, we topped the mountain 4 hours and 15 minutes after we started! We joined four other girls from our group that had been resting on the far side of the summit for the last 30 minutes and Tina that had reached the peak a few minutes before us. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to sit on the highest point in Colorado and not freeze to death. Oh what a glorious day…clear skies and no breeze!! The panorama offered views of Twin Lakes as the low clouds has dissipated, all the 14ers that were below us, and more. We snacked, snapped photos, napped, and celebrated each time more girls joined us.

Of course, everyone up there congratulates everyone else. There isn’t a stranger on a mountain summit. Posters are passed around to use in photos. The log book is signed by all. Climbers search for the survey marker. It’s exciting no matter what, but it’s more exciting when a couple from the group gets engaged! Congratulations Sarah and Joyce!! They overslept an hour, so we weren’t up there to see the proposal (shucks), but what a perfect day for them!

The first group of girls descended after an hour on the summit. Tanya and I spent almost 1.5 hours soaking in the sun before we started down. Cindy and another Sarah joined us. We encouraged the girls still ascending as we were slowly picking our way down the trail. My bladder really wished I had the ability to hike down a trail quickly. Much to its dismay, I go almost as slowly down the mountain as I do up and the tree line was a terribly long distance away!

On our descent, we found two of the Kansas girls at the first “false summit” enjoying their lunch. They said, “We’re starving”. I bet, I thought. I had to eat goldfish as I exited the tree line and half of my peanut butter sandwich just as I was beginning the last steep ascent and that was hours earlier. It’s amazing how many calories are burned just on a hike. It’s also amazing how much a body physiologically changes due to altitude or relative lack of oxygen. Those of us that live in Denver have the advantage of extra red blood cells.

We finally made it to the tree line which surely seemed like forever. Cindy and Tanya waited on me while Sarah went on to the campground. With the sun blazing overhead, though just about to enter the shade of the forest, we debated whether to shed some more layers. We did. Tanya also changed her shoes while I shortened my pants to crop length…both good choices.

We entered the forest, descended the stone steps, eventually made it to the smooth, flat trail, descended the wooden steps and finally made it to the split in the trail with the Mt. Elbert sign. Whew…only a mile to go! Thank goodness, as I had just sucked dry my camelback. The last mile seemed like forever though I think it’s because we didn’t remember what we hiked in the dark very well. Soon we crossed the creek, stopped at the restrooms at the trailhead, and headed back to camp. We had finished climbing Colorado’s highest mountain in just around 7 hours after having spent at least 1.5 hours piddling around enjoying one of the best summer days I’ve ever had on a 14er.

We chilled at the campground while we waited on everyone to finish up. Twenty-six of the twenty-eight summitted…not too shabby. Our day and night wasn’t complete yet. One of the reasons Karla picks a 14er in the Collegiate Peak range is because it is near Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. We checked into our three cabins and most of the girls enjoyed the warm spring pools. I was probably one of the few, if not the only one that stayed at the cabins but didn’t go to the hot springs. They just aren’t my thing, and my headache seemed to come and go all night…on for an hour, off for an hour, but amazingly I felt better than I normally do, though I guess that’s not saying much. As I said to Karla, “I’m not sure why I torture myself.” And she replied, “It’s that 14er bug.”

She’s right. There are so many feelings that go along with climbing a 14er. The mind over matter comes into play. It’s a competition with yourself. There’s sense of accomplishment. Of course there is all the nature and beauty the earth has to offer. Then there is the sense of camaraderie. Many of us don’t know each other at the beginning of the trip, but we are all rooting for each other to make it to the top. And as I mentioned before, there isn’t a stranger on the summit…human kindness at its finest form shines like the sun. It’s just a good competitive accomplishment.

So after the hot springs, everyone retired to their respective cabins, ate dinner and played games. Ours included bacon and cheese brats with pasta salad, grilled veggies, cous cous and more. We capped off dinner with Cards Against Humanity. I turned in early along with four others. Since I had the couch, those who wanted to stay up past ten went to another cabin. I didn’t hear about any end of the night festivities as I left early to say “hi” to my brother and sister-in-law at Estabrook and to prepare for my sleep study. I’m certain the girls went back to the hot springs this morning, and my guess is Tina taught a yoga class to stretch some of those kinks out of our bodies. I’m so thankful Karla organizes this trip, as I know it is a pain, and I can’t wait for Mt. Massive next year!!! ETB

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Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop. Each card has a travel story associated with it. 20% of proceeds are donated to charity.

photographic note card, Blue Columbine — BLUE COLUMBINE

The Rockies: Eagle Rock, Johnson’s Gulch, The Bear’s Cave and Staunton State Park

Chas, Ellen and I enjoyed leisurely morning at Estabrook while we waited for Tanya to arrive. We set out on our hike around 11 or later. We had a 7 miler planned, so we were pushing our luck with the ongoing afternoon thunderstorms, but we expected to be off the highest points early and in the cover of boulders within two hours.

We passed by the barn, blacksmith shop, ice house, and milking shed before we reached the children’s hole, where the kids learned to fish. After passing through the pines and crossing the log bridges, we climbed the logging road to Eagle Rock to enjoy the view of the houses 300 feet below in the valley.

We backtracked just slightly to follow another logging road through a meadow of purple, yellow, white, and red wildflowers. Soon we passed through an aspen grove and just as we entered a lodge pole pine forest, a hawk swooped by with a squirrel clutched in its talons.

We followed the lightly defined logging road wending through the forest for another mile before we left the trail to enjoy a magnificent overlook at Johnson’s Gulch. Ridges of mountains afar surrounded the bright green meadow. We took a short rest on the lichen covered boulders as an ominous storm approached. With a view of dark clouds and the booms of rolling thunder, we chose to only have a snack versus enjoy our full lunch.

We continued on following the road all the way down to the valley we were just admiring. We had completed about half the loop and were now walking with a quickened pace directly toward the dark sky as the meadow didn’t offer any cover. Aside from a short stop at the pond to see the muskrats that seemed to be hiding we continued a mile in a light rain to the cover of the trees and rock overhangs by Craig Creek.

We were now to my favorite part of the hike along the water. We slid down some wet boulders, climbed through rock crevice on the hanging bridge and eventually made it to the Bear’s Cave where we enjoyed the rest of our lunch…PB&J, goldfish, apples, and cookies. With the rain subsiding, we ate at a leisurely pace. We also walked at a leisurely pace for the next mile home.

We checked out all the mushrooms. I’ve never seen so many kinds…Red capped, white, red capped with white speckles, brown capped, fat, thin, rounded, little, tall, gilled, ruffled and more. They were everywhere, and it seemed like the two days prior when I took this hike half of them weren’t there. Chas, being a fisherman, also stopped to look at all the pools along the creek. With all the rain and snow melt, the creek has been a good level to fish.

As soon as we arrived at the house, we took the car to the Platte as Chas wanted to fish a couple of holes. The rain had returned, so a nice drizzle was going, but it was fine for us girls. Tanya had brought some cheese and crackers, so we cracked open the beer Chas had brewed and enjoyed Happy Hour in the car!

Since we were already out, we drove up to the mountain behind the house in hopes to spot some wildlife, but the animals were probably smarter than us and were hiding in the rain. Luckily upon return, the rain let up in time to grill lamb and veggies from my garden for dinner which was delicious!

The next morning we had to bid farewell to Chas, but the girls helped me close up the house, and we decided to visit Staunton State Park. Located just off 285 between Conifer and Denver, the park is only a year old. We didn’t arrive until noon, so we had hoped to complete a six mile hike or so. Interestingly, the way the trails are designed, there is a 2.15 mile option or relatively long options, so we picked around 8 miles. It seems like it may cater to mountain bikers, though we only saw two on the trail today.

Just as we began, we greeted about 4 or so hikers and beyond that, we had the trail to ourselves. I’m not surprised. The sky was overcast and dark in places. It sprinkled on our way over, and of course we were starting our hike when most people try to get off the mountain. Little did we know in Denver there were flash floods all day!

Aside from about 20 minutes of a drizzle strong enough to force us to pull out the rain coats, we enjoyed a cool hike along a variety of trails. We started out on the nicely groomed Staunton Ranch Trail with views of the towering Staunton Rocks that climbers scale. From Staunton Ranch Trail we took the hikers only Old Mill Trail to the Old Mill Site. Most of the Old Mill Site consisted of a collapsed building, though remnants of a few old vehicles, and another building stood nearby. From the mill, we followed Border Line Trail to the Staunton Rocks Overlook. By now we had gained about 1,000 feet over four miles, though most of the elevation changed was in the last 1.5 miles.

The view of the ongoing mountain ridges was lovely, and we chose to share this location with the chipmunks and ground squirrels for lunch. From the overlook we descended another 1.5 miles down Boulder Line Trail and completed 2.8 miles of the Staunton Ranch Trial back to the parking lot. The hike was a perfect way to end my week at Estabrook, and the week was a good precursor to my first 14er of the season…coming soon, Mt. Elbert. ETB

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photographic note card, western tiger swallowtail butterfly — WESTERN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL

The Rockies: A Weekend at Estabrook

A weekend at Estabrook is always a treat. I feel so lucky that I get to enjoy such a great place with my friends and family. This year included some new faces with the old. Kristin joined me again, though her husband Justin couldn’t make it because he is in flight school. A new friend Suman, who is a travel addict like me, joined with her friend Debbie. And two of the boys, Harlow and Brian, from the Thursday night crew got to join in the fun.

After a continental style breakfast, we ventured toward the Bear’s Cave. I feel like I’ve hiked this trail almost every day I’ve been to Estabrook, and it never gets old. The Bear’s Cave is the most peaceful place in the world to me.

We started down the road, past the barn, made a quick stop in the black smith shop, and then continued to the Pines where we crossed the bridge and followed the overgrown trail to one of our old campsites. Here we took a detour up an old logging road through a field of wildflowers with my favorite being the mariposa lily to Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock offers a magnificent view of green roofed houses situated 300 feet below in the lush valley.

After a shorter breather, we backtracked to the trail, and followed one another in single file with Marley, Harlow’s golden retriever, brushing against our side while trading the lead. We passed by another old campsite before we reached one of the few remaining 30 year old bridges. The rest have been washed out and rebuilt over time. I suggested we cross the bridge, with a few rotted planks, one at a time, though I failed to warn to walk in the middle of the bridge over the log supporting it.

Four of us made it across before Suman stepped to left of one of the planks which popped up. In slow motion, we watch Suman splash into the cold water of Craig Creek. The boys were quick to react and help her out. Thankfully, she didn’t sport more than a bruise, a few scratches and some wet clothes. The only casualty was a lost water bottle. Even her phone still worked! We were only about 2 miles into the hike and had about 4 more miles to go…Suman was a trooper to squish squash along in her wet shoes the rest of the way.

We enjoyed another short rest at the Bear’s Cave as we admired the rock formations overhanging the trail as well as the mossy vegetation. We continued the less dangerous bridge crossings all the way up to the hanging bridge which led us through a large crevice. Eventually we reached Johnson’s Gulch, crossed the creek, and followed the logging road back to the house.

Fortunately, the afternoon was slightly overcast, as the road can be rather hot and sunny. I misinformed the group when I claimed there wasn’t much climbing. I remembered it as being undulating, but at times the road’s loose scree and grade made it seem like the 500 feet of elevation gain was a touch more. After reaching the summit of the mountain behind the house, we turned down another logging road to finish our loop hike just in time for lunch on the front porch while we watched the hummingbirds fight for sugar water.

The afternoon called for a few of us to stroll along the Platte and look for railroad spikes. We actually found a whole, perfectly straight one…a rare occasion. The afternoon called for the half to take a nap! It was that kind of day though…just about the time for rain.

A weekend at Estabrook wouldn’t be complete without taco night. My mom’s tacos are the best, and of course they must be served with the Bartarita…Bart’s famous margarita…oh soooo good! We capped off the night with S’mores and Oh Hell…a fun card game, a high school friend taught me. Brian won by a slim margin.

Bartarita night is usually followed by a leisurely bacon and egg morning. This Sunday was no exception. Suman and Debbie did the honors of cooking. Afterward, the girls wanted to learn to fly fish. Given Bart taught me at a tender age, mostly by feel, trying to show people how to fish is not my strong suit. Lucky for me, they didn’t care if they caught anything, they just wanted to try it out. It was more like an exercise in entertainment than anything, though I will say, there was hope with a little more time and a few more tries. I needed Chas, my expert fishing guide friend, to be there, but he and Ellen were arriving at 4 and my weekend guests dispersed back to Denver around noon.

Chas and Ellen arrived in the next afternoon thunderstorm, the consistent theme of the summer. After happy hour which included Triscuits and cheese and the beer Chas brewed, we settled in for a tournament of Settlers of Catan. The girls took all three games, so I suspect Chas will want a rematch soon. Our chicken and pasta dinner was quick and better than expected. We were all set for Tanya to arrive tomorrow for some more hiking adventures. ETB

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photographic note card, barn in colorado — THE BARN

The Rockies: Burning Bear Trail and on to Estabrook

I opted to hike the Burning Bear Trail today. There are so many trails in Colorado that I don’t really like doing repeaters, but I had never completed this trail, and it was flat so I knew it would be a good trail to begin my week in the mountains.

Previously when hiking this trail, after about 1.5 miles in, we detoured to a large rock out cropping where we found a geocache and leisurely enjoyed our lunch and view of the meadow below. I always felt like it was a long climb up to the rocks, but stopping to look from the trail, they weren’t too high up.

Today, after I patiently waited on the construction taking place on Guanella pass road, I set out to hike to the remains of an old cabin and if I had time, perhaps across the saddle and down to another cabin.

The trail begins with a beautiful view of the Rockies before it crosses the creek and ducks into the lodge pole pine forest. I followed the path past the fallen trees as squirrels scampered around gathering pine cones and birds flitted from branch to branch.

Burning Bear Trail on Guanella Pass Scenic Byway

The trail left the forest and continued through a wildflower covered meadow before it rejoined the shade of the evergreens once more. The pattern repeated itself until I reached the remains of a log cabin, just to the left of trail about three miles into the hike.

I thought I might stop and enjoy a small snack here, but situated next to the creek, the flies and mosquitoes were ferocious, and I had forgotten my bug spray. As long as I kept moving, however, they didn’t seem to bother me. I think I got most my bug bites in my car. Why is it that flies and mosquitoes can find their way into the smallest crack, but can’t seem to find their way out an open window? Back to the hike…

I figured I had about thirty more minutes to enjoy on the hike before I needed to turn around as my friends were joining me for a weekend at Estabrook later that afternoon, so I trudged forward a bit. The trail began switch backing up the mountain toward the saddle. I followed it a ways, the scenery didn’t change much, and I knew I wasn’t going to make it all the way to the second cabin, so I decided to turn around especially since I noticed my wrist felt cool and after inspection I found I lost my fitbit. I wasn’t even going to get credit for my climb!

I presumed my fitbit fell off near the cabin when I took off my pack to dig out my snack, so with my eyes scanning the smooth trail, I was pleased to find it just five feet from where I rested my pack against a tree.

As I descended down the trail, I stepped over the cow manure and started contemplating a rancher’s life and running cattle on forest land. Many times we’ve seen horse led tours on this trail. Having grown up riding horses, I’ve always found it fascinating that people actually want to pay to work on a dude ranch and clean stalls and move cattle for a vacation.

My mind continued to wander with my walk back to the car, until I noticed mountain lion scat, not once but twice, some very fresh. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was being tracked as I didn’t notice it on the trail as I hiked up. Perhaps I was too busy looking up at the squirrels in the trees? It didn’t matter as I ran into a group of ten hikers beginning the trail as I was finishing up.

It was a glorious sunny day. The breeze was just kicking in, and I got back to the cover of the front porch in time to relax and watch the afternoon storms roll in over the mountains. Soon after, all my guests arrived in the rain. The lightning struck so close it set off the car alarms. We enjoyed happy hour, dinner, LCR, and Yatzee. I was one lucky girl. Not only did I roll a Yatzee and do a Yatzee dance as required by Kristin, I filled out my whole Yatzee card…not one zero. I even got at least three of each number on the top to get my bonus and scored over 300…like a game of bowling. I’ve never had a perfect game like that. What a fun day! I’m looking forward to great weekend. ETB

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photographic note card, waterfall in Olympic National Park — TRIPLETS

The Rockies: A Visit to Rocky Mountain National Park

My friend Tanya and her son August plan on a backpacking trip along the Colorado Trail later this summer. As such, she they have been planning some long hikes. Fortunately, my friend Diana and I got to tag along and go to Rocky Mountain National Park for a ten mile hike to Finch Lake.

Finch Lake is located in a less populated area of the park. The location coupled with the fact we went on weekday made it a perfect day for trail to ourselves most the way. The trail, supported by a rock wall, immediately ascended along the side of the mountain as it wended past lichen covered boulders situated beneath the cover of evergreens.

As we continued, we broke into more open spaces blanketed in wildflowers with views of Long’s Peak, one Colorado’s many 14ers. We walked at quick clip while stepping over countless rocks like we were climbing up a dry waterfall, we crossed the creek, and soon arrived at Finch Lake a few hours after our 10 am start.

The forecast called for afternoon storms which wasn’t a surprise since I think it has rained every afternoon all summer! Clouds accumulated as we snacked on lunch while sitting lakeside with a view of snow-capped mountains. Soon we heard claps of thunder in the distance. It was time to descend, even faster than we ascended, with the exception of stopping to dip our heads in the creek and watch the bunnies hop away.

We timed our descent perfectly, just as we left the tree cover, sprinkles of rain fell upon us. Amazingly, the storm must have circled around us as we had listened to the thunder and seen flashes of lightning toward the end of our descent, and the streets outside the park, just a few miles away, were lined in hail! What a lucky, nice day of hiking we had!! ETB

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photographic note card, elk in rocky mountain national park — ELK

The Rockies: Exploring the Narrows In the Foothills

As a kid, my parents took me and my two brothers on a hike to the “Narrows”, a place in Pike National Forest on Craig Creek flanked by high boulders with a waterfall that tumbled into a pool. The challenge, however, became getting there. We never made it, as the path tapered off which required us to climb up and over imposing boulders.

Today, Bart Berger said he’d show me another way to the “Narrows” that didn’t require hiking up the creek. I looked forward to the hike all morning. We got started around 9:30, crossing the creek via a fallen log and wading through a marshy area where I soaked my feet before we even started on a logging road that I didn’t even know was on our property.

We followed the logging road up the mountain through the lodge pole pine forest. I’m not sure if there were more trees standing or criss-crossing the ground. I felt like a football player completing a “running through tires” practice drill as we veered off the road in search of a ridge connecting two mountains together.

Bart wanted to keep the higher elevation as to not drop down and ascend again. After traversing the side of the mountain and enjoying the views, we crossed a portion of the ridge, but eventually ended up on another logging road that we climbed up and down, but not before wandering through fields of wildflowers and a lovely aspen grove! We also spotted a rabbit and a nesting grouse.

Once we reached the creek, we had to cross it. Bart succeeded at skipping over the rocks to keep his feet dry. I was too short for that, so I got to soak my feet. Surprisingly, the icy water felt really good. Just as soon as we crossed, we were at the Narrows, towering rock formations on both sides of the creek though we had to climb up and over the rocks to view the waterfall from above. The opposite direction was Windy Peak.

Unfortunately it wasn’t the best view, but I wasn’t climbing down again. We had been ascending for the better part of the last two hours, many times on loose pine needles and no path. We kept our elevation as we continued climbing over two more rock outcroppings.
We felt like we needed to descend soon and found an area that wasn’t too steep so we side-stepped down the mountain. At the creek’s edge, we were greeted by an overgrown mess. We opted to duck through it, brushing branches out of our way. By now, I was dripping blood from every extremity and thinking this would have been right up my alley when I was 20. I’m not quite as extreme now.

Soon we met our match, a rock ledge that required scaling or a creek crossing. Bart opted for rock scaling as his shoes were still dry. I wasn’t too enthusiastic over the choice, but watching him scooch by, I coaxed myself onto the edge, and only had one moment of panic when I felt I might slip off! I wouldn’t have fallen far, but I would have been very wet and ruined my camera (ie photos).

We continued on until we were forced to cross the creek, this time over another fallen tree. Bart wasn’t quite as graceful this time, but we made it, and enjoyed a partially cleared path. Wildflowers and ferns blanketed the area. We also stumbled across an animal skeleton and some funky looking beetles before we finally succumbed to continually crossing the creek.

I think we must have crossed the creek twenty times. Many of the crossings toward the end, when the path was clear, used to have bridges. It would have been nice if they were still there, though we became experts at wading across the slick, wet rocks!
We finally completed a 6.6 mile loop hike in 4.5 hours…yes, it was a bit rough and backcountry. I have the war wounds to prove it! Now I know why we never made it up the creek to the Narrows, it was one heck of hike down the creek.

Just as we arrived back at the houses, my friends Ramona and Mike from Memphis stopped in after their hike. No one can visit Estabrook without going to my favorite place in the world, “The Bear’s Cave”. We followed the path along the creek to the amazing rock formations and decided to continue on to the hanging bridge. This is always my zen hike, so I didn’t mind adding on another three miles to share my happy spots with Mike and Ramona.

Only eating a handful of cherries and goldfish on the trail for the day, I couldn’t get to The Cutthroat Cafe in Bailey fast enough. We inhaled our dinners before heading back to Denver. What a great day of hiking! ETB

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photographic note card, lake in Yosemite — ENCHANTED

How to Do Rome in a Day!

I wrote our final day in Italy as a guest post for Darjeelin…a French travel website. Here is the link with additional pictures below:

http://www.darjeelin.com/blog/how-to-do-rome-in-a-day#.U8aIgvldVlo

THE COLOSSUEM

THE FORUM

THE PANTHEON

TREVI FOUNTAIN AND FOUR RIVERS FOUNTAIN

THE VATICAN MUSEUM

ST PETER’S BASILICA

SPANISH STEPS

DINNER

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photographic note card, chinstrap penguin in Antarctica — CHINSTRAP PENGUIN

From Manarola to Pisa to Rome…

Since the Cinque Terre region was known for its hiking, and we had only completed one hike given the rest of the coastal path was under construction due to the floods of 2011 and 2013, I opted for one last hike before we left this morning.

I walked down the ten stories of stairs in to town for a coffee and croissant only to find breakfast places in Manarola are not open before 7am…neither was the grocery store. The path to Volastra, 0.55 KM, was estimated to take 30 mins according to the posted sign.

I started out on the route by the trekking store. It began with stairs. I climbed past the farmed terrain of mostly grapes and tomatoes up to a path directly across from our apartment. I crossed over the path and continued up more stairs as I followed a cable car route up the mountain past Manarola’s world famous nativity scene which is lit up for approximately two months over the winter and past shrines to Mary and other saints that were prevalent in every town.

Eventually I reached a path that turned to the right and was level for a few hundred yards as it led me by workers in the vineyards and old stone buildings. I thought I had finally reached the the top. Not so. A sign led me to the left up more stairs which continued the rest of the way. I wouldn’t be surprised if I climbed 1,000 stairs. Upon reaching Volastra at the top of the mountain, I hoped to enjoy a coffee and croissant. Again, I found nothing open, but I did find a church!

begonias growing out of wall

I continued on the path to Corniglia for just a bit because I wanted to see Manarola below. I finally got a view. It was a long way away! As I walked back down, a local was running the stairs…WOW. I took the loop path, so returning was a less steep grade that crossed the road a few times and then followed the river. It was pleasant, but not as pretty as the steep way up which I’ve learned in Italy also seems to be called “panoramic”.

The shops were finally open, so I grabbed us breakfast and ventured back up to our abode to enjoy our patio view one last time before we ventured to Pisa and then Rome past fields of sunflowers.

Pisa was a fly by trip. We stopped to see the leaning tower and to have lunch. While the tower is famous for its “leaning”, it is also unique in that when constructed it was not attached to or erected near the church. While it is not the only example, it is rare.

The tower is made of limestone and is divided into eight segments called orders. A spiral staircase, with 293 steps, reaches six open galleries, an inner shaft closed by a vault and belfry at the top. We didn’t wait in the long line to climb the tower, but instead snacked on a pizza lunch before making the four drive to Rome’s airport to drop off our rental car.

Eventually we made it into parking garage B. All I could think of are the folks on the Amazing Race. I think we’ve been lost almost everyday…only by a few feet at times, but still circling!

Our Taxi driver was awesome. He took us directly to our Hotel S. Anna located next to the Vatican. A taxi ride from the airport is a flat 48 euro. We could have taken a subway and a bus for cheaper, but didn’t feel like lugging our bags around Rome! Our hotel was lovely with sizable rooms and a nice bath.

We freshened up and took a 30 minute walk to Campo di Fiori, a lively piazza. The Argentinians just scored in the World Cup, so chants of Messi were echoing from the restaurant patios eventhough he didn’t score. We found a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves, Trattoria der Pallaro, just off the beaten path, that serves you whatever they want for 25 euro. Wine, water, and an after dinner liqueur are included. We got plates full of surprises…tomatoes, mozzarella, lentils, bread, prosciutto, rice balls, two types of pasta, pork, salad, potato chips and pie. It was a feast and fun!

We finished up just in time to saunter back to Campo di Fiori to join the USA and Belgium crowds cheering for their respective teams. It was a valiant effort and at least the extra time was good, but the USA couldn’t claim victory. I suppose I will root for Belgium to win the World Cup. They looked pretty good, especially with one of their best players out. We strolled back to the hotel after midnight and stopped at Piazza Navona with the famous Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini before finally slipping into our twin beds around 1am. ETB

campo di fiori

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photographic note card, windmill in Texas — WINDMILL