On Top of the World, or at least a 14er

Last Friday I was able to take five other adults and five girls up a 14er, the first one for many of them.  We started at 0-dark 30 or 4:30am and made the two hour drive up Guanella Pass to the trailhead of Mt. Bierstadt.  I was worried about thunderstorms but it proved to be a beautiful day, even as we saw a few rain clouds pass by but not hit us.

All ready to hit the trail!

 The pond

 If you look really close, there is a moose in the picture.  He was frolicking in the pond a few minutes before.

On the way up--back row (l-R) Elizabeth, Maddie, Angie, Meredith, me, Rachel; front row-Teran, Sierra (missing from picture is Paisley & our male rep Jason)

 We made it! 

 At the official US Geological marker 14,065 ft elevation

 The view from the top

 

We all made it safely back down as well and were pleasantly surprised by a passerby offering us all yummy ice cream.  After hiking 7.3 tough miles we needed that.  Maybe next year these wonderful ladies will join me on another 14er adventure.

The BIG 4-0

As if we hadn't had a summer filled with mountains, glaciers, hiking, and so many beautiful things I thought we would continue the trend.  Eric turned the big 4-0 on Saturday, August 5 and I surprised him with a weekend away just the two of us to Crested Butte.  The ski town was added to our bucket list of cute Colorado towns to visit last year or the year before and it did not disappoint! We left the girls in the great care of cousin Carissa and Aunt Lisa and drove the 4 1/2 hours to Crested Butte.  Eric realized he forgot his hiking shoes so we stopped off in Buena Vista for another birthday present that definitely came in handy.

The collegiate peaks with Mt. Princeton at the forefront overlooking Buena Vista.

 We got to town, checked into our hotel, and went exploring to plan out our next day of hiking.  A few filters may have been applied to the following pictures but it really did look that beautiful with red mountain tips, wildflowers galore, and just beauty everywhere.  We were in heaven!

We drove back to our hotel, cleaned up, and then hit the town of Crested Butte

An art festival was going on and we quite enjoyed it

Birthday dinner complete with elk, filet mignon, bison ravioli, and crab mac & cheese--Delicious!

Saturday we hit the trail and started at the end (at least what to what was closed to vehicular traffic due to an avalanche) of Gothic Road.  First stop--Emerald Lake.

Next up, trail 403 or Washington Gulch.  It felt like we went straight up, evened out for a little bit, and then went straight up again to a point about 11,500 ft. elevation.  The wildflowers and views were amazing.

 The Birthday Boy

One more hike up to Judd Falls and we were done for the day.

Back to downtown Crested Butte for lunch and dessert and then we hit the road back home.  Short trip but totally worth it.  Happy 40th Birthday Eric!

Hi-Ho the Merry-O a-Hiking We will go

Living in Colorado we have no shortage of trails to hike and this weekend we were able to go hiking not once, but twice.  My fervor in getting up to the mountains was mainly prompted by the 90+ degree heat we were experiencing at home.  Getting up in elevation definitely cooled things down.

Friday I took the girls to one of my favorite nearby State Parks--Staunton--where we did a 5.4 mile RT hike to an old mill site. The weather was beautiful and clear, not a thunderstorm in sight and the trail was a good one.

Note--this is an old post that looks like it didn't get published but is from early June.

Saturday we made it a whole family adventure and brought Eric up with us so I could scout a trail for Girls Camp. We went up north this time near Estes Park to the Eugenia Mine trail which starts at the Longs Peak 14er trailhead.

Crossing the creek at Eugenia Mine

 Evelyn and my turn-around point with Longs Peak in the background.

Eric continued up to Estes Cone with the older two

 My hiking buddy in a beautiful meadow

 Chillin by a stream waiting for the rest of the crew

 This picture reminds me of either Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" or the LDS hymn "Choose the Right".  Thankfully it was the right path the we took.

 Down the road from the trailhead is St. Malo's church, an iconic landmark with the mountains in the background that is currently under construction so I didn't get a very good picture.

Girl's Trip RMNP

A few days after saying goodbye to my family, we said goodbye to Eric for his annual 14er trip with the guys. Thursday, we left for our annual girls trip to Rocky Mountain National Park for our own camping and hiking.

We set up camp between little bits of drizzling and then lounged around.  The girls explored the rocks while I enjoyed some quality time in our hammock.  We later took a walk to our favorite bridge at the trailhead for Cub Lake and got rained on (I did bring an umbrella thankfully).  With the rain we did see a beautiful rainbow.

After dinner and smores we went to bed to prepare for another day of adventures.  We got a reasonably early start on Saturday for our hike of the morning to Mills Lake.  On the way we saw Alberta Falls.

 A view of the valley from the trail

 Mills Lake--this was on the list of 10 don't miss dayhikes near Denver and the view was amazing, it almost reminded me of Ouray.

 Having some fun on the way back

 This is the same ledge that made my heart stop on our hike last year (same trailhead, different destination).  I was a little better this year and even got in on the act.

 Don't feed the chipmunk (even if they are super cute!)

 Elizabeth and Rachel held hands a lot of the hike, super cute.  Evelyn was my hiking buddy and did great!

 After our hike the girls played games, I napped.  We went for a walk and then started our fire before it started drizzling.  Thankfully it got roaring before the rain came and the EZ-up and picnic bench were nearby so we could enjoy the fire without the rain and did more smores.

Saturday morning  we wanted to do another hike so after two years of hanging around on the bridge by the trailhead to Cub Lake, we hiked it.  There were so many beautiful wildflowers and a part of the trail felt like it went through a mini rainforest with ferns and so much greenery.  A fire had gone through the area in 2012 but the wildflowers were trying to make up for the deadness.  Cub Lake itself was mostly covered in lilypads and one hiker said he saw a bear nearby, hence the name.

We made it back to camp and packed everything back up to return home.  Our 3rd annual girl's trip to Rocky Mountain National Parks was in the books as a good one!