Tag: wildwanderer

Pikes Peak – Sunrise and Fall Foliage

I woke up at 2am a bit confused.  Why was I getting up this early on my first
day off in over a week?  Oh yeah,
hiking!  I rolled out of bed and looked
out my front window at Pikes Peak.  As
usual, the weather forecast for the peak was wrong.  It was supposed to be a clear day, but I
couldn’t see the summit house light, which meant the peak was covered in clouds.
 Drat.  

I went online to check my favorite Pikes
Peak weather forecast (because it’s the most accurate).  It was last updated at 1:30am and said it
would be windy after 10 am with a 20% chance of snow before 10am. 

I gave it some serious thought. I don’t
function well in the cold, but it’s almost October: this might be my last
chance to summit all year.  And it wasn’t
really supposed to be cold, just windy.  Whenever
I can’t decide I decide to go.  I’ve
never regretted this decision, and always give myself the authority to turn
around if it becomes too dangerous to continue the hike.

My camelback was already packed with
water, sunscreen, gloves, and snacks.  I made
some coffee, skipped on breakfast, and drove the 35 minutes to the
trailhead.  There weren’t any other cars in
the parking lot.  This made sense:
Manitou City Council just announced they were raising the fee to park at the
Barr Trailhead to $20 per day, effective immediately.  Obviously people got the message and are
staying away.  I feel sorry for the
caretakers at Barr Camp:  They’re going
to lose out on a lot of revenue.  But I
digress. 

I began at 3:04am.  While I couldn’t see the peak, I could see
the crescent moon and several constellations in the night sky.  The air was crisp and the stars
twinkling.  I’m not a huge fan of hiking
at night without a full moon.  My
headlamp works wonders, but it doesn’t do much for depth perception.  The first few miles of the trial are always
visually stunning at night on Barr Trail. 
The lights of Manitou and Colorado Springs are mesmerizing.  Crickets sang as my mind wandered.

This will be my 9th summit of
Pikes Peak (7th this year alone). 
I’ve always wanted to see a bear while hiking the Barr trail.  I know they’re out here, as I’ve seen pictures
of bears on the Incline.  I also know
they’re a nuisance in the city, so at some point I should come across one.  Around MM2 I turned the corner and was
shocked to see two eyes looking at me from about 6 feet in the air.  I immediately thought that was strange
because the parking lot was empty.  No
one else should be on the mountain.  I
shook my head and looked again.  This
time the eyes were on the ground, shifting back and forth. 

Yes! 
I was finally seeing a bear!  I
reached for my camera and thought sarcastically:  “Great, the first time I see a bear on the
trail and it’s too dark to take a picture! 
Oh well, I’ll just enjoy the experience.”  I moved my head again, and as I watched a
large pair of antlers came into focus.   It wasn’t a bear but a very large buck
standing about 12 feet away from me.  His
head came up again and he stared me right in the eyes.  He was much larger than me, so I decided to
just wait him out.  He tilted his head down
and forward and I thought “OMG!  He’s
going to charge me!”  He honestly looked
like he was contemplating the action. 
Then he slowly walked a few steps into the brush.  As soon as I couldn’t see him anymore I heard
him rushing through the underbrush, quickly bounding away. 

Well, that was a fun experience!  From that point on for the rest of the hike
in the dark the shadows played tricks on me. 
Each shadow I saw was another creature lurking.  I didn’t see any more glowing eyes, but there
was a lot of rustling.

Did I mention the wind?  It was fantastic!  It felt like I was living an experience out
of Sleepy Hollow.  There I was, the first night of fall, hiking
miles away from civilization, in the dark, with just my headlamp to guide
me.  I could hear the wind snaking its
way through the canyons for miles before it reached the nearby trees and I
could feel it encircle me.  Aspen leaves
fell and swirled like snow in the glow of my headlamp.   

I made the decision on this hike not to
hike for time, but to just enjoy the experience.  It was still dark when I passed Barr Camp at
5:33am.  For the first time ever I saw
the kitchen light was on and was reminded I was hungry.  I’d skipped eating breakfast as I wasn’t
hungry at 2am, and I don’t get hungry while hiking, but at this point my
stomach was rumbling a bit.  Maybe I
should re-think the skipping breakfast thing. 

I passed in silence and continued my way
up the trail.  The wind was pretty
strong, so I kept my head down and just kept walking forward.  I’m really glad I’ve done this hike so many
times before: twice I walked off the trail by accident, but was able to realize
my mistake before walking more than 10 feet off the path. Once near the turnoff
for the bottomless pit, and another time about a mile from A-frame.  I don’t recommend taking this hike for the
first time in the dark.

At about this point I realized the sun
was going to come up soon. If I hurried I’d be able to see it from the A-frame!  I now regretted my decision not to hike at a quicker
pace.  I was going to have to book it to
make it before the sun came up!  So I
started hiking faster.  I made it to the
A-frame at 6:43am, about 5 minutes before sunrise.  No one else was there, so I sat on the ledge of
the structure and looked west.

The next 15 minutes were the most
visually stunning of my life.  I’ve seen
a sunrise before, but not like this.  I
sat alone with the knowledge I was the only person on that mountain and watched
the sun rise like a fireball in the sky, inch by glorious inch over Colorado
Springs. The colors were amazing.  I
tried in vain to get a good picture/movie/selfie, and in the end just sat back
and enjoyed the experience. 


This is why I hike!  This is why I got up at 2am to hike 26 miles
on a trial I’ve already conquered.  I was
so glad I made the decision to get out of bed and go experience the
mountain. 

The wind started picking up and the
temperature started to drop.  I put on my
heavy duty ski gloves and set out to tackle the summit.  As I made it above treeline I noticed the summit
was covered in roiling, fast moving clouds. 
The wind was intense, almost knocking me off my feet several times.  I was no longer in a hurry, but still anxious
to make it to the top. 


I summited at 8:22am, the first hiker up
the mountain.  The clouds were so thick I
couldn’t see much, let alone the view the summit is famous for.  The summit house was open and there were a
few workers getting ready for the first cog of the day (9am).  I felt like someone alone at a McDonalds at
4am, with just the workers there.  I didn’t
talk with anyone as I warmed up and quickly headed back down, as I wanted to
leave before the cog arrived:  I’m not a
fan of crowds.

About 5 minutes after I started my trek
down a large gust of wind blew all the clouds off the mountain.  It was warm and sunny on the peak for the
rest of the day, and I was only about ¼ of a mile from the top, but I wasn’t
interested in summiting again today.   The best part about that gust of wind was the
view it gave me of the mountains below. The aspen trees were changing from a
dark lime green to a bright mustard yellow, and from 13,000 feet up the view
was amazing!

I stopped at A-frame for a few minutes
to take some landscape photos, then was on my way again.  Here’s where it really got interesting:  the fall colors were amazing!  I’ve lived in Colorado since 2007, and have
never seen such vivid greens, yellows, oranges, and reds on the trees.  I took dozens of pictures/videos, intent on
sharing my experience with those who couldn’t make the 26 mile hike.

There’s a small bench outside of Barr
Camp, and this morning I realized what that bench is there for:  The view of Pikes Peak behind a grove of aspens
is something I could sit and enjoy for hours. 
I took a few pictures and continued on my way. 

Pikes Peak was only in view for a little bit, but beautiful.

Another sighting from along the trail:

I couldn’t help but think once again how
pleased I was with myself at taking this hike. 
It’s not like I HAD to take it, as I’ve hiked Pikes Peak many times
before.  But no matter how many times I
make the trek, it’s always different. 
Today I experienced the most visually stunning sunrise I’ve ever seen,
as well as the changing aspen leaves in all their glory. 

Life is good.   

Summiting Pikes Peak 9-10-2016

This time when we made it to the parking lot at the base of the trail it was halfway full.  Apparently there were a lot of hikers this weekend!

Even though I’d asked them to go before we left the house, one of the girls needed to use the restroom before we started.  I’m not a fan of trail restrooms, and encouraged her to wait a bit because it was probably dirty, but she insisted.  So while I paid for parking she used the restroom.  When she got back she said it was pretty clean, but there was a homeless person sleeping outside.  Facepalm. 

We started the trail at 3:06am.  There was no moon to guide us, so we got a great view of Manitou and Colorado Springs as we hiked. 

The girls made pretty good time. We made it to MM2 at 3:59am, which meant they were hiking a little over 2mph. 

Around MM4 it got really, really cold.  I’m not sure why (I’m guessing it’s due to a shift in topography) but MM4-6.5 of Barr Trail are always really, really cold.  It felt like the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees. I’m guessing it was in the high 20s.  It got so cold my hands started to swell and I lost feeling in my fingers.  Luckily there was no wind, but I honestly felt colder than I had a few weeks ago when it was snowing. I put on my gloves, but that didn’t really help.  I kept encouraging the sun to rise over and over again, knowing that’s what I needed to warm up.

We made it to Barr Camp at 6:05 (still hiking about 2mph), and about 15 minutes later the sun began to rise and we began to thaw out.  The colors on the mountain in the morning are absolutely amazing!  There is so much light it’s really hard to get a clear picture, but that didn’t stop me from trying:

I was really surprised at how much red was in the light this morning

Added to the red was the changing yellow of the aspens.

We made it to A-frame at 7:35am.  The A-frame was occupied by an older man and his adult children.  They’d hiked Pikes Peak 18 years ago and were back to hike it again.  It looked like they were set up to camp all weekend. 

We also learned there was a special hike today:  The Pikes Peak Challenge. 

The Pikes Peak Challenge is the Brain Injury
Alliance of Colorado’s flagship fundraising event. 
Participants have the opportunity to raise funds by climbing Pikes Peak.  We were told there were about 400 participants, but not to worry because we were hours ahead of them.  Also, this wasn’t a race, they’d just be hiking. 

After A-frame we saw challenge volunteers at each of the three remaining mile markers.  They were all really nice and supportive, even though we weren’t participating in the event. 

I tried to take a selfie with 3 marmots…

The girls were getting pretty tired when we had about 1.5 miles left to go.  They were doing great, but lacking a bit in motivation.  We made it to the cirque and some volunteers gave them dum-dum lollipops and they were excited once again!

We took a bit of a break at the 16 Golden Stairs.  Volunteers from El Paso County Search and Rescue were there, preparing to assess Challenge hikers.  We talked for a bit, and they encouraged me to sign up to join EPCSAR.  It’s honestly something I’ve been thinking about, but not something I’ll have time for until Emily graduates High School. 

On we trekked.  This is where my “motivating” the girls kicks in the hardest.  Lots of life lessons are learned at this point in the hike.  It’s a fine line between encouraging them and  making them hate me for making them continue.  They told me later I did a great job…lol!

We made it to the summit at 9:59am!  That’s just under 7 hours, and a great time for the girls! 

They were exhausted, and opted to sit for a while before taking pictures.  I asked them if they’d ever done anything harder in their lives, to which Julianna replied (and Lakin agreed):  “The only thing harder I can think of is cookie sales”.  Spoken like a true Girl Scout!  They would know, they take cookie sales seriously!  They’ve each sold thousands for years in a row, and know what hard work it can be. 

I was proud of them, and told them they could take an extended break.  A summit spider joined us for donuts…

It’s really hard to breathe at 14,000+ feet:  Your body is working overtime just to breathe, and time can get distorted.  When I told the girls we needed to get going because it’d already been 45 minutes they didn’t believe me.  They swore it had only been 5-10 minutes. I had to show them the time to convince them! 

We took a few summit pictures and began our descent. 

Here is where the hike got really fun!  The girls were super proud of their accomplishment, and wanted to encourage the Challenge hikers on their way up the mountain.  We high-fived ever hiker we saw on the way down, and the girls would shout out words of encouragement: “You got this!"  "Trust me, I’ve been in your shoes, just think positively!"  "With a positive attitude there’s nothing you can’t do!”

Those girls are amazing!  The other hikers thanked them for their enthusiasm, which was much needed at this point in their hike. 

When we made it back to the 16 Golden Stairs we were offered more candy. This time I took a Werther’s (an indulgence I haven’t had since I was 12).  Instant memories came flooding back.  It totally made my day!

About a mile above treeline we had a hiker point and tell us:  “See that man in the red jacket?  That’s Robert Downey Jr."  I was intrigued, but didn’t much believe him.  That didn’t stop me from catching up to the man in the red jacket to find out for myself.  Unfortunately, it didn’t look much like him:  His hair was the right color, but he was a bit overweight and sported full facial hair so I couldn’t much tell if it was him or not. 

We said "hello” as we passed him and kept hiking down, enthusiastically high-fiving everyone along the way. 

Back at A-frame the man and his kids were still there.  It didn’t look like they planned on hiking at all today.  Quite a shame for other hikers hoping to snag the A-frame for themselves tonight.  There were a lot of hikers around the A-frame, filtering water and milling about before tackling the hardest part of the hike. 

We only rested there for about 15 minutes, then once again started hiking down.  The girls were practically running at this point (it is MUCH easier to hike down than up).  We saw many more hikers there to complete the challenge, all hiking up the mountain.  We never saw anyone else hiking down. 

We stopped at Barr Camp for another 15 minutes to use the restroom and for a snack.  The girls were still all smiles!

For the rest of the hike down the girls kept up a fast pace.  They still high-fived everyone they passed, but we didn’t see many more challenge hikers.  In fact, the only ones we saw were those returning down the mountain because they weren’t able to summit.

When asked we told hikers we’d hiked all the way to the summit and were on our way down.  Everyone was impressed, and one (very fit) woman remarked:  “Wow!  You all made it?  Those girls are more hardcore than I’ll ever be!"  The girls took that as quite the compliment!

We made it back down to the parking lot at 3:40pm, and once again the restroom was needed.  This time however it was flooded. 

Grouse Mountain Trailhead Loop

Today I decided to hike the Western part of Mueller State Park from the Grouse Mountain Trailhead down to Geer Pond and back in sort of a loop.  Total trail was 5.52 miles and took exactly 2 hours to hike.  I started the hike at 11:15am without a jacket.  I was a bit cold, but it looked like it would eventually warm up.  It did, but it took about half an hour.  It never got “hot”.

The beginning of the hike brought me to a very small (one room?) cabin.  It was most obviously dilapidated and overgrown with pine trees sprouting from the floor.  I questioned its odd placement and what it was used for, as it wasn’t near any obvious necessities (a road, water, etc.) and was located in the middle of a hill. 

Just as I rounded the corner from the structure I came upon some burn piles.  I thought how cool it was Mueller was doing some thinning, then realized the piles were over the boundary of Mueller.  That got me to wondering who owned the land…

At this point in the hike I started noticing a lot of markings on the trees.  Specifically the Aspen trees.  Most look like they’re from deer or elk, but a few showed similarities to Black Bear markings. 

By now it was finally starting to warm up a bit.  I was able to see the backside of Pikes Peak in the distance with a little bit of snow on the peak:

At this point I came upon some bike riders.  I heard them before I saw them, and was a bit upset as I was sure they were scaring all the wildlife away.  Why can’t people hike in silence and enjoy the sounds of nature? 

As I rounded the corner I heard what sounded like a weed-wacker.  I was pondering why someone would think such a device was necessary in the backcountry when I realized it was an insect.  A very loud insect.  I’ve heard clappers before, but this was ridiculous!  I could see it flying about 10 yards away.  It looked yellow in color, but I wasn’t able to get a better look at it to see what kind of an insect it actually was.  It wasn’t a moth or butterfly.

The halfway point of my hike brought me to Geer Pond.  This is by far my favorite pond at Mueller.  I’ve spent countless hours fishing here, and love the solitude.  No one was here today but I didn’t have time to stop and enjoy the pond (my kids were waiting for me back at the campsite).  I took a quick picture and started my (uphill) trek back. 

Mueller is a great place to hike, but unfortunately it sits at the top of a hill, so you inevitably start hiking downhill and end your hike going back up. Fortunately I would rather hike uphill, as my body is conditioned for an uphill hike. 

I passed a drainage area and those bikers again.  They were confused as to how I’d passed them, and I replied I’d taken a loop.  I ended up passing them a third time later in my hike, to which they seemed embarrassed:  “Usually the bikers pass the hikers” they noted.  I smiled, talked to them a bit about reading the trial maps at Mueller, and kept hiking. They never caught back up with me. 

I hadn’t seen any wildlife on this hike (except that loud insect), so I was happy to see a rabbit in the middle of the trail.  It wasn’t happy to see me and bounded behind a tree.  I watched it and was delighted to see a cluster of (edible) Sheathed Woodtuft mushrooms. 

That was the extent of my hike.  As always I was glad I’d taken the hike, but a bit disappointed I hadn’t seen more wildlife.  I ended up getting quite a sunburn as well, which was totally unexpected since I’d hiked the entire time with goosebumps, wishing I’d brought along a jacket.

Married to the Mountain

My birthday present came early!  Last week I found a ring I REALLY liked
online.  It had to be made to order, so
the site said it took 6-8 weeks to ship. 
That meant I should have gotten it the second week of September, just in
time for my birthday.  It was the right
price, so I decided to make it my birthday present. 

You can imagine my shock when it arrived in the mail
today!  I opened it as I was walking back
from the mailbox and tried it on.  It was
a bit smaller than I’d anticipated, but not enough to make me upset.  From above it looks just like a solid gold
band, but from the side you can see Pikes Peak.

For some reason rings are always big on me, so this time I
ordered a 5.5 to be sure it fit (I usually order a 6 and it ends up being way
to big, sliding around my right ring finger). 
Imagine my surprise when this ring didn’t fit on my right ring
finger!  Well, I could “make” it fit, but
it wouldn’t come off without some serious tugging, so I moved it to my left
ring finger (where it slides around… go figure!).

When I got inside I showed it to Emily.  She was impressed, and said it was “perfect” for
me. 

I said to her “the only bad part is it has to go on my left
ring finger”, then explained how that is usually reserved for wedding bands, so
now everyone would think I was married. 

She started giggling, then laughing.  I asked her “what’s so funny?” 

Emily:  “You’re
married t the mountain!  It’s absolutely PERFECT
for you!!!”

My daughter knows me so well!  Yes, I suppose it’s quite fitting.  In any event, I’m in love with it!

Why I Love to Hike

This
picture right here I think explains it all, but I’ll try to put it into
words. 

 

To
be honest, I’m not really sure of all the reasons why I hike.  However, I do know that when I’m not hiking,
I find myself wishing I were.  I find
myself scrolling through the outdoor and
backpacking sections of Pinterest,
and I’m hard pressed to leave a Walmart without browsing through the camping
section.  My internet searches include “best
hikes in Colorado” and “bucket list hikes”. 

 

Every
time I return home from a hike I become that much more of an enthusiast. When
you get serious about long distance hiking it becomes a lifestyle. I’m always
thinking about that next trip, no matter how far off it may be.  I’ll be planning:  what do I need, what the hike itself will be
like, how will I get there, what’s the best route, what time should I leave, etc.,
no matter how far off the trip may be.

 

One
of my favorite hikes is a 26 mile trek up Pikes Peak, 13 of which are uphill.  My next adventure is hiking Rim to Rim of the
Grand Canyon this fall.  For some people the
idea of facing such obstacles, especially voluntarily, seems crazy, but to me
it’s exhilarating.

I really like hiking. There are lots of
reasons why, but I think the most important is mental. My life is stressful.  I have a lot of responsibilities at work and
home, and it’s hard to find the time to do everything I need to do.  Hiking provides a sort of relief.  For as long as the hike takes I can’t be
bogged down by the other challenges I face. I don’t see this as “running away”,
but more like mandatory “relaxing” time because I don’t get any other way.

When I hike I’m actually able to relax. 
My
life is loud, busy, crazy, chaotic and amazing. I don’t have time to soak
in the bathtub sipping on a glass of wine. 
In any event, I’d rather “relax” next to a babbling brook anyway.

 

Hiking is meditative.  When you’re hiking the only things you
really need to worry about are your destination, water, and when to eat, so it
allows your mind to focus on other things. 
When I hike I have time to think and problem solve.  I
tend to fall into a trance where I explore topics from the past, present, and
future.  Most days I have a million ideas and
thoughts that go through my head and not enough time to fully explore all of
them. When I’m hiking I’m able to think through solutions to problems. I’m able
to come up with creative ideas and I’m able to think through new ideas. 

 

Hiking’s
an excellent time for self reflection.  I’m
always trying to be a better person than I was yesterday, and time on the trail
gives me the opportunity to analyze myself as a person, mom, leader, etc., and
find room for improvement.  

 

I
also hike to get extra exercise and to push myself. While I work out on a
treadmill 7 days a week, I
just can’t push myself on a treadmill. I’m already at the steepest incline, and
watching television as I work out bores me. 

 

A
mountain trail requires real commitment. 
Maybe it has to do with the time investment or maybe it’s just a matter
of pride. It doesn’t really matter, when I have the desire to climb a big
mountain I’m going to do it.  The more
challenging the more exhilaration I feel when it’s accomplished.  And think about it, what other exercise can
you do for 10-12 hours continuously?

That being said, it goes beyond exercise. I
don’t get the same satisfaction from my daily 5-10 mile morning workout than I
do when I put on the serious boots and a pack. I think it is a feeling of
self-reliance. There is nothing like checking your watch one last time at the
trailhead and letting your eyes take in the adventure that you are about to
plunge yourself into. Whatever’s currently going on in your life can be pushed
aside (or explored) once you’re on the trail. 

I
also like the sleep that occurs after the exhausting myself on the trail. I’ve
always had a difficult time getting to sleep, but I find it’s a bit easier once
you’ve physically exhausted yourself. 

 

No
matter how many times I hike a path, I’m never the same person at the end of
the trail I was when I started.  There’s
always something new I find that wasn’t there before or something I learn about
myself through my musings.  Different
flowers bloom in the different weeks of summer, and I’ve discovered “new” caves
and creeks on trails I’ve travelled dozens of times.  The opportunity to see wildlife is a
spontaneous and ever changing gift.

 

I
love what my body can do and what hiking does to my body.  A few weeks ago I was hiking and saw some
Bighorn Sheep traversing the ridge next to me. 
They were truly amazing to look at: robust creatures using their toned
and defined muscles to jump from rock to rock. 
After a long hike I notice muscles I never knew I had, and that gives me
a sense of satisfaction.  In other words,
hiking time = toning time. 

 

I’ve learned if you can climb a mountain, you
can do anything. Reaching the top of a mountain is an impressive physical,
mental, and emotional accomplishment. And it’s motivating.  There’s a challenge to it all, and in the end
you can travel farther and accomplish more than you think. 

 

Uphill treks like Pikes Peak only leave two
choices: reach the top or turn around. Reaching the top only requires the
perseverance to keep putting one foot in front of the other. At the end of a
long hike with the scouts I remind them of all they’ve accomplished that
day:  How far they’ve come since they set
out that morning.  It’s a life
lesson:  When life gets tough put one
foot in front of the other and just keep going. 
As long as you don’t stop, eventually you’ll make it to your
destination.  And feel amazing once you
get there!

Knee Progress

Well, this is my knee exactly 2 weeks after the incident.  I’m pretty happy with how well it’s healing.  Seriously, considering I didn’t get the stitches I’m pretty sure I needed. 

You can still see the three puncture sites, although there’s only one that hasn’t healed all the way yet and is still tender to touch.  That one’s going to give me the “biggest” scar, although it won’t even really be that bad.  You can also see the little “pimples” popping up all over my knee:  Since I didn’t immediately wash the injury little pieces of sand, dirt, and rocks lodged themselves in the cracks, and they’re working themselves out. There is a very large bruise the length of my knee and shin, but all in all it’s doing pretty well. 

What’s even cooler is I was able to hike Pikes Peak again yesterday.  When I first fell I was worried I’d seriously injured myself and that I wouldn’t be able to work out/hike/do yoga for a while.  I probably should have taken a few days off, but I’m too stubborn for that.

I’ve been a terrible patient, but great at caring for the wounds.  I didn’t use antibacterial ointment (gasp) but did change the dressings daily and used quite a bit of Vaseline.  That stuff works miracles.  I predict it to be fully healed within a week (crossing fingers).

This is where I fell

OK, you’ve all read the story, so here’s the picture I neglected to stop and take when I took my tumble.  This is at about MM5.5 on the Barr Trail, and in this picture you can’t see the dirt/dust because it had just rained and settled everything down.

I was hiking down the trail (so in this picture think of someone walking towards you), rounded the corner, tripped over one of the larger rocks, and fell onto a smaller one.  Then I kept going.