Mt. Sherman #2

So, last September 20th was a big day in our lives. We woke up bright and early at Copper Mountain, and drove to Leadville and the Mt. Sherman trail head. Our plan was to climb the 14, 036 ft. mountain and then head back to Denver. I, and Mother nature, had different ideas. My plan was to propose to Melissa at the top. Mother Nature's plan was less fun ... to not let us get to the top. Anyways, I still proposed and got a yes, just not at the top, and the rest is history. You can read all about it at this previous post from last year, if you have not already: Sherman Engagement.

This past weekend we drove away from the city and up to Keystone. The weekend was dedicated to our "Mini-Moon", as Melissa calls it. We are not actually taking a honeymoon till January, so we felt a weekend up in our beloved mountains was due and we might as well celebrate the recent nuptials at the same time.

Our weekend consisted of great food and drink at Modis, Blue River Bistro and Backcountry Brewery, hot tubing, biking around Lake Dillon (25 miles) and finishing our attempt at the summit of Mt Sherman.


Mt. Sherman Stats:
Difficulty: Class 2
Exposure: 2 of 6
Summit Elevation: 14,036 feet
Trailhead Elevation: 12,000 feet
Elevation Gain: 2,100'
Round-trip Length: 5.25 mi
- We got a sweet Garmin GPS unit from Gary as a wedding gift. We tracked both our bike and hike, but are still working out the download of info. Hope to have that up and working for our next hike/bike/ski blog! -


The weather all weekend was amazing with high 60s low 70s, blue skies and amazing fall colors with the Aspens in a full blaze of gold.


We finally made it to the top of Mt. Sherman (my second, Melissa's first) and had a very relaxing weekend. Can't wait to get back up to the mountains. Maybe for some skiing?

See photos from our bike and hike weekend HERE

Steamboat Springs Getaway

It was a long summer of wedding planning, but we did make it up to the mountains a few times. Late in August we said, "We need a weekend away from 'wedding stuff', where should we go?" Adam and Elisa were nice enough to host us at their house in Steamboat and along with their son Ethan, we had a fun and relaxing weekend away from the city.

We took a nice hike with some great views, rode our bikes through town, perused the local art fair, hit up the rodeo and some tasty ribs, and finished it all off with a great tub down the Yampa river which flows through the center of town (a must if you are there during the summer).

Thanks for your great hospitality Adam, Elisa and Ethan. It was a much needed vacation from all the wedding planning. We are looking forward to hitting the hill with you all this winter!

Check out photos from the long weekend HERE
Note: We had a little technical difficulties with the camera settings, so the photos are a bit on the blue side.

Mt. Massive - 14,421 ft.

Top of Mt. Massive 14,421'. Number 15!

On Friday, my friend and old roommate from Silverthorne, Gary Waterman and I summited Mt. Massive. On Thursday evening we drove from Gary's place in Frisco, over to Leadville and up the Halfmoon Road to the Halfmoon trail head. A 4x4 vehicle is needed to navigate the top portion of this dirt road. They have greatly improved the conditions of the road this summer, so even AWD vehicles like Subarus could make it. We camped in one of the many dispersed tent spots near the trail head.

Around 4:30 a.m. on Friday we woke, made some oatmeal and tea, packed up and were on the trail by 5:30 a.m. It was a beautiful morning, crisp fall-like temps with a bright moon and stars aglow. Out headlamps blazed the trail ahead of us until we reached a clearing area around 11,200 and the trail junction towards the top.

Trail junction to Mt. Massive summit. Gary on the trail ahead.

From here the climb gets steep, 35 degrees over the next two and a half miles to the ridge line, gaining about 3,200 ft in elevation. We steadily climbed towards the top and were met with debris from the Aug. 19 Black Hawk helicopter crash near the ridge line. After meeting up with the standard North facing route, we climbed across the "massive" ridge over four or five false summits and up to the real summit at 14,421' at 8:45 a.m. It was a clear day, but a little hazy with the lingering smoke from the California fires.

Debris from the Black Hawk helicopter crash near the summit.

The view looking Southwest from the top.

Panoramic view from the top. Click on image for larger view.

We enjoyed a snack and the view from the top for about 30 min and then began the long steep descent. While traversing across the Black Hawk crash site, we picked up debris that was along the trail to help with the clean up. There were tons of tiny scraps still lying around. Most likely the debris will be up there for years.

We made it back to the trail head at 11:45 pm, 6 hrs. and 15 min. round trip. An excellent hike, with great company, on a beautiful day!

NOTE: Stats and info about Mt. Massive are listed below the slide show.

Since Melissa was back East for a visit with friends, work and a wedding, she had my camera and I was trying to use hers, which is on it's last leg. So, I only got a few shots compared to the amount I usually take. I supplemented the images with some shots from the 14ers.com website, where we get all out hiking info (marked with 14ers.com).

Photos from the trip are in a slide show below. Enjoy!
(You can click the icon in the lower right for a larger view.)

Mt. Massive
General Information & History

Map of Mt. Massive trails. We took the Southwest Slope route #2, blue line on the left.

Mt. Massive was named by Henry Gannett in 1873 as part of the HaydenSurvey of the American West. First recorded ascent in 1863 by Henry Gannett.

Mt. Massive is the second highest peak in Colorado and the third highest in the 48 states, exceeded only by California's Mt. Whitney and its near neighbor, Mt. Elbert. It's name tells all. It has five summits above 14,000 feet on a 3-mile-long ridge. Massive has more area above 14,000 feet than any other mountain in the 48 states, narrowly edging Mt. Rainier in that category. The mountain, along with Mt. Elbert, forms much of the western skyline of Leadville, which is 11 miles east and slightly north.

Mount Massive is part of the Sawatch Range with Mount Elbert. This range of mountains was formed by uplifting along the continental divide, where two tectonic plates are being pushed together. There are several glacial lakes in the wilderness area. The lower slopes of the mountain are covered in lodgepole pine forests, which gradually yield to Engelmann Spruce and Subalpine Fir. Treeline is just below 12,000 feet.

The mountain and 30,540 acres of the surrounding area were designated the Mount Massive Wilderness by Congress in 1980.

SOURCE - Summitpost.org

DemCamLinBro

Melissa at the top of Mt. Lincoln (14,286')

This past Saturday, Melissa, Erich, Julia, Yeti and I headed into Alma and up Buckskin St. to the Kite Lake trail head. From here you can summit four 14ers in a round trip of just 7.25 miles with 3,700' in elevation gain. The 14ers include Mt. Democrat 14,148', Mt. Cameron 14,238', Mt. Lincoln 14,286' and Mt. Bross 14,172'. These four peaks, plus Mt. Sherman 14,036' (I have summited, but Melissa has not yet), make up the Mosquito Range in Park County, just South of Summit County.

Map of the route. We traveled clockwise from the blue arrow.

This hike is very popular due to its proximity to Denver, the combination hike opportunity and they are fairly short and easy Class 2 hikes when compared to most of the 14ers in Colorado. So you have to get here early. We stayed at the condo in Keystone on Friday night and woke up bright and early at 3:00 a.m. to hit the trail. We were geared up and on the trail by 6 a.m. as the sun started to rise. There were already many cars in the parking lot, so we could tell it would be a busy day. Many parts of the trail system passes through private property. There are a ton of mining claims around these peaks, so you have to stay on the trail.

We summited Democrat with about 20 others. Number 11 for me and 10 for Melissa. Democrat was the hardest out of the four with 2,150' of elevation gain over two miles. However, compared to our last 14er (Mt. of the Holy Cross , 6 miles, 4,500' gain to the top) this one was a cake walk. Erich, Julia and Yeti all summited with us. I think this is number six for Yeti!

Melissa and Jason at the op of Mt. Democrat 14,148'

Then it was on to Mt. Cameron. We down climbed back to the saddle and then headed up Cameron. Julia did not get much sleep with her night work schedule over the past week, so she was feeling a bit sick and decided to turn around with Erich and Yeti. Melissa and I continued on to the top and bagged number 11 for Melissa and 12 for me. Mt. Cameron has a large flat top strewn with loose rock. Not that exciting of a 14er, but we'll count it.

Next up, Mt. Lincoln. The view of Lincoln from Cameron was an interesting one. Besides the hundreds of people on the trails to and from, there was a vast "wastland" of a saddle between the two peaks. We made quick time of the short hike between the two and joined another large group for lunch at the top of Lincoln. Number 13 for me and 12 for Melissa.

View from the top of Mt. Cameron over to Mt. Lincoln.

At the top of each peak we took photos and checked out the scenery. On each peak we got a photo of us with our WhichWich bags. WhichWich is a local chain sub shop that offers free sandwiches to anyone who hands in a photo of themselves with the sandwich bag on the top. Sweet, four free sandwiches this week!

Melissa with her WhichWich bag. Free sandwich!

Now on to the final peak of the day, Bross. We headed back down Lincoln and towards Cameron, just below the peak we traversed left and along the gentle decline along the Cameron/Bross saddle. Talk about cake walk, it might as well have been a dirt road, and pretty much was, once we started to ascend Bross. Mining roads were all over the place and we followed one up to the summit at 14,172'. Number four on the day and 13 overall for Melissa and 14 for me.

Time to head down and get away form all these people. There must have been about a thousand people (no joke) strewn out across the four peaks. I've never seen a set of trails so busy! The descent from Bross is fairly steep and full of loose rotten rock. I'm sure glad I had my trekking poles or I would have ended up on my ass a few times. Many amateur hikers were all over the trail falling and slipping their way down. It was nice to finally be at the car and on our way away from the crowds.

Panoramic view from the trail head.
Left to Right: Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Bross. Lincoln is behind Cameron.
(Click on image for a larger view.)

We drove back to Keystone dreaming of the hot tub that awaited our sore muscles. We made a pitstop at Downstiars at Eric's in Breckenridge for some baked wings and a pint (I highly recommend the baked wings!). Great day overall, plus four 14ers to add to the list!

Check out the slide show below for more photos from the trip:
(You can click the icon in the lower right for a larger view.)

St. Mary's Glacier Hike/Ski #2

See PHOTOS from our ski adventure HERE
See Erich's photos from our hike HERE


Yes, Hike and Ski! Yes, again! Yes in August!

We got our turns in for August today at St. Mary's Glacier (we skied here in July as well: July Blog Post). 11 consecutive months of skiing now.


St. Mary's Glacier stays around all summer and is only about an hour drive from Denver. We found out that it's not really a Glacier, because Glaciers move. This is just an area of snow in a valley that happens to stick around all year. So it's a "Glacier", not a Glacier.


This time Erich (Melissa's brother), Eric (my roommate from Breck) and Steph (Eric's fiance) all joined us for our hike/ski. Once you get to the trail head, there is a short 3/4 mile hike up to the lake. On the far side of the lake, the bottom edge of the Glacier can be seen stretching up the hillside. We made our way around the lake and started up the snow towards the top.


The weather was beautiful with blue skies (again). It didn't take us all long to make it to the top of the Glacier where we threw off our packs and clicked on our skis and boards. There was a little less snow than in July, bit we started at almost the same spot. The glacier was just a little narrower up top. The snow was still very variable with mogul like conditions to negotiate. We all enjoyed our turns in the dirty snow that was soft in areas and crusty in others. We finished with about 600 vertical feet under our belts for the month of August.


As we headed down the trail back to the car, with our skis strapped to our packs, we got quite a few inquisitive looks and comments from tourists taking a short day hike to the lake with their kids and dogs. We finished up the morning with a great lunch and a few pints at Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs.

Not sure where September will bring us for some turns, we'll have to see what mother nature brings between now and then.

Colorado Rules!

See PHOTOS from our adventure HERE
See Erich's photos from our hike HERE

Four Pass Loop

WARNING:
This post may make you quit your job and move to Colorado
(if you have not already)!!

For my birthday last week, Melissa and I headed out towards Aspen to hike the Four Pass Loop around the Maroon Bells. Here is a recap of our four day adventure along with photos and a compilation video. Enjoy!

Trip Statistics:
Days on trail: 4
Nights camped: 3
Miles hiked: 27
Passes crossed: 4
Valleys hiked through: 8
Start Elevation: 9,580 ft.
Highest elevation: 12,500 ft. (West Maroon Pass and Buckskin Pass)
largest elevation gain: approx. 2,420 ft. (Camp Two to Trial Rider Pass)
Largest elevation loss: approx. 2,920 ft. (Buckskin Pass to Trail Head)
Blisters: zero!
Approximate Route: Google Maps Pedometer

On Wednesday after work we started the three and a half hour drive to Carbondale, CO where my stepsister, Karen, and her husband Eric live. On the way we stopped in Edwards at the Gore Range Brewery for some dinner and a pint. We're always trying to add to our Colorado Brewery list! We got to Carbondale late in the evening and enjoyed a short chat with Karen and Eric before heading to bed. We woke early in the morning and headed up to Maroon Lake to hit the trail head.


Our backpacking trip around the Maroon Bells was amazing! From the awesome panorama views through the valleys filled with wildflowers, to the steep climbs up and over four passes. We only hiked about four hours each day and were able to relax at camp for a few hours each afternoon exploring the area and preparing dinner. We woke to the sunrise each morning and packed up camp to conquer the next pass. There were many other people doing the loop at about the same time we were, some the opposite direction. We would meet up with some of them at the passes and see them in the same areas for camps in the evenings. Camp One and Two were very peaceful, Camp Three, at Snowmass Lake had quite a few more people around us, but the views made us forget about that.


The weather for our trip was the best we could have hoped for. Blue sky days for day one through three. As we headed into the tent on night three at Snowmass Lake, it began to rain and poured off and on during the night. Fortunately it had stopped when we woke up and we were able to pack up camp without precipitation. The sun was in and out as we headed up to Buckskin Pass and as we rolled over the top, the clouds moved in quick and it began to rain and hail. The rest of the hike back down to the trail head was off and on rain, but it didn't bother us too much since we were headed for the car and not another camp.


After throwing our gear back into the car, we drove into Aspen to enjoy a juicy burger with fries. Boy did that taste good! We hit the road again, Denver bound. Little did we know that the anticipated four hour drive would soon turn into an eight hour trip. Unfortunately for us, ready for a shower and a comfortable bed after four days on the trail, a semi tanker truck had rolled over on I-70, shutting it down Eastbound for hours. We ended up taking an 80+ mile detour North through State Bridge and Kremmling and back down to Silverthorne to get back onto I-70. We ended up back at home around 1 a.m., dirty, tired and not wanting to head into work on Monday morning.

Surprisingly neither of us were too tired or sore on Monday. No blisters, no cuts, a few bug bites and a little sunburn were about all we had to show for our trek around the Maroon Bells. Oh yeah, and also about 400+ photos and some video!

I've cut down the photos to 241 for you viewing pleasure HERE. I think the photos tell a better story than I do, so have a look when you have a few minutes.

I also took 360 degree video at the top of each pass along with a few other clips here and there. You can view the compilation video HERE. It's about 6.5 minutes.


DAY 1
Start Elevation: 9,580 ft.
Left trail head: 9:15 a.m.
Miles to Camp One: approx. 5.75
Moving time to Camp One: 4 hrs. 7 min.
Camp One Elevation: approx. 11,367 ft.
Passes crossed: None

DAY 2
Start Elevation: approx. 11,367 ft.
Left trail head: 9:04 a.m.
Miles to Camp Two: approx. 6.5
Moving time to Camp Two: 4 hrs. 26 min.
Camp Two Elevation: approx. 10,000 ft.
Passes crossed: Two - West Maroon Pass 12,500 ft. & Frigid Air Pass 12,415 ft.

DAY 3
Start Elevation: approx. 10,250 ft.
Left trail head: 9:17 a.m.
Miles to Camp Three: approx. 6.25
Moving time to Camp Three: 4 hrs. 40 min.
Camp Three Elevation: 10,990 ft.
Passes crossed: One - Trail Rider Pass 12,420 ft.

DAY 4
Start Elevation: 10,990 ft.
Left trail head: 9:50 a.m.
Miles to trail head: approx. 8.5
Moving time to trail head: 4 hrs. 21 min.
Trail head Elevation: 9,580 ft.
Passes crossed: One - Buckskin Pass 12,500 ft.

Approximate overall elevation map:

St. Mary's Glacier Hike/Ski

See PHOTOS from our adventure HERE
See a sort VIDEO from our adventure HERE or at end of post.

Yes, Hike and Ski! We got our turns in for July this past Saturday at St. Mary's Glacier. 10 consecutive months of skiing now, hoping to hit 20 at some point.

St. Mary's Glacier stays around all summer and is only about an hour drive from Denver. Once you get to the trail head, there is a short 3/4 mile hike up to the lake. On the far side of the lake, the bottom edge of the Glacier can be seen stretching up the hillside. We made our way around the lake and started up the snow towards the top. There were a few other people hiking up and one guy on skis just finished his descent as we climbed.


The weather was beautiful with blue skies and a bit of a breeze to keep you cool as you hiked. It did not take us long to make it to the top of the Glacier where we threw off our packs and hiked up a bit more over the ridge line to see what was on the other side. You could see the top of James Peak (13,294 ft.) in the distance.


After a quick snack, we strapped on our skis and headed down negotiating the variable and wavy snow conditions. As the snow melts during the summer, wave like patterns are created across the surface of the snow. Tricky to negotiate, especially on teles. But we enjoyed our turns in the dirty snow that was soft in areas and crusty in others. Towards the bottom we saw a large group of snowboarders headed up with rails, shovels and coolers in tow. It would be a great spot to hang out for the weekend and build some jumps. We finished with almost 900 vertical feet under our belts for the month of July.


As we headed down the trail back to the car, with our skis strapped to our packs, we got quite a few inquisitive looks and comments from tourists taking a short day hike to the lake with their kids and dogs.

"Did you go skiing!?", one man asked, "You guys are hardcore!", another women stated. Guess we are hardcore, but we just think of it as a nice walk in the mountains with the opportunity to enjoy where we live.

We are thinking we may head up there again for our August turns. It should still have some pretty good snow pack then as well.

Colorado Rocks!


See PHOTOS from our adventure HERE
See a sort VIDEO from our adventure HERE or below.

Mt. of the Holy Cross

See photos from the trip HERE
See a video clip of the Holy Cross valley HERE
See a panoramic video clip from the summit HERE

Well, it was quite the interesting weekend to say the least. On Saturday morning we headed out towards Vail to do some hiking, fishing and camping in the Holy Cross Wilderness. As I drove up Tigiwon Road, the eight mile access road to the campground I had a wee problem with my truck. White smoke stated to appear from the undercarriage and I lost all power on the gas. Upon stopping around a corner, I exited to find pretty much all the transmission fluid leaking out onto the road. Ends up I blew the transmission. The truck was towed to the nearest mechanic to sit for the weekend. Fortunately our friends Jaimee and Wes were on their way to join us, so we threw all our gear into their truck and continued on. We were a bit short on room in the Xtera, but it all worked out and we made it to the campground.


After setting up camp we hiked a bit up one of the nearby trails to Notch Creek and did some fly fishing near a beaver pond. The little brookies were biting and we caught a few before we headed back to camp for dinner.


Bright and early on Sunday, 4:00 a.m., Melissa and I woke to hit the trail and hike to the top of Mt. of the Holy Cross. As the sun rose, we arrived at the top of Half Moon pass, about 1,000 ft. vert from camp and at treeline. The trail then heads back down to the valley floor another 1,000 ft. We were not looking forward to tackling that on the way back. After traversing across the side of Notch Mtn. we got our first impressive look at Mt. of the Holy Cross. Quite a site and very imposing to see what the rest of the hike would look like along the north ridge. See a video clip of the Holy Cross valley HERE


After descending to the valley floor and crossing a raging creek, we again began to ascend back towards treeline and the corniced ridge to the summit. We hit some rough bouldered areas along with snow fields and the long cornice, but most of the trail was dry and clear of snow. The views surrounding us were amazing. The snow cornice provided relief from picking through the rocky ridge. After the snow ended we had a sharp ascent to the peak through a rock filled face.


Finally at the peak, mostly covered by snow, we rested and enjoyed the views for about 40 min. This was 14er number 10 for me (plus two double ascents) and nine for Melissa (out of 54 in Colorado). We shared the summit with four other humans and two canines. One of the girls at the top was only 11 and planned to hike all the 14ers by age 17. We wish her good luck and happy climbing! See a panoramic video clip from the summit HERE



After a snack and some hydration we headed down. It was going to be a long trip back. Sometimes you think the way down will be easier than the way up, but after hiking over five miles with 5,000 ft of vert, every step down takes as much effort as the steps up. We saw quite a few Marmots in the boulder field near treeline. As we got closer the the valley below, we remembered the 1,000 ft. of vert we were approaching that was between us and our campsite. The trail that switchbacks multiple times on the way back up to Half Moon pass ends up being one of the hardest parts of the route. We are used to heading all downhill back to the trail head. We pushed through it and returned to camp with another 14er in the bag, 11.5 miles of hiking with almost 6,000 ft of vert in about 9 hours (and one blown transmission).

What a great weekend, for the most part!

Which one will be next on the 14er checklist? Stay tuned to CO Adventure to see.


See photos from the trip HERE
See a video clip of the Holy Cross valley HERE
See a panoramic video clip from the summit HERE

25 and counting

Check out photos from the ski weekend HERE

Melissa and I headed up to the mountains this past weekend to enjoy some spring skiing. Day 24 and 25 for me, 23 and 24 for Melissa on the season. Unfortunately it was not the best weekend weather wise, but the skiing was not too bad. It rained down in Keystone, but mostly snow up at Arapahoe Basin. We took five runs on Saturday and then decided to do a hike/ski on Sunday. The East Wall has a few places that you can hike to and then choose from numerous chutes to descend from. We picked the North Pole for our descent. Great hike and we even found some fresh powder towards the bottom of the North Pole. Skiing in May! Maybe we'll even be able to hit up a few days in June!

Check out photos from the ski weekend HERE

The Trail Less Traveled

Rich, Belinda, Melissa and I decide to enjoy a beautiful blue sky Sunday and head out into Rocky Mountain National Park for a snowshoe hike. Our goal was to hike up to Emerald Lake, but we took a detour after crossing Nymph Lake and blazed a trail of our own. We are sure glad we did, because the traffic of people hiking on the main trail was like driving on I-25 in rush hour. It was nice to get away from everyone on that packed down trail and have an adventure of our own. The views were amazing, the weather was great and the snow was deep.

Check out more photos from our hike HERE.

Aspen Weekend

This past weekend Melissa and I headed West over Independence Pass to Aspen on Saturday. On the way we stopped for a picnic lunch and explored the ice caves. Then checked out Aspen center and the Aspen Brewery before heading to the Snowmass Balloon Festival. We spent the night at "The Peirson Inn" in Carbondale and woke to a magnificent breakfast of sausage and stuffed french toast made by Chef Karen. Then we headed out to check out the Maroon Bells, the most photographed peaks in any park in the US. After hiking up to the base of the peaks, we fly fished in Maroon Lake and had some great luck. Melissa caught her first trout on a fly rod (named it Fred) and I snagged three others. On our way back to Denver we stopped into the Glenwood Canyon Brewing Company for dinner and a pint.

You can see photos from the trip at the following links:

Jason's Photos

Melissa's Photos

Enjoy!

Longs Peak

(Click on headline to see my photos from this post)
On Sunday, August 24, we climbed Longs Peak (14,255 ft). The hike was 15 miles round trip and took us 13.75 hours to complete. We started with five of us (Erich, Wes, Jaimee, Melissa and myself) but Jaimee and Wes had to turn back at the Keyhole due to some altitude sickness.

We camped at the Longs Peak campground on Saturday night. Melissa and I headed over to Lilly Lake on Saturday afternoon to fly fish. I caught a 16 inch Greenback Cutthroat Trout on my fourth cast. It was a beautiful fish.

Our climb started bright and early at 3 a.m. on Sunday. Due to hiking in the dark, I did not get many photos until the sun came up. We watched the sunrise at about mile four, just before the Boulder Field. The Boulder Field is a place where you can camp, prior to making your ascent on the peak, if you want to lug in a 40 pound pack the five miles. From the Boulder Field you can see the Keyhole, where the trail heads through and out to the North West side of the mountain. From this point, there is much more exposure and mostly third class climbing (you need to use your hands to negotiate the trail).

The Trough is one of the harder spots, because there is no noticeable trail and loose rock everywhere. At the top of the Trough you head over a crux and onto a narrow ledge for a while before the Homestretch. The Homestretch leads you up a smooth rock face to the top of Longs Peak.

Once over the top, the peak flattens out into a massive area about the size of two football fields at 14, 255 feet. The views were amazing and the weather was great. Sunny and barely and wind. We enjoyed the peak for a bit and had a quick lunch before heading back down.

The route back is the same as the way we came. However instead of pulling yourself up over all the rocks, you are lowering yourself down and sliding on your rear a bunch. As we came back through the keyhole, we saw the dark clouds heading our way. Erich stopped at one point halfway to the Boulder Field and put on his rain jacket. We joined him, and just in the nick of time. It started to rain and the clouds quickly blew in.

As we got to the campsites at the Boulder Filed, it started to hail and the lighting crashed down all around us. The thunder was so loud that it made you fall to your knees and shook your body. We found shelter with five others and sat out the hail storm for about 20 min. Check out the video of our experience here: Hail Storm Video.

The video only shows the very beginning of the storm. It got worse as the pea sized hail hit our backs and the lightning struck all around. By the time it passed there was about two inches of hail on the ground and covering all of us.

We then headed out to complete the rest of the five miles back to the trail head. Moving as fast as we could we still ran into a few more downpours and a little more hail. Our bodies and feet were aching as we willed our wet bodies down to the car. Our goal was to get to Oskar Blues Brewery and Restaurant as soon as possible to reward ourselves with a pint and burger. Boy did those taste good after that long day!!

Lake Isabelle day hike

(Click on headline to see photos from this post)
Melissa and I took short hike today. The weather turned out to be more like New England than Colorado!

Torreys via Kelso Ridge

(Click on headline to see photos from this post)
Ascent of Torreys via the Class 3 and 4 Kelso Ridge Route.