Another Year…

Every year since I was about 18 my dad and I have gone on some sort of adventure trip for our birthday’s. This year we decided to hang out in La Veta and climb Trinchera Peak, a 13er in the Sangre De Cristo Range. We got up early on Saturday drove the 20 minutes to the trail head, a major bonus to having a place so close to the mountains. Other than a few campers on the way up we had the trail and summit to ourselves. On the way up we saw a heard of mountain goats so we stopped to watch them for a while. It was pretty amazing to see, especially when two of the males started butting heads. I have only seen that on the Discovery Channel, not in real life.

After oohing and ahhing we continued up the trail. It got steeper towards the top, but I think that was more because my dad was making the trail up as we went along. We turned quite a bit of the final ascent into true rock climbing, and there was some major exposure in some areas. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time on the summit because it was really windy and cold. So we hiked down a little bit to a more sheltered area to have lunch and take in the views. The leaves from the surrounding aspens were intense with their changing color. I know that our foliage out here doesn’t compare to out east, but it is still spectacular to see, especially from high on a peak where you can see for miles.

After we ate some lunch we started heading down, again off the beaten path. We traversed across the face of the mountain, making it a nice class 3 in most areas. The rocks were pretty incredible and I found it was so interesting the difference of rocks at high altitudes from mountains created by volcanic movement versus mountains created by plate tectonics. That whole process of how the land developed down there is so fascinating to me and I feel so fortunate to get to experience it all first hand.

Carol ended up meeting up with us towards the bottom of the trail, so we all hiked down together then went back to the cabin to relax the rest of the weekend.

Much Needed Girl’s Night

The weekend started on Friday with a much needed girls get-away to the outdoors. Just Melissa and I headed up to one of our favorite spots, Maxwell Falls in Evergreen, to camp for the night. I believe it was the first time in our lives that just the two of us went camping together. We had a blast, carrying our heavy packs and gear around in circles in the pitch black night looking for a good camp spot. We had one that we frequented but unfortunately it was ruined by people who don’t know the true meaning of being outdoors in the wilderness. There were beer bottles and cups all over, which prompted much bitching from both of us. It is something that we never understood, and we grew up there! We ended up finding a spot that wasn’t as far off the trail as our usual spot, but it would do, and wasn’t littered with remnants of the last campers.

First things first, we cracked a bottle of wine and then proceeded to gather firewood. We started out with wine in hand, which actually lasted a while until we finally realized that we were not getting anywhere just grabbing a small handful of wood each time, so we set down the wine and spread out to gather more wood. We got a small fire going and set up the tent before we settled down to have our girl talk and enjoy some smores. Obviously I am not going to disclose what that conversation consisted of. Sorry boys.

We were really lucky with the weather; it was a very clear, calm night. once we were out of wood, and too lazy to gather more, we huddled by the fire until it died and then went to bed.

The next morning we made breakfast of yummy egg and cheese sandwiches on English muffins and coffee, of course. It made me realize how much I miss that sort of camping. I have been camping this year, but not once did I bring my stove or enjoy a cup of camp coffee. I definitely need to make it a point to do that more often.

After our leisurely breakfast we went for a walk in the woods. I have always loved it up there, and I think even more now that I live in the city. It is such a different experience being deep in the woods as opposed to exposed hikes that overlook the city. The smell is something that can never be replicated, and the color of the changing leaves was spectacular. It is an amazing thought to know that even yesterday those leaves have already taken on a different shade of red, orange or yellow, and we were some of the very few people that got the chance to see them at that moment that we did.

Once we got back to the campsite we loaded up our gear and headed out. A much needed break from reality.

Never Judge a Book by its Cover

In my quest to summit all of the 14ers here in Colorado, Mt. Evans and Pikes Peak have been the only ones I have not been looking forward to completing. This is for the obvious reason that there are roads to the summit. I have never liked the idea of ruining such a spectacular experience by allowing any old tourist to just sit in their car and have them claim they have been to the summit of a 14er in Colorado. Sitting on the summit; that you may have done, but you have lost the true value of what that really has to offer, you have not truly experienced the greatness, the solitude, the reward…

I have lived in Colorado my whole life, and although I have come close, I have never driven to the top of either Mt. Evans or Pikes Peak, and I never in my life plan on it. To be honest, these are probably the only two peaks that I will never want to climb more than once, which is a sad thought.

Yesterday I woke up early and headed west, planning to summit Mt. Evans; on foot, not by car. I really wasn’t excited, which was the first time before a climb. I was planning on a crowded trail, with pretty scenery destroyed by roads, and then the hike to the summit, overlooking a parking lot only a few feet below full of cars and tourists.

I was wrong on almost all accounts… There were only a few cars in the lot, two of which were maintenance vehicles. I passed a couple of people at the trail head, but from there on out Seranno and I were alone with the mountain. The trail was hard to find in spots, so I had to stay focused while I hiked from cairn to cairn. I had to stop a few times and do a 360 to make sure I was still on the right trail, wondering where all the people were. Not a soul in sight. I was in shock, and impressed. The views were amazing from the start, even though there were many roads to be seen. Seranno and I enjoyed our hike, I could sing to myself, and she pranced all over. We made it to the summit around noon, with the peak to ourselves. I wonder how many people have stood on that peak completely alone, especially on a nice day in September… There was the parking lot, but it was empty. Other than that, the views were, of course, spectacular, different from other 14ers mainly for the fact that you could see the city and the plains from there, not just other mountain tops. I think that was the longest time I have sat on a summit completely alone, even in winter. And even still, I left the summit completely empty. I was juiced and still excited to be up there, so I decided to head over and climb Spalding, a 13er. It didn’t take long, and the views were just as spectacular. I was alone on that peak, too. The clouds were moving in fast by this point, so Seranno and I headed down, again without passing another soul.

The road to the summit was closed for the season, which definitely was a factor in the lack of people, but it made me wonder if this peak was actually climbed that often. This thought made me sad, especially after the incredible climb I had up to the top. Who knows, maybe I will climb this peak again…

Beginnings and Ends…

 

My first “official” mountain biking season has come to an end. It has definitely had its ups and downs, with many challenges along the way, one of which finally forced me to end the season earlier than I wanted. I have found out that it is called “cycling palsy” and affects less than ¼ of cyclists. Unfortunately I let it get to a more advanced stage, making it more difficult to heal. Fortunately, though, I finally gave in and quite before it got bad enough to require surgery. It has been tough to admit to and let go of all I had planned for the fall.

With the constant issues I had throughout the season, I wasn’t overall happy with how I raced at the Winter Park series. Every race I felt I could do better, and even though it seemed I improved with every race I still never felt right on. I wanted to redeem myself this fall, having planned and trained to solo the 12 Hours of Snowmass, completing the Tour de Front Range and possibly the 24 hours of Moab, so this setback has been quite a blow to me. Anyone who knows me well knows I have rarely in my life focused on one thing. I have tried to do so many different things, for instance last summer I was on 3 hockey teams, completed a Tri, 10K and mountain bike race, went rock climbing and hiking, did some kayaking and got into yoga. I was never good at any of the above, but I enjoyed them all. I finally decided that I wanted to focus on just one thing and work on getting good at that. Out of all of those activities, mountain biking was the one that really stuck out for me. I was excited and once I really started riding this year, I knew that was where I belonged. There were so many times that being on my bike was the only place I wanted to be. Not being able to have that has been hard, but I have forced myself to view the season as overall a success, and start to focus on other things…

 

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk

 

I started out this season both excited and nervous. I have been looking forward to racing for quite a while, but the fact that I was going to start in Sport class really intimidated me. I really thought I belonged in beginner, but Melissa and I (and Scott) didn’t think it was a great idea for us to have to compete against each other. So I ended up in Sport, where I had to then compete against Marni… Although it went a lot better than it would have if Mel and I competed, it was still difficult. It was really nice to have someone there to warm up with, and take off together at the start, but knowing that she was my competition was rough to deal with in my head sometimes. It was hard since I wanted both of us to do our best, and when I knocked her out of being on the podium the first couple of races, and only by a few minutes, I wasn’t sure what to think or do… Fortunately she kicked butt in the last few races so we were able to be on the podium together a couple of times. I never felt that I was able to relax out there, and my Zen moments of being “one with the mountain” were few and far between, especially in the earlier races. I knew I could do better, I knew I could ride better than I did. Somehow, though, I was still able to get on the podium in every race, pulling out two third places, one second and two first, which was also good enough to get first overall. I still didn’t feel quite right; it didn’t feel right when I would have a really bad race, on the verge of passing out and/or quitting several times, but still pull in a third place, or when I took it super easy on the top mountain circuit because of my wrist, and still somehow got first. I didn’t feel like I deserved it… The races were definitely challenging for me, no doubt about that. There just aren’t enough girls that race to make both the good and the bad races really count. I plan on doing a lot of changes for next year, and the first will be to race in a different category. If Marni for some odd reason decides to stay in Sport, then I will probably race in Expert. If she decides to do Expert, then I will really change it up and do Single Speed. This decision is in no way offense to Marni, I just don’t think I can hold her off my tail for another season, and I don’t want to kill myself trying! I also think it would be fun to cheer each other on in all the different categories.

I am content with what has taken place this season, I never expected at the beginning of the year that I would go from thinking I should be racing Beginner to having to move up to Expert next year. That’s a big accomplishment in itself, and I need to look at that and be excited, and not bummed that I cannot compete in the fall races. It also makes me realize that if I get the rest I need, and train like I should, I could have a very successful season next year in either Expert or SS, as well as be able to do more endurance races without the constant pain that I had to experience throughout this whole season. It was a learning experience to say the least, and I really look forward to having a pain free (hopefully), successful and fun season next year.

This is where I let the thoughts of biking go, at least for a few months, and focus on other things…

I have though about doing a marathon in the past, but since I have never really focused on one thing before, I never had enough time to train for one. Since I am out of activities that involve my hand for a while, I thought this is the best time. So I looked for one that was far enough away that I could train enough just to survive, and came across the perfect one: The Napa Valley Marathon. I think there is nothing better than a nice glass of wine after a suffer fest, and since I will be suffering tremendously, I will need all the vineyards in the Napa Valley to make me feel better. That and Mr. Matt to carry my sore bum to all the wine…

I also plan on doing a few more 14ers this year. My ultimate goal is to do all of them by my 30^th birthday. It’s possible, but I gotta get moving on that if I want to complete it! I did just purchase the Epic Season Pass; my first season pass in about 4 years… I am getting really excited to get back on my board, especially since we have unlimited to Vail and Beaver Creek! Heavenly is also thrown in there, so we will have to plan a trip out that way…

So the more I realized I had going for me, the easier it has been to take the news of not being able to ride my bike for a while. I think I will be so busy I wont even realize it until I can get on my bike again, and my then I will be ready to go!

 

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it…

Long Weekend Thoughts…

I thought being a spectator would be easy… I found I am a better racer than I am a spectator…

 

I always thought I was good at directions… both Saturday and Sunday proved me wrong on that…

 

I never knew it was possible to make a routine Class 2 climb up Missouri Mountain into a more difficult Class 3 and some Class 4… It is…

 

I did find that my truck does really good across rivers and four wheeling…

 

I thought hiking some 14ers would be a good distraction from my wrist… It would have been if I didn’t fall on it…

 

I finally listened to all the signs and decided to bag the 14er trip and head down to the cabin to relax for the rest of the long weekend…

 

There is no better entertainment than watching two guys attempt to kite board on their butts across the Sand Dunes and then seeing a very happy dude prancing down the Dunes playing “The Sound of Music” in his head… Since I really don’t think I can retell this story, Matt, you are obviously the only one that will laugh…

 

No matter how many times I have visited the old cabin near the property, there is always something new to find, or learn, which adds to the mysterious story… like you could buy a urine bag for both males and females back in the day for about $2 from Ward… (Matt was the one that found that, ask him about it…)

 

I found that spending a relaxing long weekend with great company, watching two full beautiful rainbows form after it rained, listening to great music and cuddling while watching documentaries beats trying to conquer 6 14ers… I would repeat it any weekend….