I just did a quick look at my last post and realized that I have not been aggressively on the road since 4th of July. Having just driven 900 miles from Colorado home to Austin, there is still a bit of road grime that I am dusting off the car and me. A quick recap of my mini-month visit to Colorado, cut short by Spanish classes that started this week. (Debo apprender Espanol porque la familia de mi marido viven en Barcelona)
The Fourteeners
I added three new fourteeners (Harvard, Shavano, Tabeguache) to my list of summitted Colorado Rockies. You can’t really call it climbing because it is just a Class 2 ascent, but it is still challenging. My ass hurts afterwards, I wake up early to do it, and all I want when finished with the hike is a good sleep and Raman Noodles for dinner at my campsite.
Mt Harvard – a pretty hike. I discovered a secret campsite on an obscured plateau about 20 feet over the trail that I found about a mile in. Close to a gurgling stream; it made water resupply easy. And the sound of the water put me to sleep at night. Mt. Harvard is a really pretty route, probably my favorite of all my fourteeners done so far. It is about 12 miles total and when you get to tree line there is a mirror like Bear Lake that would be just delightful to camp by. Once you get to Bear Lake, you have an easy choice to either go East up Mt. Columbia (kind of an ugly mountain) or straight up the face of Mt. Harvard. On Harvard, the top 40 feet are filled with sharp boulders. There were a couple women with fake nails that panicked on the climb down. I felt sorry for them, but was glad to see them trying out the climb. I imagined that this 4teener was the first step in their journey to becoming courageous mountain women. If this transformation were to happen, their manicure and make-up would have to go.
Mt. Tabeguache/Mt. Shavano – I had a little apartment in a 100-year old building overlooking downtown Salida’s main street, so no camping here. But the four-wheel drive road up to the Blank Cabin Trailhead was a serene but slow drive. The sun was rising up over the Banana Belt Valley. This is the best time of the day in the mountains. Why don't I live here all Summer?
The thing to remember next time (if I ever climb Tab. & Shavano again) is that there looks like a fun area to camp about 2 miles into the trail. Good for larger groups. The area is flat, it’s right below tree-line and there is a stream pretty close. I smelled bacon grilling on a campsite fire as I passed through the area. Jealous. I ate more trail mix.
I ended up climbing Shavano twice because it was the only stable route to Tabeguache. By the time I got to Tabeguache, folks were high-tailing it off the mountain because the clouds were rolling in.
I am deathly afraid of lightning so started to trail-run off the peak to safety. However, one wonders about the probability of lightning striking twice. Is that per proximity to a specific person? Or to a location? Our house was hit by lightning while I was IN it, so does that mean that I am less likely to get hit on top of a mountain? Rather than tempt the gods, I got the hell off the mountain.
The Honorable Mentions
It would be rude to not mention the other highlights of my time away from the heat.
1. Checked out the gnarly sharks with Kylee & Darcy in downtown Denver. Every time I see Darcy, it’s like we just pick up from the conversation that we began the year before. A sign of a timeless friendship.
2. On a 7 mile run up Mt. Methodist (outside of Salida), I saw two elk with pretty serious racks visiting a very old cemetery. The kind of cemetery with old weathered white crosses along the mountain side.
3. Got to chase one of my favorite ultra-marathoners John Peck around for 27 hours as he ran 100 miles amongst the Leadville mountains. We had the best motley crew – it even came with beer.
4. Discovered that my love for red wine runs in the family. My Grandma and I got to spend some good quality time catching up.
5. Watched the Pack Burro Buena Vista race, which is a mountain foot race that must be done while dragging an owned (or rented) burro along the route. I think we should get a group to do this next year.
6. Spent some good quality time with my Mom & step-dad. I am still thinking about the breakfast casserole that she made. And Wayne just published a book.
7. Got away from the terrible heat in Texas.
A few snaps from the trip
Bear Lake, Mt. Harvard
Ptarmigan Lake Hike, Collegiate Peaks
Top of Tabeguache
Along the hike up to Mt. Shavano
