Box Canon Falls

Back to Norwood for some new visitors. Jacqueline's dad Tom and her uncle Bill were out exploring the west and mainly were wanting to meet their new granddaughter and grandniece. We spent time at home playing with Zyla, but they were wanting to get out a little bit and we weren't ones to object, so Jacqueline and I took them up to Ouray. We drove to a trailhead by the campground where we stopped. Bill, Tom and I walked the short Baby Bathtubs Trail while we waited for Jacqueline to feed. It was not really worth it to tell the truth. After Jacqueline was done, we got on the Portland Trail. This trail was very similar to the Cheif Ouray Mine trail being many switchbacks, but not as steep. We were hiking slower with little baby Zyla in her wrap. We did not make it incredibly far before Jacqueline was ready to turn around. We were able to get some excellent views, but we wanted to go to Box Canon Falls before lunch. This place, Jacqueline and I had actually tried to go there a week before Zyla popped out. They closed down right as we arrived. You had to pay an entrance fee of about 4 dollars to see the falls. While I was not entirely thrilled about charging just to see something, it was worth it to do it once. It was a short hike to get to where the falls came out. I was surprised by the shear power of the water. It was really pouring down at an incredible rate. It went through such a small opening that you would think some erosion would take place. Fortunately no, but it was tough to even get a good picture of the falls with all the rock that stood in the way. There was a big platform built out over the falls so you could see it and it also led down into the river, but no one would be crazy enough to actually step foot in that powerful river. We stayed there for a bit and then went back. There was one more section of trail to hike that took you to a bridge overlooking where the falls poured down. Jacqueline hiked the first part with us, but then retreated as the trail became steeper. 

It was good that she did, but she missed a great view. There was a view on both sides of the bridge. The first was the narrow canyon and the rolling whitewater rushing downstream to make the plunge over the falls. The second was the beautiful town of Ouray where much adventure awaited. We decided to hit the town after finishing our hike. 

We found a nice Mexican restaurant with a bunch of dollar bills on the ceiling. The food was really good and the baby did wonderful, just sleeping her way through everything. We went back to Norwood to spend a few more weeks before embarking on our summer tour.

Bear Peak

Revisiting an old favorite, I decided on Saturday morning in Boulder to go climb Bear Peak. We were staying with Jacqueline's friends Melissa and EJ. I woke up early and was on the trail at the NOAA Research Center up on the hill above Table Mesa. It was a big parking lot, but was already starting to fill up. I saw a lot of people on the trail, but for the whole trip I ended up hiking behind the same guy. He set a good pace and I did not want to go too fast. I was sweating like crazy, though and forgot just how straight up this trail was. It went from about 5700 feet to over 8000 in a little over 3 miles. I passed quite a few people and enjoyed the view. It made me appreciate my time in Boulder a bit more because of all the fun opportunities located in one small city. I got to the ridge by 9am and was on the summit by 9:30am feeling good about my push up that whole way in only an hour and a half. I talked to the guy I was following up there on the summit. He was a good guy and he said he was doing that hike every week training for a race up Pikes' Peak. I got him to take my picture and even was able to get a panoramic picture of the mountains from Bear Peak that were always hard to see in all my other pictures because they were just far enough away to not get a good picture. I remembered how much I liked that hike and how gnarly the summit truly was. I flew down in record time and going down I did not have a companion to hike with me. I recalled my other efforts where I would take short breaks every 45 minutes to change the CD on my discman. Now with the Ipod, I could just keep moving. I was back to our friends house by lunch time and ready to sit on the couch for the rest of the day watching soccer. So great to have such a wonderful peak so close to a fun city.

Zyla's First Hike is a Dream

Wanting to take a little preemptive trip before our big long trip in July and August, we decided to go visit some friends in the Front Range. We drove the first day from Norwood to Kremmling and stayed in a hotel that night. Zyla did very well with the drive considering we had stops in Telluride and Montrose that slowed down the trip. The next day we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park through the West side entrance. We ran into road construction, but eventually made it to the East side of the park to the house of Mark and Tamara Nydell. Mark and Tamara worked with me at Zion during my first season there. They have two little girls, Grace and Ava, almost 4 and 2. They were very cute and excited to see the brand new little baby. We went out to lunch and then got ourselves packed up for a short hike. We drove up to Bear Lake and started from there. Our goal was Dream Lake, a place that I had spent much time back in my trail crew days when I worked at Rocky. We got Zyla packed into the wrap and she was comfortable and soon fast asleep in her own little dreamworld. Jacqueline carried her and we had a short one mile hike to get there. Along the way, we stopped at Nymph Lake and took a family picture. Mark carried little Ava and Grace bounced back and forth from being carried to walking. We moved slow at the pace of people with three kids. Zyla got lots of comments from people, especially about how tiny she was. The trail climbed uphill through an excellently built trail until we ran into Dream Lake. We stopped there for family photos. It really was an amazing spot. We were happy that we made it that far, but I wanted to go a little bit farther to see some of my trail crew work. The problem was that we were starting to run into snow as we made our way around the lake. We only made it as far as my little platform I built, but did not get to see a lot of my major trail work. It would be fun to go back, but on a day like today, it was not about ambition, but catching up with old friends. It was fun to be around other parents near our age with little girls. We could tell that Mark and Tamara were excellent parents. They had a happy home and invited us to crash with them for the night. We took them up on it and Zyla was so good. We really enjoyed staying in Estes Park and it was Jacqueline's first taste of a place that I called home for a couple summers.

I Saw a Mountain Lion!

Leaving my pretty little daughter and her pretty little mother, I went out for a hike. Having some maps to go off of now, I found a trailhead rather near our house. It was up the Deep Creek road on the way to Telluride. It was only 35 minutes away to get to the road and then another few miles up that road. I wanted to go to the trailhead on my map, but the sign said no trespassing. So I continued up the road to where it looked like another trailhead was and that still said no trespassing and that the other trailhead was a 1/4 of a mile up the road. I drove a 1/2 mile and was still not there so I got a little worried. Finally I was able to find the trailhead. There was one other family there getting geared up for the trip and also one other vehicle that I figured out was connected to the tent out in the field. I got ahead of the other family not wanting to get stuck behind some kids and not be able to pass them. The view even from the meadow by the trailhead was excellent. The trail climbed up toward an old road that would lead me to the Iron Mountain trail that I was originally hoping to hike. As I was walking down this road, I saw a large animal in front of me. My brain went through the choices: dog, no too big, bear, no too skinny, large tail, slender body. Oh my lord, that is a mountain lion. He had not seen me yet. I was only about a hundred feet behind him and he had no idea I was there. I watched him not wanting to lose sight of him, but not wanting to get too close so that he thought that I was dinner. I grabbed the camera and just started randomly aiming it in his direction. Just then, a mountain biker showed up. I got him to stop and I pointed out the lion to him. He decided to not go further, so that he did not become dinner. Then he decided to go back and warn the family behind us. I watched him look over the side of the hill then go to the stream running behind the trail and get a drink. That is when he looked up, looked right at me, and took off up the hill. I was sad to see him go, but glad that he was not interested in having me for brunch. I was nervous to cross the path where he climbed up, but by that time, the biker was back and we crossed together. He took off riding after that and soon the family showed up. Of course, instead of being worried about the lion, they were wanting to catch a glimpse. I showed them what I could on my camera. They were a nice family and used to live around this area. I hiked with them for a little while and then continued on my way. It is always nice to catch a glimpse of something awesome because the rest of the hike was just bonus. I took my trail that lead down to a small river that I had to cross. From there it followed the river upstream until it began to switchback. I looked on my GPS and it seemed that the Iron Mountain trail that I was looking for was actually above me. I decided to go ahead and bushwhack my way to the trail I wanted, not knowing if the one that I was on would get me there. It was a steep trip as I had to pick some routes where I grabbed the trees to pull me up, but it landed me smack dab on the trail that I was looking for. I followed it through the trees and soon I was far above the river. I could look down off the trail and see many waterfalls though as I knew my trail was leading me right into a big basin. The thought of climbing one of the mountains was toying around in my mind, but a good long hike seemed just as nice today. As I got closer to my final destination the mountains continued to open up and I could see them on all sides of me. The trail was in fairly good shape considering that it was not maintained. There were trees across it in places, but it was still very nice. By the end I was hiking in just the rocks going in and out of small stands of trees. I was not too surprised to find that the end of the line was actually at a mine. That was the way it was in southwestern Colorado. This one went right into the hillside where a small creek came right out of the wall. I was glad I had enough water at this point because I am sure that water was tainted. There was much mining equipment around and a big flat terrace to stand on from the tailings. The trail looked like it continued from my GPS, but it didn't because I tried to find it. I know it would have been easy to just head down to the creek and continue hiking, but I figured this was as good a finishing point as any. On the way down, I was able to find an easier exit from my trail to the one that I came in on. This time it was not so steep. I looked for my feline friend on the way back, but I did not find him. I did find the strange fellow at the trailhead who was camping in the field. When I got home, I was happy to see that the wrap that we purchased to take little Zyla hiking had arrived. I even threw it on knowing that Jacqueline was not too thrilled about it. Zyla liked it and it gave me hope that we would soon be able to go hiking as a family.

Upper Cascade Falls

Wanting to take Zyla on a hike turned to waiting to take Zyla on a hike. We put her in the Baby Bjorn and frankly, she still needed to wait. She was far too tiny for it. We wondered if she would be big enough ever and if Jacqueline would be able to get her in it so that she could get out too. We ordered a wrap to see if that could work. So instead, I went off for a hike on my own. I wanted to get up to Ouray and do a hike up there. So I chose the hike to Cheif Ouray Mine. I got on the trail pretty early and parked right on the streets of Ouray. The trail climbed steeply right away and soon I was crossing the road and hitting the switchbacks. The view was great and you could see the tops of the peaks with snow still on them. I was making good time and really hauling away trying to do this trip as quick as possible. I only saw one person on the trail going up and they were only on the lower part. So I felt like I had the trail to myself. The switchbacks became so steep near the top. It was definitely a place to not push my speed because I did not want to get in a somersault and end up back down in Ouray that I could see over a 1000 feet below me. The switchbacks gave way to a flatter trail that curved around and took me toward the mine. I could hear the water and then I could see the Upper Cascade Falls. It was a good waterfall or two and I could also see the mine across the falls on the other side. I looked at the crossing and decided that it probably was not a good idea to cross it since I was alone and the river was moving pretty good. A misstep would mean that I would end up going off the falls and I was definitely not in the mood for that. It was a beautiful day and I turned around from there. 

The trip back down was so quick as the total hike was only about 6.5 miles. It was only an hour to get back to the car. I was home to help with the baby just a bit after noon. It was nice to have a close hike but it was quite a bit of a drive for a short hike. I felt like I could have made the mine, but it honestly was not much of a disappointment. Colorado is packed full of old mines and I am sure that I would have some old mines to visit in my future.

Groundhog Mountain

Somebody said to me today, they said Pete if there is anywhere in the world that you would want to be, where would it be. I would say on Groundhog Mountain. Dad was up for a visit to meet his first grandchild and we had to get out and climb a mountain. I figured there was no better mountain then Groundhog Mountain which was just on the other side of Lone Cone. We did not know much about it but we knew that there was not any hill or mountain we can't climb. People who know me well know that Groundhog Day is my favorite movie and my dad and I love to quote lines from the movie. We had a long drive to get to the mountain though because there was no straight shot from Norwood. We were able to see the peak from the drive and it did not look too treacherous.

 We checked the weather before we left and saw that all the moisture was pushing off to the east where it would hit Altoona, so we knew that we were safe. We drove on a long series of dirt roads until we ran into some snow. Unfortunately, I forgot my booties, but it was not that cold out, but it still was not Miami Beach. We walked a dirt road until we hit a ridge and we began to follow that up through the trees. Looking up at the peak, it looked a bit more difficult then we had originally thought. We had to hit a ridge and go up from there or else we would run into a big wall and be stuck. There was enough snow to make picking a route not so easy. Looking up we had to ask ourselves "Does Pete and Roger feel lucky?" Well, we were lucky as we were able to pick a route and get up to the ridge.For quite some time, the ridge was nearly flat. It then began to narrow out and we had to pick a good route. Then we hit the last wall to the summit. It was steep and the rock was very crummy. My dad finally dropped his ski pole and I told him to just put that anywhere pal. You could tell that Groundhog Mountain was not a very desirable summit even though it was over 12000 feet. So every rock we stepped on gave the sign of not having been stepped on before. The summit top was very small with dropoffs on both sides with a steep approach. It was one of those places where I sat and ate very precariously not wanting to move around too much. The view was great and we could see all those mountains that we see from our window in Norwood, just looking across rather than up to them. It made me think, I wish we could all live in the mountains at high altitude, that's where I see myself in five years. As we got ready to go down, it was still time to be cautious. We had to especially watch out for that first step, it's a doozy. Truthfully the first step off the summit was loose rock with a big dropoff on both sides. We carefully made our way down until we were on the flat stuff. My dad wanted to make a more straight shot to the car. I vetoed one route, but he talked me into another one. The old man still has quite a bit of guts and steam as he kicked my butt down the steep stuff as I was constantly making sure that I did not get any velocity going. But it was quicker for sure and we were back to the car. As we drove back, I asked my dad who else could go for some flapjacks right now. But he said it was too early for flapjacks. Well, if I woke up and had to climb Groundhog Mountain every day, I would not be too upset about it. It is always fun to get out and explore with my dad. I had a beautiful baby at home and a beautiful wife. So what if there was no tomorrow, you know, there wasn't one today. This is one of those times where a blog fails to capture the true excitement of a couple of guys climbing a mountain. From Norwood, Colorado this is Pete.

Little Cone

With the addition of Zyla to our lives, the summer started with a bang. Mom and Carl came out to visit almost immediately and gave Jacqueline and I some much needed baby advice. They helped with the meals and also got lots of grandparent time. They stayed until Memorial Day weekend and then were off to go back to Washington. With the baby to ourself we began getting her on a schedule so that we could sleep. I quickly learned that I would be getting more sleep then Jacqueline. There just was not a ton that I could do in the middle of the night. Zyla was such a good baby as she only seemed to cry when she was hungry. 

While that was frequently, she needed to grow as she was so amazingly tiny. It had been a week of baby management and no school and I needed to get out for a hike. The thought of climbing Little Cone had been interesting to me since I saw it last fall. So I got up early and drove toward the mountain on the Fall River Road. I did not know exactly where to park, but following my GPS, I saw that it was at the bottom of a private road. There were lots of no trespassing signs up, but I figured that if I was just walking the road it would not be considered no trespassing. Still I moved quickly uphill on the road until I got to a nice big open meadow, where I ducked off the road and back onto National Forest property. 

The view from this spot was absolutely fantastic as I could look back toward the Wilson Range and see the still snow covered peaks rising out of the bright green all around me. I wondered if I would run into snow. At this point it was just picking a route with the GPS as a guide to get to the base of the mountain. The route was steep, but without much resistance even though there was no discernable trail. I was definitely in worse shape at this point in the summer than the previous summers, though I was not missing my backcountry job yet. It was fun to be in the mountains for some time. As I got to higher elevation, the snow started to show up. Soon my route was chosen based on where the snow was not. Eventually it was chosen by where the snow was least until it was chosen by a straight line that minimized the amount of dampness entering my shoes. In the middle of this, I found a seasonal snow melt lake that looked pretty with the reflections of the green trees. From here the route became steeper until I was out of the snow, out of the trees, and looking up toward the summit of Little Cone. From far away, it looked like a gradual climb to the top, but when I looked at it from nearby it was blocky toward the top. I thought I would be swinging right and going up a ridge, but heading straight on looked like a bettter option. I could follow some trees to a saddle. It started out gradually steep, but right where I found a dead deer, it started to get steeper. I didn't feel like I was in big fall danger, but I was definitely in break ankle danger, which out here where no one goes, would mean trouble. So I was careful as I did use some hands and feet in places. Eventually I hit the saddle and with some tricky route decisions to avoid the patches of snow near the top, I was climbing my way up the loose rock to the top. It was a three hour trip from car to summit as I hit the top a little before 11am. The view was awesome with peaks all around me. I knew others had been there, but you could tell that it was not too often. I was thinking that maybe I could descend a different way, but after circumnavigating the summit, I realized that it was not going to be possible. It was down the same way with all its loose rock. I took it slowly and could relax when I was standing looking up at the peak once again. 

This time I flew down the snowy parts as it was much easier to go down then up. It took about half the time to get back to the car, which just showed how good of shape I was in. I returned home and saw both my beauties had a good workout on the day also. It was a good day that gave me a chance to look forward to further summer visitors and further summer adventures.