This morning was a rough one since I had to get up at 4:33 AM.  That allowed me just enough time to pack, eat breakfast, make some sandwiches, and be at Franks house for our 5:30 AM Longs Peak departure time.  Actually, I was about fifteen minutes late since I had to make Frank some damn sandwiches again…and then he yelled at me for being late! WTF?

Anyway, if you already don’t know Frank, Randy (aka Sandy (inside joke)) and I made a late season attempt to summit Longs Peak today and unfortunately we came up a few hundred feet short. A bit frustrating but I guess the important this is we all made it back home this evening.

The hike looked a little like this…

 Leaving Boulder at 5:45 AM…Frank had to drive my Jeep so I could eat my breakfast which I would have had time for if I was not making him frickin’ sandwiches in the morning!

 After a quick, cold, dark shit in the woods we left the Longs Peak Trailhead at 6:45 AM.

 Like all responsible hikers should do we signed in at the trailhead log book.

 Then we were on our was as the sun started to come up.

 The view of Longs Peak (middle) once we got above the timberline.

 Further up the trail here is Randy and I posing in Front of Chasm Lake with Longs in the background.

 Further up past Chasm Land and after making our way through “The Boulder Field” we made it to “The Key Hole” which is where the climb became rather technical mainly due to the snow.

 The view from “The Key Hole.”

 After making it past “The Key Hole” comes a section called “The Ledges.”  I think under normal circumstances this section would not be that bad however, the hard icy snow definitely through a spanner in the works.  Here is Frank and Randy traversing “The Ledges.”

 After successfully making it through “The Ledges” comes “The Trough” which is a thousand foot wall that took us from 13,000 ft to almost 14,000 ft. I did not take any pictures here because I was breaking a trail through the snow and was more worried about not dying!  Here is Frank happy he is still alive.

 Me at the top of “The Trough” and at the entrance of a section called “The Narrows.”  Here is where Randy…ummm I meant Sandy started to get pulmonary edema due to the elevation so to make him feel better I tried to make it look like I was breathing hard

 The view from the top of “The Trough.” Yep…that is our feet dangling off the side of the mountain!

After “The Trough” is a narrow section ironically called “The Narrows.” Once through “The Narrows” it is not far to the summit…only about 300 vertical feet.  However, due to the snow and ice “The Narrows” simply were not safe and to avoid plummeting thousands of feet to our death we turned around.  Definitely a bummer but I believe it was good judgement and plus, there will always be next time!

 On the way down I spotted some furry high altitude thing…I wonder what its hematocrit is?

 Finally, back to the safety of “The Boulder Field” and from there is was smooth sailing back to the trailhead where the Jeep was awaiting us.

Basically, today’s hike/trail run was an 8 hour failure but hey it was a good workout and now we know what to expect the next time we attempt to summit.

Time to go soak my blistered feet!

later, g.

Today I was Frank’s Sherpa on our three peak/four hour trail run.  This meant I made food for Frank, coffee for Frank, carried the food and coffee for Frank, along with carrying Frank’s extra clothes, car keys, Cliff Bars, and his special good luck rocks.  Then to top it all off I had to wait for him near the top of each peak so he could summit first!

Anyway, I did get an awesome work out in and here are some pictures from the day at the office.

 Me near the summit of South Boulder Peak waiting for Frank who was still on the lower slopes.  If notice I am not on the summit I had to wait for Frank so he could summit first.

 There is Frank on the lower slopes of South Boulder Peak.

 From South Boulder Peak we made the short jaunt over to Bear Mountain…here is Frank on the summit of Bear mountain.

 Then from Bear Mountain we ran to Green Mountain.  Here Frank tried to see if he could drop his Sherpa after eating all the food and drinking all of the coffee. 

 Me on the summit of Green Mountain.

 After 4hr 15min and three peaks summited we made it back to the trail head where we started. 

 Lastly, here is a picture of Longs Peak (14,255 ft) which is the site of tomorrow’s trail run.  I had better get to bed since I have to get up at 4:33 AM to make Frank some sandwiches before our 5:30 AM departure.

later, g.

This past weekend was rather awesome.  After spending a majority of the past few weeks at home alone (aside from a short couple short visits from my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle) it was nice to have Ann back at the house along with a special visitor…Nicole. 

Given that fact that I am trying to start an outdoor adventure/guiding service Ann and Nicole volunteered to be my guinea pigs for the day…I never knew guinea pigs could be soo attractive!

Anyway, here is what you could expect to experience on a guided hike of your own…

 We started out at the Fourth of July Trailhead in the snow and headed towards Diamond Lake.

  The girls did an awesome job (there were only a few falls and I only had to perform CPR a handful of times!) On top of all this it was Nicole’s first time in the snow!

 For a small fee I will even include a pretty girl to take your photograph with…however, no touching otherwise I might have to kick some asses!

 Along the way we got to see a beautiful waterfall.

 Then for an added personal touch to the hiking experience I tried to piss Ann and Nicole’s name in the snow…

…which made everyone happy!

So let me take you for a hike and piss your name in the snow!

later, g.

 Got in a good snowshoe with Frank this morning!

later,g.

PS. For today’s actual hike check the post below.

Got up a bit before seven this morning so I had enough time to make Frank breakfast before heading up in the mountains to go hiking/trail running at Brainard Lake.

It actually ended up turning into a bit of an epic after we got caught in a storm at 12,000 feet and momentarily got lost!

Here are some pictures from today.

 Near the trailhead at Brainard Lake.

 Frank was scared to get out of the car becasue it was cold…ohhh poor Frank!

 Early on in the trail run where I had to wait for Pipp after dropping him!

Farther up the mountain and where the weather started to go south.  FYI that is Lake Isabelle in the background.

 Even farther up the mountain (~12,000 feet) where the weather got really bad and about the time we ended up getting lost.  It got soo snowy and windy we could not find the trail for a bit.

Frank freaked out and figured he should take a self portrait so his gf Steph could re-live his last hours!

Fortunately, we did find the trail and figured we should not push our luck and headed back down the mountain. Here we are back in the shelter of the trees at a river crossing.

Coffee/sandwhich stop at Long Lake on the way back down the mountain.  Yep, I even made Frank a sandwhich and shared my coffee with him!

 Last but not least we even had the privilege of spotting a few Moose up by Brainard Lake.

Today was a fun hike but I think we did learn a few things:

1. Wearing runners while hiking in the snow = frozen feet!

2. The weather can get bad quickly at high elevations.

3. Finding our way back via footprints in the snow does not always work…especially in a blizzard.

4. Even though I made Frank breakfast and shared a sandwhich and coffee with him today…we are not gay!

5. Being talked out of trail running Long’s Peak (14,259 ft) today was a good thing.

6. Lastly, turning back while hiking is still soft…no matter what the conditions!

On a more serious note Frank and I talked about doing some guided hikes in the mountains for offseason employment.  Initially it would be non-formal and a learning experience for us but if there are any interested guinea pigs out there let us know. It would be awesome to have the privilege to show people first hand how amazing Colorado actually is. 

Time to go thaw my feet…

later, g.