Old Man Bull

Headed out from Denver this morning it was cold.  It was 25 in Denver, so we were kind of curious how cold it would be up at 9,000 feet just outside of Rollinsville.  Well, we drove and got in at about 10:30 and it was cold!  Add to it it was pretty windy where we parked the car right next to the Moffat Tunnel, and we were starting to wonder if we packed the right gear for a little jaunt in the woods. We soon got on our way and once we got into the large stand of Colorado Blue Spruce, and the blood was starting to move a little bit, we were actually pretty comfortable.  We were headed for Heart Lake, a high-alpine lake sitting at about 11,200' just shy of the divide.  We were both pretty wiped from the week and didn't make it all of the way in.  Winter wonderland is in full effect up there though...6-8" of fresh on the trail, and up to my knees off trail.  The snow is extremely dry, and fluffy and the dogs had a BLAST running around and dipping t...

I realize there hasn't been a post here in a while.  Two things happened this weekend that I wanted to share with you - happening on opposite sides of the country!  In Colorado: Amanda has been training for weeks and weeks for her first half marathon.  I've seen her get up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready to run the 11 miles to her work to squeeze in her long run during the day.  She gets up, faces the unknown and comes out smiling on the other side.  At one point, we woke up and there had been a snowfall and she still made the run in to work.  She even saw coyotes and foxes along the way.  She'd be nervous about the run, not sure if she'd be able to do it.  It was dark.  It was cold.  Nobody was up at those hours.  Not only would she do it, but her times would be so consistent every single time.  She is clockwork !  So proud of her for her dedication and commitment and seeing it through to the finish lin...

Is not happening right now...the 30 day cleanse will be put on hold, but it will be completed this year. I guess it's not a bad time to mention that the summer hiking season is beginning to wind down.  The month of September can be a good one for hiking.  Traditionally, thunderstorm activity dissipates but the trade off is that the days are a little shorter and cooler.  In my opinion, that is fine!  September is the month most people recommend doing Longs Peak.  I'm not sure that I'll be able to fit it in this month, but I'd sure love to! The east face of Longs Peak is also known as "The Diamond"  This is a mountain that I can see from Denver.  It is one of the three 14ers visible from the city (ironically, we have done none of the ones visible from Denver!)  It has quite the reputation for nasty weather and exposure.  It is a longer route that most would prefer to do in two days time.  All mountains require respec...

This post is more or less a time stamp and a reminder for me more than anything else. Every year around this time, I put myself through the rigors of a 30 day cleanse.  This year, due to an amazing vacation full of vice, it will be an abridged 27 day cleanse.  Getting all of the toxins out of my body feels great, but it does take some discipline, especially with a fridge like this! The tradition was born after hearing the wonders from some co workers who observe Ramadan.  The benefits they talked about were great, and after doing it for a few years I concur!  For me though, there isn't a religious connotation, just a way to shock the body, and get levels back to normal.  Amanda and I have two pretty big races coming up, so it comes at a great time and will provide some extra motivation:)

... unparalleled views of the Adirondack Range and Lake George Date:  August 17, 2012 Climbing Party:  Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden, Susan Harnden Elevation Gain: 2,253' Distance:  6.0 miles R/T Difficulty: Moderate We drove from Wilton to Lake George and it took us about 35 minutes to reach the trail head, we were the second car in the lot on what seemed to be a quiet Friday morning.  We signed the register and got on our way! We had been warned that there were a lot of rattlesnakes in this area, so our crew was on high alert for the pesky little buggers.  It was early in the morning and quite cool when we started, so thankfully we did NOT end up seeing any rattlesnakes on our hike.  What we DID see was a trail in great shape, from a lot of use.  It started gently and rolled through the NY woods.  It was great being back east and seeing familiar flora and fauna (namely brown toads and daddy long legs).  The smells in the ...

I just finished a great book about some of the disasters that have occurred in the mountains of Colorado.  I read it because I wanted to gain a perspective of what has been happening on mountains I have climbed or are on my list.  The book came at a great time, as we had done day trips to Bierstadt and La Plata in consecutive weekends, and it was nice not to have to wake up at 2:30am and drive somewhere! In the book Colorado 14er Disasters, the author talks a lot about the sequence of events and mindsets that have precluded some of the fatal events in our mountains.  I just wanted to touch on a few of the points Nash made that I found interesting... Point 1:  There is a "cascade of errors" that preclude a large error.  This is so true.  The case he mentions occurred up on Holy Cross, where a hiking party of two separates, and a lady vanishes.  The author goes into how the "leader" had forgotten his lunch, his water purifier, took the wron...

La Plata is Spanish for "the plata"  Date:   July 28, 2012 Climbing Party:   Aaron Dover & Amanda Harnden Elevation Gain:  4,500' Distance:  9.75 mi RT RT Time: 7:00 (4hrs up, 3hrs down) Difficulty:   Difficult, shared summit with a handful off others Summit Marker On the way up to Leadville this morning, we talked about the weather up at La Plata. The NOAA weather site had predicted a 60% chance of thunderstorm activity beginning at around 11:00 am. We had hoped to be done by then, but there are no guarantees. We had talked about the possibility of having to abort if things weren't looking good, and that we had to be on the same page about this before we got going. Our 3am departure from Denver got us on the trail by 5:40. Should have been plenty of time to bag the Plata! It's Spanish for "Silver" as this mountain was in an area known for silver mining. Out of the gates, we had three stream crossings. Not too shabby for the fir...

The Only Mountain in Colorado! Date:   July 21, 2012 Climbing Party:   Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden, Sue Harnden, Andrea Bielecki, Brian Bielecki Elevation Gain:  2,850' Distance:  7mi Roundtrip RT Time: 7:00 (3hrs up, 4hrs down) Difficulty:   Easy, trail was crowded like a mall We had a super early start from Denver leaving at about 4:30 am and driving to the Guanella Pass trailhead. This road is now paved 100% and serves as a super highway between I70 and 285. Even after arriving at the trailhead at 6:00am, parking was at a premium and the masses were descending onto the trail. In our party, we had 3 first timers! Amanda's mom,Sue, was visiting from NY, and her aunt and uncle Andrea and Brian, made the drive from Albuquerque! Our goal was to summit, and starting early is a GREAT way to overcome crowds, weather, and when hiking with new climbing partners, it's always good to leave yourself extra time to account for any issues that might ...

Date:   June 30, 2012 Climbing Party:   Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden, Kelsey Breen, Kathryn Young, Jen Hock, Jason Murray, Sally Webster Elevation Gain:  2,036' Distance:  5 miles RT Time: 3:50 Difficulty:   Easy Most folks will tell you for your first attempt at a 14er, to go try Mt. Bierstadt.  I think I'll start recommending Mt. Sherman.  Sure, Bierstadt is closer to Denver, and the newly paved Guanella Pass Road makes getting there a cinch.  Sherman  is a little farther away from Denver (maybe 2 hours) depending on how much you and your crew need to stop.  No one has heard of Mt. Sherman it seems!  You guys are hiking where? Where's that?  Mt. Sherman? Yes Mt. Sherman.  Just outside of Fairplay off of Rt. 285, you may or may not see Mt. Sherman from the road.  It kind of fits in with the rest of the surroundings...a very nondescript peak on the horizon.    W...

On the drive up to Beaver Creek on Friday night, before the Tough Mudder, Amanda asked me "If you could give your excitement level and nerves values that add up to 10, how would they be distributed?" To put it simply, more excited than nervous, I think I said I'd give excitement a 7   and nerves a 3 . We arrived at the Vail Marriott around 8:45, and walked around Vail Village for a while.  Neither of us had been to Vail Village before, so it was really cool to check it out.  We were both pretty pooped from the week, and were ready to crash, so we went back to our room.  When I say room, I actually mean Presidential Suite!  The room was amazing! Vail Marriott was amazing!  Working in hotels, I have seemed to become hyper-critical of every nuance when I stay somewhere, but Vail Marriott was top notch in my opinion. Sweet view from the deck waking up... In the morning, we got going, got coffee, got our act together and drove the 10 minutes over to Beav...

Date:  June 2, 2012 Climbing Party:   Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden, Kelsey Breen, Kathryn Young, Mark Hensley, Scarlet, Ellie, Henry Elevation Gain: 3,353' Distance: 6.84 RT Time: 5:50:56 Difficulty:   Difficult Let me first start by saying that this trip was born from a trip to our favorite burger joint in our neighborhood: Park Burger. You see, this restaurant offers quite an incentive to go out and hike a 14er...every photograph you get from atop one of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks with the Park Burger flag earns you 2 beers and two delicious burgers! So an idea was crafted to take out the flag and complete the Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln trifecta in a day and get home to enjoy our spoils. Amanda and I drove up Friday night to Kite Lake in Alma and set up camp just before dark. We were able to chill in the back of the truck under a blanket for a little bit and enjoy a high altitude clear night. The stars were awesome and the moon was full giving us ...