Old Man Bull

Climbed: August 1, 2018 Climbing Partner:  Martin Barnett Route: North Face This is certainly after the fact, but such a great few days that needed to be memorialized.  This one has been on my bucket list ever since I laid eyes on it for the first time in 2007. The iconic Lone Eagle Peak, named for Charles Lindbergh (the Lone Eagle), sits tucked away deep in the Indian Peaks wilderness just outside of Grand Lake on the west side of the divide.  Lone Eagle Peak For whatever reason this one has been a tough one to nail down.  Weather, family and various obligations seemed to always say...No Soup for You! There was finally a weekend that looked like it could possibly work.  I quickly blocked it off and so did my friend, Martin.  The date was set. I won't draw this post out, but all in all it was 32 hour adventure.  We stopped for our permit in Granby and quickly made our way to the farthest point along the trail which allowed us to c...

Date Climbed:  May 23, 2018 Climbing Party:  Mike Everist, Robert Gowder, Aaron Dover R/T Mileage:  22 miles Elevation Gain:  6,131' I just recently completed a hike of Mt. Whitney and I wanted to share my experience. With my 40 th birthday on the horizon, something adventurous was in order.   Should it be an adventure race or a trip?   Races aren’t really my thing and trips usually just equate to sightseeing and eating in a different city.   I really enjoy hiking and adventure and thought what about Rainier??   I could get into that.   I began doing research on the routes and quickly realized I would want a guide. Many people do that trip unguided, but since my experience with glacial travel is non-existent Rainier would ultimately be out of the question.   I was disappointed to learn that the three guiding companies that guide up that mountain were all sold out by January. Bummer.   Enter Mt. Whitney.  ...

Date Climbed:  August 9, 2014 Climbing Party: Amanda Harnden, Aaron Dover R/T Mileage:  8 miles Elevation Gain: Approximately 3,900' Leading up to this weekend, this summer had been really busy for the two of us.  When we finally caught a break from everything and decided to take a weekend and go hike/camp in the Elk Range. Our sights were set on Castle and Conundrum Peaks.  The two peaks are connected by a very thin ridge line, and can be done in one hike.  So, after work on Friday (literally…at 4:10) we booked it up 285 to Buena Vista and over Independence Pass, through Aspen and into the woods to get ourselves ready for the early morning. The road in is actually the trail…it's conceivable to drive all of the way to 12,800' where the road ends. From there, your round trip hike distance would be 2 miles.  We camped at about 11,200' on a ledge overlooking a valley below.  It was a precarious spot, as it felt if we leaned too far over in the te...

Climbing Party:  Kit Dover, Amanda Harnden Elevation Gain:  3,062' Mileage:             6 miles round trip We had this hike in mind as a good training hike for Longs Peak the next weekend.  Dad was visiting from NH, and we wanted something that would give a good pump and some elevation. From Denver, take I-70 west and get off at exit 216.  At the end of the exit ramp, make a sharp right hand turn and drive down a dirt frontage road to the access gate to park. Continue past the gate along a dirt road that gently leads you away from the highway, and eventually turns into a trail.  Continue along the obvious trail in and out of small stands of trees until the trail disappears at the bottom of Dry Gulch.  Although there is no trail, once you leave the trees there are quite a few cairns that will help guide you up the first steep section (around mile 2).  Tis second mile will lead you out of the bottom of Dry Gulch. ...

Date:  August 17, 2013 Climbing Party:  Amanda Harnden For those of you who are curious about a Sawtooth Ridge / Kelso Ridge tale of the tape, you are in luck!  I will try to compare both routes in this post, and let you go from there. Torreys > Grays via Kelso R/T Mileage: ~7.5 miles Total Elevation Gain:  3,740 Bierstadt > Spaulding via Sawtooth R/T Mileage: ~8 miles Estimated Total Elevation Gain: 3,262' Trailheads/Access Both trailheads are easily accessed off I-70.  The Grays Peak trailhead is found at the top of a dirt road. If you are late to the show, you will end up parking quite a ways down this dirt road which will add significant distance and elevation to your hike.  It pays to wake up early and get a coveted spot at the top.  Also, turning around on this dirt road looks like it could be challenging at the end of the day! Advantage:  Sawtooth The Approach The 1.75 mile approach to the Kelso Ridge trail th...

Date: July 27, 2013 Climbing Party: Amanda Harnden R/T Mileage: 10.6 Elevation Gain: 4,826' Gerry Roach writes in his book that by taking the East Ridge of Mt. Yale to it’s summit is longer than the standard route, but that the additional length and effort is worth the solitude found on the route. He was right. For 5 hours and 12 minutes, we did not see one single soul on the trail – ahead or behind us. We arrived in Buena Vista the night before with the hope of finding a good spot to hunker down for the evening ahead of the 3:30 AM start time. We ended up settling in for the evening in the back of Amanda’s car at the Avalanche trailhead, which worked out great, as the trailhead was mere steps from where we were. We were on trail by 3:30, and started making our way up the Colorado Trail with the hope of finding Yale’s East Ridge trail, located 3.3 miles ahead. Our objective was summit at about 8:30, and get down as the weather forecast was calling for early morning...

Date:   July 20, 2013 Climbing Party:   Sabrina Langer, Martin Barnett, Katie Moser, Nathan Hankins, Zach Taylor, Rich Ostrosky, Chris Pierce, Becca Frager R/T Mileage: ~8 miles  Estimated Total Elevation Gain : 3,262’ Mt. Bierstadt is one of the most popular 14ers in the Front Range. It’s close proximity to Denver and paved access to the trailhead makes it a very attractive option for folks looking to get up high. Let me say this again…Bierstadt is a VERY popular 14er. Our group of 9 left the trailhead at 5:00 AM, and the parking lot was already nearly full. Lines of hikers could be seen going up the mountain ahead of us, and queuing up behind us. We were off, and summited Bierstadt just before 8:00 AM. On the way up Bierstadt From the summit of Bierstadt, we began the traverse of the Sawtooth Ridge. Picking our way down to the low point of the saddle was a lot of fun. This ridge traverse is mostly class 3 scrambling, requiring the standar...

To get there:  If you are familiar with how close Red Rocks is to Denver, then you know how close this is!  Just head to the Red Rocks Amphitheater entrance #4 which is located a few hundred feet west of the intersection of CO74 and CO8 (on CO74), and you will see what looks like a game trail on your left, and room for about 4-5 cars on your right.  That game trail looking path is what you're after.  It's not marked, but tis the only obvious trail you will see. Mt. Morrison - A beastly front range hike!  Red Rocks Amphitheater below Mt. Morrison is located in the small town of Morrison, Colorado, and served as the last hike I did before my surgery.  I figured it might be a good test, kind of a then and now snapshot of where I was physically then, and what direction things are going.  The trail we did must have originated as erosion, as it more or less leads you directly up to the summit ridge.  It's steep, and filled with what my father call...

Date:                    July 4, 2013 Climbing Party:    Zach Taylor, Nathan Hankins R/T:                      9 Miles, 3,300 gain Following our weekly Wednesday meeting, Zach, Nathan and I bolted up the I-70 corridor to the Herman Gulch exit (218) to camp at the Herman Gulch trailhead.  We had our sights on Pettingell Peak via the East Ridge for a fun class 3 scramble, and to get a little more familiar with the area.  We had our eyes on the west ridge of Quandary, but this was more attractive as it was closer, in territory, and none of us had been up in this drainage before. After getting our camp set up, and conversing with a motorist who had stopped for a safety break, we hunkered down in the parking lot for a few hours sleep.  The jake-braking semis coming out of the tunnel all through the night ensured we all got quality rest before our hike. At...

Slowly but surely back into the swing of things over here.  The weeks of being cooped up seem to be over.  Before vacation, I decided to have a second opinion done on my left ear.  I met with a doctor who did a record review of my past treatments and did his own audiogram and synopsis.  The conclusion he reached was not a good one, but in a sense it was. His findings were kind of in line with what I was thinking.  I felt there was a good chance the hearing wasn't there.  All that could be felt in there is a loud, constant ringing.  He told me that the hearing in the left is permanently gone, nerve included.  He says the cyst was so large it had eroded all of the tiny ear bones used to transfer sounds from the inner ear and connect them with the nerve that makes sense of them.  This cyst had also affected the balance mechanism inside.  He says the balance will return, the hearing will not.  It's what he called a dead ear . I wa...

A quarterback on the line of scrimmage calls an audible to change the next play on the fly before the ball is snapped.  Hopefully, the rest of his team is on the same page, otherwise the play will fall apart. Questionable hearing can have some serious implications.  Communication is very important to our daily lives and essential to how our interactions proceed with others, and how we are perceived by others.  Any slight misunderstanding can lead us down a different path.  Since the surgery in March, there have been instances where I thought I heard a piece of a conversation one way, only to find out later that I heard it completely wrong.  The end result is not being on the same page with the rest of the folks on the field. It's good to laugh at these sometimes!  I will be trying my best to keep track of these moments and share them with you. Scenario #1 - South Pearl Farmers Market Walking by a vendor tent on crowded South Pearl Street, a woman ven...

One outlet for so much downtime is writing and thinking, and listening to the Bruins games on the radio. It's exciting to listen to these games on the radio.  I've been lucky to catch most of the games on the internet by streaming the audio from my cell phone signal, which is them pumped via bluetooth technology into a portable speaker!  I can bring it anywhere.  I brought it outside for yard work, inside for laying on the couch, even into the bathroom for showering!  I like radio, and think the commentators are much more imaginative and exciting.  They make you really think about what is going on, and to pay close attention to the game. I remember going to our family camp in Maine and listening to the radio a lot.  Most of the time, all we could pull were the French stations from Montreal.  Once in a while we got lucky and could catch the Sox or Bruins and listen to the game out on the porch while we got eaten alive by mosquitoes.  Our radio ...

Opening up Microsoft Word to a blank page reflects my activities for the next 30 days. A few weeks ago, our Prospective Member class at Alpine completed our 24 hour overnight training, which consisted of navigation, multiple patient packages, evacuations, rappelling , medical assessments, radio communication work, and an overnight in some frigid temps without a sleeping bag or tent. It was awesome to be a part of this experience with a team of others all working towards a common goal. I realized I was allowed to do this by my doctor, and that a follow up visit with her loomed. I was able to see her today. The doctor has ordered no running or activities at altitude (including hiking or flying) for 30 days. This may be easier to cope with if my leg was broken, or I was otherwise incapacitated. The thing is, every part of my body works fine, and every part of my body wants to go- none more than my wandering mind. It has only been about an hour since hearing the news, and al...

I know that there hasn’t been an entry on this blog for quite some time, and that’s not to say that there has been a lack of things to write about. There have been many things to write about and reflect upon in the last few months. There has been training for and completing the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab, Utah. I’m also working towards becoming a field active member of Alpine Rescue Team in Evergreen. The job, the life, everything! Why the delay in writing? I’m not so sure I can explain it. About a month ago, I underwent a surgery to repair problems with my inner ear. The surgery itself was a piece of cake as far as I know. They removed a cyst, and made me a new ear drum. I just thought the biggest deal would be going in and getting my IV installed, and I’d wake up and it’d be all over. It was true. I did wake up. Job done. Let the anesthesia wear off and it’d be back to normal life. I must write that the last month or so has been one of the most d...