Going Home

 I just returned from a long weekend trip back to the midwest. The main purpose of the trip was to meet my brother in law in Green Bay and watch the Packers beat the everliving pis...err, I mean play, the Broncos. It has become a tradition with he and I that every four years, when the Packers and Broncos play, one of us will travel to see the other one and we go watch the game. This year, it was in Green Bay, so he got a couple of tickets, and I flew out to watch the game. Usually, the Broncos lose (and this year was the epitome of ugly loss), but my BIL is an awesome dude and we always have a great time hanging together and watching our teams beat on each other. This year was no exception.  I could write a book about everything going through my head regarding this trip, but I'll try to keep to 5 minutes or less.

While planning for my trip to the game, it occurred to me that I was going to be fairly close to my home town of Morris Illinois. My family lived in Morris from my kindergarten through 7th grade, and I don't think I've been back there since I swung through in college. I wasn't sure what I would do, but just to explore my old stomping ground sounded like a blast.

I had a friend in elementary school named Jessica (she has since moved to one of the Chicago suburbs). The town was only 8900 people back then, so most everyone knew everyone else, and we certainly knew each other and had many common friends, but I don't think we ever really hung out together or anything like that. I've gotten reacquainted with her on Facebook over the past year, though, and I always thought we'd get along really well if we ever met again face to face. Turns out she was available for breakfast, and she ended up being my chauffeur for the day. I wasn't sure if she would be as excited as I was to see where we grew up, but she at least indulged me as we drove around and remembered the old sites and looked at the newer ones.  After the grand tour of Morris, we went back to an Irish pub that she and her husband own and had a couple of drinks with her husband and some of her friends.  It can be really awkward to spend a lot of time with someone who you don't know all that well, but this was far from that, and we had a great time remembering people and talking about old times and new life happenings.   Thanks Jess!

Another acquaintance from elementary school is Jeff. Jeff used to play little league baseball with me and was a very good athlete. Again, I don't think we ever hung out much outside of school either, but I've gotten to know him on Facebook as well over the past year. Jeff has one of the most sarcastic but great senses of humor of any of my friends, and it was a lot of fun getting to talk to him in person and meet his kids and wife (who just happens to be the daughter of one of my most remembered elementary school teachers). Jeff has been involved in Morris politics for awhile and seemed to know just about everyone in town. As we walked up and down Main street, he would shake hands with someone and say hi, then tell Jess and me who it was, and very often we knew the person or the family. It amazed me how many people from back then were still around. Anyway, Jeff was an invaluable tour guide and knew about pretty much everything that had happened in Morris since I'd left. He has an awesome family, and I'm thankful I could get caught up with him.

It just so happened that Corn Festival was going on this weekend. Corn Fest is a long weekend (maybe even almost a full week now) with all kinds of games and activities and tours and tractors and parades and petting zoos and carnivals and fireworks. It was probably the biggest thing in Morris when I was a kid and I had always wanted to go to it again. By completely random dumb luck, I learned that it was going on this weekend, so it worked out great to get to actually hang around downtown Morris while everything was abuzz and see so many people that I hadn't thought about in about 30 years. I'd love to take my family to it some year and introduce them to some of my old childhood buddies.

The things that stuck out in my mind were that I remembered lots of places in Morris, but I never knew until this weekend how they all connected with each other. The town isn't that big, and most of these places were connected to each other and not miles apart like I remembered them as a child. I saw my old house. The current residents (I don't know them) have done a lot of work on landscaping, and the yard and house look amazing. As a kid, we had the best sledding hill in the neighborhood. After living in Colorado, this "hill" looked barely long enough to do anything with, but I remember back in the day, all the neighbor kids would come by and we'd spend hours seeing how far we could go (far enough took us into the street...that's when you knew you were hardcore). My pediatrician's name was Dr. Cumba. He still had the same office I remember (although it very well could be his grandson running the practice now).

My old house:

The high school was there. I never attended it, but I remember fondly the football games and "the woods" behind the visitors bench. Since my mom reads this blog, I think I will just leave those memories tucked away in my own head for now. ;) The middle school I went to was still there. Sadly, my elementary school was demolished and replaced with another city building. The ball fields where I played little league were still there. It really was an amazing experience to see all this stuff again, and I really do hope to bring my family there some day to actually get to see it themselves.

A couple of funny things I saw there included an out of order bait vending machine:

And this sign...fortunately I did not need my colon painted this day:

While in the area, I spent the night with my friends Mike and Laura.  I know them from a fitness website I used to be very active on called Clutch Fitness.  They are definitely one of the nicest couples I know, and I was lucky enough to get to meet their 3 month old son Mason.  Seeing them in 3 month mommy and daddy mode was very fun to watch.  Mason was hungry often, slept sometimes well, sometimes not so much, and was always very smiley if you made faces ar smiled at him.  Mike and Laura had their routine down of who took care of Mason while the other got a break.  They are going to continue to be great parents and are well on there way to raising a great, smiley kid.

The football game itself was painful to watch.  Lambeau Field has a mystique and history to it that make it a very cool place to visit, and I can definitely appreciate that.  Just once, I'd love for my team to actually compete with them there.  The Broncos got beat so badly, though, that most of the Packer fans were very nice to me in an "I'm sorry your team sucks so bad" kind of way.  But spending the time with my brother in law and his friend Steve was still a lot of fun.

I spent a lot of my time this weekend with people that I hardly knew face to face, but I loved every minute of the time I got to spend with them.  I've really gotten the itch to go visit other friends all over the country, but that will probably have to wait for awhile.  In the meantime, I am planning to make some phone calls and at least get caught up through a conversation than through Facebook statuses.  To Jeff, Jess, Mike, Laura, Jamie and Steve...thanks for a great weekend, and I hope to see you all again soon.

A Guest Post by Ask5for5

Hello friends! Today's post is from a friend of a friend who is doing all she can to make a positive impact in the world, and I want to help support her cause. Please read and do what you can if you are so inclined. Thanks you! -Chris . . .

Guest Blogger: Sarah Lenssen from #Ask5for5
Family photos by Mike Fiechtner Photography

Thank you Shredded Man Card and nearly 150 other bloggers from around the world for allowing me to share a story with you today, during Social Media Week.

A hungry child in East Africa can't wait. Her hunger consumes her while we decide if we'll respond and save her life. In Somalia, children are stumbling along for days, even weeks, on dangerous roads and with empty stomachs in search of food and water. Their crops failed for the third year in a row. All their animals died. They lost everything. Thousands are dying along the road before they find help in refugee camps. 

At my house, when my three children are hungry, they wait minutes for food, maybe an hour if dinner is approaching. Children affected by the food crisis in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia aren't so lucky. Did you know that the worst drought in 60 years is ravaging whole countries right now, as you read this? Famine, a term not used lightly, has been declared in Somalia. This is the world's first famine in 20 years.12.4 million people are in need of emergency assistance and over 29,000 children have died in the last three months alone. A child is dying every 5 minutes. It it estimated that 750,000 people could die before this famine is over. Take a moment and let that settle in.

The media plays a major role in disasters. They have the power to draw the attention of society to respond--or not. Unfortunately, this horrific disaster has become merely a footnote in most national media outlets. News of the U.S. national debt squabble and the latest celebrity's baby bump dominate headlines. That is why I am thrilled that nearly 150 bloggers from all over the world are joining together today to use the power of social media to make their own headlines; to share the urgent need of the almost forgotten with their blog readers. Humans have the capacity to care deeply for those who are suffering, but in a situation like this when the numbers are too huge to grasp and the people so far away, we often feel like the little we can do will be a drop in the ocean, and don't do anything at all.

When news of the famine first hit the news in late July, I selfishly avoided it. I didn't want to read about it or hear about it because I knew I would feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. I wanted to protect myself. I knew I would need to do something if I knew what was really happening. You see, this food crisis is personal. I have a 4-year-old son and a 1 yr-old daughter who were adopted from Ethiopia and born in regions now affected by the drought. If my children still lived in their home villages, they would be two of the 12.4 million. My children: extremely hungry and malnourished? Gulp. I think any one of us would do anything we could for our hungry child. But would you do something for another mother's hungry child?

My friend and World Vision staffer, Jon Warren, was recently in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya--the largest refugee camp in the world with over 400,000 people. He told me the story of Isnino Siyat, 22, a mother who walked for 10 days and nights with her husband, 1 yr-old-baby, Suleiman, and 4 yr.-old son Adan Hussein, fleeing the drought in Somalia. When she arrived at Dadaab, she built the family a shelter with borrowed materials while carrying her baby on her back. Even her dress is borrowed. As she sat in the shelter on her second night in camp she told Jon, "I left because of hunger. It is a very horrible drought which finished both our livestock and our farm." The family lost their 5 cows and 10 goats one by one over 3 months, as grazing lands dried up. "We don't have enough food now...our food is finished. I am really worried about the future of my children and myself if the situation continues."

Will you help a child like Baby Suleiman? Ask5for5 is a dream built upon the belief that you will.

That something I knew I would need to do became a campaign called #Ask5for5 to raise awareness and funds for famine and drought victims. The concept is simple, give $5 and ask five of your friends to give $5, and then they each ask five of their friends to give $5 and so on--in nine generations of 5x5x5...we could raise $2.4 Million! In one month, over 750 people have donated over $25,000! I set up a fundraiser at See Your Impact and 100% of the funds will go to World Vision, an organization that has been fighting hunger in the Horn of Africa for decades and will continue long after this famine has ended. Donations can multiply up to 5 times in impact by government grants to help provide emergency food, clean water, agricultural support, healthcare, and other vital assistance to children and families suffering in the Horn.

I need you to help me save lives. It's so so simple; here's what you need to do:

1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)
2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.
3. Share #Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter!

I'm looking for another 100 bloggers to share this post on their blogs throughout Social Media Week. Email me at ask5for5@gmail.com if you're interested in participating this week.

A hungry child doesn't wait. She doesn't wait for us to finish the other things on our to-do list, or get to it next month when we might have a little more money to give. She doesn't wait for us to decide if she's important enough to deserve a response. She will only wait as long as her weakened little body will hold on...please respond now and help save her life. Ask 5 for 5.

Thank you on behalf of all of those who will be helped--you are saving lives and changing history.


p.s. Please don't move on to the next website before you donate and email your friends right now. It only takes 5 minutes and just $5, and if you're life is busy like mine, you probably won't get back to it later. Let's not be a generation that ignores hundreds of thousands of starving people, instead let's leave a legacy of compassion. You have the opportunity to save a life today!
 

9/11

Since tomorrow is the anniversary of 9/11, I thought it might be good to get some of the thoughts I have about it out of my head and onto this blog.

On 9/11/2000, I saw the news of the first plane hitting the first tower, but at the time no one knew what was going on.  I dropped my son at daycare and drove to Boulder to work, listening to the news as it happened on the radio.  It was then that the second plane hit, and the first thought that went through my head was "holy shit, we're actually under attack here".  My first instinct was to turn around and go get my son, but I kept driving to work.  In hindsight, he was never in danger and it wasn't a big deal, but I still wonder if I did the right thing at the time before I knew the extent of what was going on.  At work, everyone in the office was huddled around a small TV in someone's cube, still watching as things unfolded.  Then the first tower fell, and everyone gasped.  And that's about all I remember, other than it was impossible to work that day. 

Bullies rank right at the top of my list of people that piss me off the most, and when the actions of bullies take thousands of completely innocent lives and cause the physical and emotional destruction that was caused that day, it brings about feelings that are probably hatred, but it pains me to even use that word to describe other humans.  But I was right there mentally with so many other Americans just hoping we would find these bastards and get our revenge.  The sheer magnitude of what they did goes so far beyond anything I could ever comprehend, and when I think about it that way, it makes me pessimistic that we'll ever truly be able to have peace with "those people". 

And when I start thinking in terms of "those people", the next thought that crosses my mind is...how many completely innocent Muslims are here, and how can they possibly handle the judging and stereotyping and bigotry that has been thrust upon them through no fault of their own?  I am the first to admit I am very ignorant about Islam and what it teaches other than from things I've seen in the media.  I've heard so many mocking calls of Islam as the "religion of peace", and again, I admit that I often get skeptical about that religion in general, which is completely unfair, but I'm a white Christian American and I'm human.  I know more about the history of Christianity, and from that aspect, I can see why the middle east is biased against it (in general).  I know that the Christianity that I believe in is not the violent religion that it once was or is made out to be by many non-Christians, and I imagine that there are Muslims who know the same about their religion of choice.  Again, I'm just afraid there are too many dumb, blind people in this world on both sides of the equation to truly ever allow everyone to live together peacefully.  I hope I'm wrong.  Along those same lines of thought, I wonder if our country, as radically divided as it is right now, would pull together again like it did after the attacks if, God forbid, we were ever to be attacked again. 

Every so often, particularly around this time of year, I find some 9/11 videos on youtube and relive it again.  I still get goosebumps when I hear the 911 calls of people in the towers, then hear their last screams as the tower they are in collapses and they plummet to earth.  I can't imagine how that would have felt.  Or to see the videos from the lobbies, and hearing the loud crashes of people who just jumped out of the 100th story of a building because it was the BETTER choice than staying up there.  Again, completely beyond my comprehension.  Or seeing the firefighters marching onto the scene dutifully, and knowing that a good number of them would never return.  It makes my blood boil when I see these things, and maybe it isn't healthy, but it helps remind me of what some people are capable of. 

I'm so grateful that we haven't had another attack like that here ever since.  The measures put in place after the attacks, which many would consider encroaching on civil liberties, have been just fine in my book.  There are probably better, more efficient ways to do things, but so far it seems to have worked.  If TSA agents want to stare in awe at my pixelated nether regions (maybe they were just laughing), or cop a feel in the name of safety, then have at it.  The vast majority are just doing their job, and although it may not be the popular opinion, I'm fine jumping through a few hoops if it means there may be a better chance of the plane making it to my destination unharmed.

Sorry for such a downer post, but this time of year is about reflection on (hopefully) the biggest tragedy I'll ever witness in my lifetime.  Here's to all the heroes of that day, and here's hoping this country will never need that degree of heroics ever again.

Gettin' Dirty

This weekend was the inaugural running of the MS Mud Run in Winter Park CO.  It is a 10K fun run with obstacles and mud and great music and bbq and beer, but more importantly it is a fund raiser for MS.  First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who donated to me for this.  I believe I was #8 as far as the amount of money raised with a little over $1200, and the team of guys I did the run with also were the 8th highest team total for money raised.  (The wife of one of my teammates also ran with another team who were the 7th highest fundraisers).  So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for their help!

The whole time I was doing this race, I kept thinking I need to remember what is happening so I can write about it.  And when I finished, I thought back and realized I have absolutely no clue what I did with any kind of organized memory.  The description that follows is a dump of what I DO remember, but in no particular order.  Fasten your seatbelts....

We were team "Dragon Ass".  Dave was our captain...he and his wife TC have been good friends of ours from the college days.  Tom was the other member of our team of three.  He is a friend of Dave and TC's that I had never met before, which was my loss, because he is an extremely cool guy.  His wife also ran with TC's team (Team Phat Ass).  Yes, ass was prevalent at this race.

I understood there to be between 400 and 700 competitors.  My team was in the non-competitive group, but there were also teams in a competitive group with stricter rules about completing all the obstacles and getting an official time.  When the race starts, the first thing we do is run down a long hill from the Mary Jane base towards the Winter Park base.  No obstacles here, just a nice easy jog to get into it.  It was at least a half mile to the bottom, at which point we turned around, climbed over the first obstacle (which I think were just a couple of logs), and then headed back up the first of what was going to be a LOT of elevation changes.  We were not given a map of the course before the race....it was all supposed to be a surprise, but rumor at the starting line was that this was the hardest Mud Run course they've ever created.  Needless to say, any thoughts of running the whole thing disappeared quickly (thankfully) just after the turn to run up the first big hill.  I found a map of the course after the race online....check it out, it is crazy:

Winter Park Mud Run 2011 Race Course

From this point on, it is all a blur.  I remember having to run up the mountain a bit.  Thankfully there weren't any obstacles on the climbing portions.  Shortly after the first climb, we came to the first obstacle that I thought would give me some trouble when I read about it.  We had to climb through a drainage culvert that was at least 100 feet long and crossed underground between two of the ski runs.  As I am a bit claustrophobic, this was going to freak me out, but I tried to stay right behind Dave, who alerted me to what was ahead, and I managed to get through it.  One section of the culvert, about half way through, had been crushed somewhat, so we were kind of scaling on the side of it to get around that point.  TC mentioned that this was the first time that being a geologist (and realizing that a landslide had caused this crease) was really a bad thing for her mental state.

More climbing, some descending, more climbing.  We went over more log piles, under some ropes in the mud, over a cargo net.  Another obstacle that I was not looking forward to was a wall made of 2x4s spaced maybe 3 feet apart, and maybe 15 feet tall.  As much as I love to be on mountains and love airplanes, being that far up a wobbly wall of wood was also not one of my favorite things.  Dave and Tom hopped over the thing like it didn't even exist, but it took me a bit longer to make it over.  But again, I did it without passing out or breaking any limbs.  Now that I think about it, I probably should have just side kicked one of the boards and walked through it.  THAT would have been more my style.  Here are a couple more shots of the cargo net (yep, that's me way behind Dave and Tom), and a shot from higher up the mountain.

The last mile or so of the course is where the real mud and fun came.  There was a pit of mud that we had to jump in and then climb out the side.  This was where my boots filled with water and rocks.  Running on waterlogged boots and socks was funky but not bad, but running on the rocks under my feet was not fun.  I considered stopping, but figured they would fill again soon anyway, and maybe we were almost done (we weren't).  We followed a little creek, which at one point had mud that came up to my hips (I kid you not).  It was like quicksand at one point and very hard to move through.  There was one section with four logs, that we had to climb over, then go under, and they were right on the surface of the creek, so there was no choice but to go underwater to get under them.  And finally there were a couple of much shorter pipes to climb through (a piece of cake compared to the culvert).   These are some pics of TC's team going through some of those muddy obstacles towards the home stretch:

The last obstacle before the short jog downhill to the finish was just a big pit of mud that you jump in and climb out of:

After this, you ran down a hill, past the cheering crowd and the DJ playing some great tunes (our team finished up to some Vanilla Ice and Jump Around...totally pumped us up for the final push).  We finished, and got a picture with one of our designated cheerleaders.

There are a few things that are going through my head now that I'm finished with the race.  One thing the organizer said at the starting line was that we would not know what the course held, much like someone with MS does not know from day to day what their life is going to bring.  He also said that just as we are on the starting line looking forward with uncertainty, afterwards we will look back and say "I knew I could do it".  And he was right.  I don't have MS and will never know first hand what that feels like, but I had some of my own demons to conquer on this run.  First, a 10K is not a short distance, but I was able to complete it even with its insane elevation changes.  I'm also very claustrophobic in pipes, yet I went through a 100 foot long culvert, much of it in the dark.  I overcame a fear of heights to climb over a wobbly wall of 2x4's.  And I tend to be a neat freak, almost to the point of obsessive compulsiveness.  If anything on earth is farther from "neat" than this jaunt through the swamp, I don't know what it would be. 

But most of all, this was just fun.  The atmosphere was great.  Kathy and the kids were the loudest cheerleaders in the crowd.  Dave and TC are two of the most fun people I know to be around, and they introduced me to their friends and family who were also just amazing people.  Our final time was about 2hrs 11mins, not bad at all considering how much of it was a slow, uphill hike.  I was a worthless slug the rest of the day and some of the next day, but I'll recover from that quickly enough.  My first mud run was a huge success, and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year.  Thanks again to everyone for their support and well wishes!

Foreplay

Got your attention now?  Good, because this post is actually about the hike to Chasm Lake I did today, which is kind of the "foreplay" for the 10K MS Mud Run I'm doing next weekend.  Simply saying "Here is Another Post By Someone Who Hiked Up to Chasm Lake" wouldn't have been nearly as exciting for a title.

Chasm Lake is a 4.2 mile hike one way from the Longs Peak trailhead.  It actually follows the Longs Peak trail about 3.5 miles before it branches off to the lake, which is at the base of the diamond of Longs Peak.  This was to be another one of my "high altitude training hikes" for next week's 10K, and it was definitely an amazing hike.  2360' of elevation gain to an elevation of 11760' at the lake.  The parking lot at the trailhead is usually filled long before 6 AM with cars of hikers who are climbing Longs Peak.  I got there at 8:00, passing dozens of cars along the road that couldn't find a spot to park in the lot.  Just for grins, I decided to drive into the parking lot anyway, and wouldn't you know it, one of the closest spots to the trailhead itself was actually EMPTY!  Oh, it was going to be a good day.

The first couple of miles of trail is through the forest.  There were not nearly as many people on the trail today as there were on Bierstadt last week, and the solitude was at times very refreshing and sometimes a little tense as I realized "well, if I slipped and broke my ankle here, not sure how long it would be until someone stumbled upon me", as well as "I wonder if I side kicked a bear really hard in the stomach, would it raise its eyebrows in surprised respect and slowly back away?"  Fortunately, neither of those situations happened to me today, but I probably really should hike with a buddy (and not just a buddy in spirit).

The trail follows a small creek much of the way, which I crossed several times.  Lots of small waterfalls along this route as well, all very relaxing.  Here is a picture of one of the falls on the route:

I called this one "Fallijuana", named after the two guys who were "medicating" on a rock just out of this shot.  Maybe that's why it was so relaxing up there in rocky mountain high??  Just beyond this point, around a switchback in the trail, I happened across a young couple off to the side.  They giggled and moved apart when they saw me...I just smiled and kept walking, not looking back, but in hindsight I shoulda just shouted "go on, nail her!" and gave the guy a thumbs up.  This hike was starting off on an interesting note to say the least.

After a couple of miles, the forest thins, and eventually you are up around timberline.  This is where the incredible views really begin (views of the scenery, not the couples trying to sneak in a quickie between hikers).  The Twin Sisters peaks are back towards the east, and Longs, Meeker and Lady Washington are dead ahead.

The hike meanders up through tundra now, all the while Longs Peak continues to get closer and closer.  As with all the other mountains in this fine state, I've seen most of them from the road, and I see Longs through my window every day at home, but I've never been this close to it before.  Truly an amazing rock it is.

In this area, the trail splits, and I took the path into the valley towards the base of Longs where Chasm Lake is.  This area was along the edge of very steep embankment, and although I never really felt unsafe, I could see how someone could slip off if they weren't paying attention.  And it was easy to not pay attention, because Peacock Pool was directly below.  The way the sun was coming in, the pool was a brilliant green color, and the falls that fed it were clearly visible.  Here is some video of this area:

I can't say enough how beautiful this stretch of the trail is, and no video or pictures do it justice.  You could see miles east down the valley with a handful of lakes along the bottom, and ahead were huge cliffs and some of the tallest mountain peaks in the state.  It was stunning.  This was also an area where there was some columbine growing along the sides of the trail.

There were a couple more obstacles to get across before reaching the lake.  First, there is a snow field within a half mile from the top, and you can see the boot-width trail that those before me had made in an arc around the top of it.  The snowfield was pretty short now, but as late as mid July I understand it can be several hundred feet across and not fun to slip on.

On the other side of this snowfield is the last "facilities" before the lake.  I'll try to describe it to you....imagine 4 wooden walls that would come to your chest if you stood up.  Inside of these walls was one of the coolest things I've ever seen...a huge swarm of flies in the shape of a toilet, complete with crap and everything!  As I stood a few feet beyond these walls feeling more relieved by the second, one thought crossed my mind...it is good to be a guy.

Finally, the lake is just 0.2 miles ahead.  Or rather, I should say....up.

The last little bit of the hike involves a nice scramble to get to the final destination.  Again, it wasn't terribly frightening, but there were a few places where a slip would have ended badly.  After a little over 2 hours, I climbed the last few feet over the ridge, and there was the lake.

I found some large rocks along the edge of the lake where I could just kick back and relax for awhile.  I could see a few hikers on the top of Longs if I used my binoculars.  I'm  hoping to climb Longs with a group of friends in a couple of weeks, and the thought of having to climb that much higher than I already had is a little intimidating.  There were probably 10 other people at the lake when I got there, but I couldn't see any of them from where I was parked.  Great opportunity to just clear one's mind and bask in the beauty of nature (and I understand a great remedy for nervous breakdowns, if you're so inclined to have them).  I could have stayed up there for hours, but since I did have a life to come home to, I began to head back down after about 30 minutes.

Physically, I was feeling really good.  This was a strenuous hike to the lake, but not as hard as Bierstadt through 13,000 to 14,000 feet.  The weather was warm and sunny the whole way up, but I could see some storms forming on the way back, so I tried to keep a good pace coming down.  Shortly after I got back into the forest, I passed two women and a man coming up the trail.  One of the women was singing "Like a virgin....HEY!!"  and "you make me feeeeeeeel, shiny and neeeew!".  I would like to thank her for getting that song stuck thoroughly in my head for the last 45 minutes of my hike.

Overall, the hike took about 4 hours and 15 minutes, including the 30 minutes at the lake.  It is definitely one of the most scenic hikes I've ever done, and I highly recommend it, even if it is a bit strenuous at times.  It did wonders for my body and my mind today, and I'm more confident now that a 10K through mud pits at Winter Park is not going to kill me.  Foreplay is now over....it's bidnizz time!

Mt. Bierstadt

Today was kind of a cool day for me.  After living in Colorado for 11 years (plus another 4 1/2 in college), I finally managed to climb my first 14er, Mt. Bierstadt.  Sure, I've driven to the top of Evans and Pikes, and I've looked admiringly at dozens of others from the air conditioned comfort of my car as I drove past them, but I've never actually hiked up one and done it "right".  So just a couple of days ago, Kathy (knowing I wanted, no NEEDED, to do some higher altitude training before my 10K MS Mud Run in Winter Park) said that she could take care of things at the house if I wanted to go hiking Sunday.  Of course, I jumped right from "a high altitude hike" to "hey, I want to climb a 14er!".  I was planning to do Greys and Torreys, but a couple of my kickboxing students with some 14er experience told me that Bierstadt is a good first time hike.  I LOVE the view up at Guanella Pass, and Bierstadt is one of the 14ers I've looked at from my car many times, so I decided that Bierstadt it would be.

Having never done a big hike like this, I wasn't exactly sure what I should bring with me, so I did a little online research.  Water...check.  More water...check.  Had my new hiking boots that I'm still breaking in (this could have been a disaster, but fortunately worked out ok).  GPS....check.  Helmet....wait, what???  Seriously, I need a helmet for this climb?  Guess I'll have to risk it, as I'm not going to wear my bike helmet up a mountain (and this was the right decision...no one was wearing a helmet today).  Flares...ummm, huh????  I could see my car the entire way up the mountain today.  There was not one time that I was more than 100 feet from SOMEBODY.  Needless to say, I had no occasion to use my flares today, thank God (unless of course the idea was to shoot them off at the summit like fireworks, but no one else was doing that so I will just assume they would be for more isolated hikes).  I had on shorts (nice 55 degree morning at the pass), a light long sleeve shirt, a fleece, and I had packed a windbreaker and some windbreaking pants (neither of which I needed, but they seemed like reasonable additions).  Also brought lots of Goo and some energy bars (which I used extensively).  In hindsight, I wish I had brought a pair of gloves because it was a little windy and cooler at the summit, which made it a little tougher to scramble over the rocks up there.  But other than that, I think I packed about right.  

I got on the road about 5:30 this morning, which itself was a complete miracle considering the small celebratory gathering I attended last night.  Got up to Guanella Pass, parked in the overflow lot, and got on the trail by 7:30.  Other than being tired from lack of sleep, I felt good, and Bierstadt didn't look all THAT far away.  Big, yes, but there it was, right in front of me.  Only a mere 3.5 miles away.  And another 1/2 mile straight up.

I won't go into details about every step of the hike...there are all kinds of blogs and descriptions from other climbers that pretty much sums that up.  So this is my own personal take of it....

The hike starts going down into a valley of willows.  Very cool.  Also very good at lulling you into feeling "wow, this won't be so bad".  Ummm...WRONG.

Shortly into the hike, you cross over a stream on some stepping stones.  This is what it looks like:

This wouldn't have been a big deal (I actually really love mountain streams like this...very serene for me), except that my expert mountaineering friend told me that when she hiked Bierstadt, she slipped on this crossing and had to do the rest of the hike with a wet shoe.  Fortunately, I made it across both times (the woman in front of me on the descent wasn't so lucky).

I think I was towards the end of the first "wave" of climbers that day.  Only a very small handful of people were coming down as I went up, but I passed hundreds of people in the first mile of my initial descent from the summit.  It was busy, but I didn't ever feel like I was "crowded", and only had to stop a couple times to let people come past or let me move past them. 

This was pretty typical the whole way.  There were maybe 25-30 people at the summit when I got there and a lot more on the way up when I left.  When I got back to the parking lot, both lots were filled and there was a long line of cars parked on both sides of the road.  7-7:30 was just about the perfect time to get going apparently.

The people hiking at that time of day are very friendly.  I talked to a few people for awhile on the way up...very friendly people, all of them.  And for those of us who were climbing our very first 14er, everyone really responded to us in an honest "way to go" manner, and not in a condescending or "oh I've climbed FIFTY of them" way.  Very refreshing to be around that.  And several people had some very cool dogs with them too.  I imagine if I brought Bella, she'd be half way across Colorado by now.

I made it up in about 2 1/2 hours, and back down in about 2 hours after 15-20 minutes on the summit.

I wasn't nearly the slowest going up, although I did have to stop more frequently than I thought I would on some of the steeper parts.  As I got back to the car, it occurred to me that Longs Peak is twice as long as this one.  I'd love to have a go at Longs someday, but the timing is going to have to be right, and it would be good to get a few more easier ones under my belt first.  Similar to my half marathon and not planning to become a distance runner, I don't think climbing 14ers is something I will ever get hooked on for many reasons.  I'm glad I did this one, and there are some others I'd like to climb in the future, but I'm not going to plan weekly climbs and try to bag every 14er in CO.  But today couldn't have gone any smoother, and it was great practice for the 10K fundraiser in a couple of weeks. 

Meaningful Songs

I've been in a strange mood tonight, and I've spent much of the evening browsing songs to use in my kickboxing classes.  Certain music has always invoked exceptionally strong reactions in me that span the range of emotions (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way).  A few weeks ago I was searching for a song from a group I'm very fond of, VNV Nation.  The first song of theirs I ever heard was called "Illusion", and the video I found was not made specifically for the song, but it matched up with the message of the song completely perfectly, and it was one of those profoundly moving songs I spoke of earlier.  I've been hooked on VNV Nation ever since. 

The song I was looking for also had a video with it that wasn't made specifically for the song, but again, the message of the song and the message of the video are just overwhelming.  It is called "From My Hands", and the message of the song is about moving on after a loss.   Not that I'm dwelling on any major losses in my life right now, but I found all kinds of parallels with situations I've experienced at various times in my life. 

As some of you around my neck of the woods might have heard, a deputy recently drowned while saving a young girl from a river in Wyoming.  I probably would have missed the story completely, but it just so happened that a friend of mine had just photographed his wedding a few weeks ago, and she posted on facebook the story that he was missing, a link to a "prayers for Bryan" group, and ultimately, the story that his body had been found.  She blogged about her experience at that wedding, and she wrote some pretty amazing things about Bryan.  It was obvious that he made an impact on her life in just the relatively short time that she had known him, and I know his death has hit her hard.  Just reading through the prayer page, it is also obvious that he was a very well liked individual and a great man who will be missed terribly.  And I can't even begin to imagine what his much too prematurely widowed wife is going through right now. 

This song made me think of this person I never knew, and I would imagine a lot of people can relate to it.  I don't personally know anyone who is a friend of his family except for my photographer friend, and I hope she can find peace as she finishes up their wedding album.