Mudderella: The Ultimate Girl’s Weekend in Snowmass

August 26, 2015 By

When I was invited to compete at Mudderella in Snowmass with three friends, my first thought was GIRL’S WEEKEND. I’ve never done a girl’s-only getaway and it was the perfect motivation to stay in shape this summer while training for this 5-7-mile athletic event series that encourages being strong, having fun and enjoying the day with your gal pals. I asked my friends Lisa, Kendra and Tiffanie to join me and the hundreds of other women having the Ultimate Girl’s Weekend in Snowmass!

We dined slopeside on Venga Venga’s deck overlooking Snowmass Mountain and were thrilled to have a bird’s eye view of the Mudderella course. I surveyed an A-frame with ropes, small tunnels and mud pits. “That doesn’t look so bad,” I observed. My friend Kendra countered, “I think that is the [Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder] kid’s course.” Next time, I’m entering as a kid.

Mudderella

I haven’t spent much time in the mud beyond hosing off my children at the end of a summer’s day so I didn’t know what to expect. The night before, we received a text message from organizers boasting this was one of the toughest mountain courses they’d ever designed. I’m sure that might excite some people, but I shared my rules with my teammates to accommodate my irascible right knee: “I have no problem running on flats or on descents but I am not running uphill.” These were my final words as a sane person.

The next morning, we checked in to get our bibs, armed ourselves with STRONG tattoos (it helps when you take the plastic off before applying), drew purple war paint under our eyes and joined the tutu- and boa-clad women in our heat to stretch. Our Team “In Dirt ‘Til the End” (a play on “Endure ’til the End”) started in a slow jog until we realized the relentless course started uphill and, if you will recall, that was against my edict. We slowed our pace down to a brisk hike until we reached Upper Snowmass Village Mall where we jogged through a parking lot until we were greeted with a serpentine trail up the mountain.

I was miserable for the first 1.5 miles as I inwardly fumed “I am tired. Whose idea was this?! Oh wait, mine.”  I was apprehensive about keeping up with my younger and faster teammates who kindly kept pace with me. It wasn’t until after our first couple of muddy obstacles that I started to come out of my fog. “Yes, it’s steep but you love hiking. And you’re in the mountains with your friends. And it’s beautiful. No one is stressed but you so just have fun with it.”

mudderella1

And fun we had. The obstacles were my favorite part of the event. We climbed up Tough Tatas (wall climbing with ropes), did the Downward Dog across a trench of mud, had a Surprise Party like no other where we waded through waist-deep muddy waters, navigated Wheels in Motion and got Down to the Wire as we army crawled through mud. I felt much stronger and capable the longer we competed and was on a muddy high as we got down and dirty.

As we neared the end of the course, we encountered a structure that was like a miniature Haunted House of Bubbles. Excited to slip ‘n slide through it, I ignored the signs not to crawl and did just that, banging up my bad knee on a large rock hidden underneath. Tip: If you’re going to get hurt, make sure to do it on the body part that is already injured.

I half-limped/ran the rest of the course to the final obstacle, the Hat Trick. Spectators lined the bleachers as they cheered us up the daunting two-story cargo net wall and we then shot down a slippery, steep slide into a muddy pool. We raced to the finish line, soaking wet, exhausted and exuberant.

Would I do Mudderella again? Absolutely. Would I train more? Most definitely. But was it the best girl’s weekend ever? You’d better believe it.

maroonbells

Play

We dropped our kids at school on Friday and drove to Aspen. None of us had ever visited the iconic Maroon Bells in the Elk Mountains but from mid-June to October 4th, they can only be accessed by public bus ($6) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. We parked at Aspen Highlands and were delighted when our quirky shuttle driver gave a fascinating history of this glacial valley surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks. We took a leisurely stroll along the Maroon Lake Scenic Trail past the creek through fields of wildflowers, vowing to return when we had more time.

Once back in Aspen we toured the downtown area, marveling at the fountains, eateries, galleries and high-end boutiques brimming with treasures we could never afford while having a blast pretending we could. We drove 20 minutes to Snowmass and checked into Timberline Condominiums, where our specious slopeside three-bedroom condo with a full kitchen had all the fixings and easy access to everything Snowmass had to offer.

Eat

Several of my friends recommended Richard Sandoval’s Venga Venga Cantina and Tequila Bar for dinner. Conveniently located in Snowmass Village, this affordable (by Aspen standards) Mexican restaurant was The Place for a hoppin’ night out as legions of Mudderellas gathered to eat, drink and be [exceedingly] merry (note: the restaurant’s 75 Tequilas and mezcals may have had something to do with that).venga

My non-drinking group was all about the food–from the guacamole prepared tableside to the Chicken Zarape (with bacon, panela, pico de gallo, cotija and chipotle sauce), to the Carne Asada (grilled Harris Ranch hanger steak, rajas, chimichurri, chile morita sauce and a sweet corn tamale). For dessert, we may have ordered one of everything–churros, flan, banana empanadas and coconut ice cream.

In our defense, we burned those calories (and more the next day).

Filed Under: Colorado

Only at our house

August 24, 2015 By

As I was preparing dinner, Jamie warned me:  ”I need to leave soon. My buddy Joe needs some help weighing his tomato.”

No amount of forewarning can ever prepare you for that.

====

Addendum. I posted his comment to Facebook and this was his response:

Allegedly a new state record tomato, thank you. This could be history in the making! A historic event. As a result a new strain of tomatoes could be developed that could feed nations!!! Tens of thousands of starving children in Africa saved from the small and simple sacrifice of time for weighing this tomato!!!! The humanity, the humanity. I don’t wish to be praised for my unselfish act however. Just knowing that some small child will be able to sleep tonight with a full belly is satisfaction enough. Thank you and God bless America!

Please pray he doesn’t add tomato to his giant vegetable/fruit growing obsession! :-)

What a Colorado State Record tomato looks like

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

And so it (school) begins

August 21, 2015 By

The first day of school for the kids was a success! Or rather, it wasn’t a complete failure, which is almost the same as being a success, right?

Both kids have excellent teachers, which is such a relief after Hadley’s academic nightmare last year. Bode was excited about everything regarding fourth grade while Hadley was just excited to come home after. They were both excited about doughnuts for breakfast.

Their mid-morning sugar crash is no longer my problem.

They usually take the bus but I took them to school. Bode happily posed with his teacher. 

  You can get away with this in fourth grade but not in oh-so cool sixth grade.
I waited outside the doors with Hadley until the bell rang as she nervously surveyed the crowd. She was one of the tallest girls but some boys are finally starting to catch up. It’s been three years since she was at this school and though she recognized a lot of kids, she wasn’t really friends with any of them. How do I know? She would have ditched me in a heartbeat. The good news is one of her best friends Alex is in her class and I’m hoping she gets settled sooner than later.
As for Bode, he had the time of his life and knows every single kid in his class (a bonus of being at the same school since kindergarten). He’s reunited with his bestie Brody as well as his friends Curtis and Noah.
Each of the kids was asked to share two interesting things about their summer. He talked about going to Canada to visit his cousins. Fine. That makes sense. And then he could have divulged any number of things. Doing an Adventure Race. His birthday. Going to Cub Scout Twilight Camp. Flying home from Utah all by himself on an airplane.
But noooooo, Item No. 2 was that he was bitten at the same time by two different wasps on my parent’s deck.
I guess he was going for dramatic effect.
Filed Under: Bode, Hadley

The final countdown

August 19, 2015 By

The kids are finally back in school, which means I’ll be able to spend some much-needed time getting caught up on this blog about all our summer travels, right? Probably not. I’m celebrating my friends’ birthday tomorrow with lunch and a hike, I leave Friday morning with some other friends to do Mudderella in Aspen and then next week, my brother Pat and his wife Jane are FINALLY coming to visit us in Denver. The only other time they’ve been here was for our wedding so it’s long overdue.

Better luck next month on updates.

The kids and I have spent our last few days cramming in all the ugly things we should have spread out all summer like assessment testing, organizing their rooms, the dentist and a failed attempt at Water World.

Le Dentist

I’m exceedingly thrilled that Bode has 3–maybe 4–cavities and that Hadley needs braces. When two self-employed people pay almost as much for health insurance as they do their mortgage, that leaves no room for dental insurance. Can you say: payment plan.

Hadley’s crooked teeth are a mess so we knew they’d need an overhaul. But sweet, responsible Bode was devastated over his prognosis and has since been hypervigilant about flossing (too little, too late). But I sure appreciate all his prayers that we’ll have enough money to pay for his rotting mouth. Not that I can talk; we just barely finished paying off my last visit to the dentist 18 months ago. 

Water World Fail

How exactly can one fail at Water World, one of the country’s premier waterparks with 50+ attractions? Allow me to divulge:

1) You wait for your husband to get off work so don’t leave until 1 p.m.

2) You get stuck in I-76 traffic for about a half an hour and don’t arrive until after 2 p.m.

3) When you finally arrive, you wait in line for a long time for two rides. For kicks and giggles, you cut your leg on one of them.

4) You wait in line for an hour for Mile High Flyer. When you’re about 15 minutes from the front of the line, the park closes for 60 minutes due to lightning/rain.

5) You cut your losses (it’s already 4 p.m.) and you go home after only riding two rides.

6) Better luck next year.

So Long, Farewell

Jamie’s sister sold her house quit her job and has been living with us this summer. I wasn’t sure how it would work out (we’re a lot to handle) but she was a delight to hang out with, she helped clean, took the kids out and even babysat for us one night so we could go on a dinner and movie night to Mission Impossible.

It was like we were almost human again!

Lisa is soon embarking on a month-long trip to Europe so for her self-off/birthday celebration, we had two fondues: One with rib-eye steak and the other was this Gouda Cheese Fondue with Herbed Crostini beef. Jamie smoked the Gouda in his smoker and the result was Out. Of. This. World. 

She’ll be sorely missed by everyone but Fat Kitty is taking it particularly hard. During all our summer travels, he’s been glued to her side, snuggled up in her soft blanket. She was his one constant and now she’s gone, gone, gone. His only solace is to rip off the heads of mice and leave their innards all over our yard.

We all have our coping mechanisms.

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Hadley, Humor

Kids Adventure Games in Vail, Colorado!

August 17, 2015 By

“Mom, stop being part of the paparazzi. You’re taking too many pictures!” My daughter Hadley joked as I snapped my camera yet again while she soared across Gore Creek on a zipline.

But I couldn’t stop because she kept right on going in the Kids Adventure Games where kids, ages 6 through 14, experience the thrill of adventure racing in Vail, Colo. And believe me, it was thrilling as you can see from our video:

My children have participated in a number of sporting events but never anything that pushed them to their limits while emphasizing the important of teamwork, problem solving and fun as teams of two tackled a variety of challenges.  From the get-go, this race was different. Prior to getting outfitted in their harnesses, a kids-only safety meeting was held as the racers were debriefed on the race course and equipped with a map. Race founder Bill Mattison later told parents  ”Your kids are capable of doing great things if you just let them go it alone.”

Tyrolean Traverse

Tyrolean Traverse

And great things they did.  My son Bode and his buddy Seamus were ”Team Awesome” while Hadley competed with his sister Maeve as “Adventure Girls.” Anticipation was palpable as they lined up with their bikes at the starting gate beside Vail Resort’s Gondola One. Racers of all ability levels were staggered a few minutes apart. Adventure Girls started 15 minutes before Team Awesome so the boy’s goal was to catch them while the girls vowed not to be caught.

Parents can observe as much of the race as they want but are discouraged from helping; there were race volunteers at literally every turn in the seamlessly organized race. My plan was to follow the girls while my husband Jamie stuck with the boys. At least that was the plan until Adventure Girls raced their bikes along the Gore Valley Trail leaving me in their dust. A fellow helicopter parent pointed up. “There’s no way to keep up with them on their bikes but you can meet them at Gopher Hill Lift.” I took off up the hill, remiss I wasn’t able to witness the first three checkpoints: Ride through Hay Tunnel, watch them navigate the Slick Wall and then carry their bikes through the Skier Tunnel Obstacles.

heavenWhen I saw Hadley and Maeve round the hill, they were covered in mud and delved into the Tyrolean Traverse where they clipped onto a fixed line and pulled themselves across a river. From there, it was onto the Underground River Hike, a Blow Dart Challenge, Jungle Walk and Balloon Launch. I was breathless trying to keep up as they ditched their bikes, grabbed a tube and PDFs as they wound through the village  to the Covered Bridge where they ziplined across Gore Creek before tubing down the icy water. From there, it was onto a climbing wall, mud pit, a cargo net, and they ended with a Slope-N-Slide where all their mud was washed away in their frothy landing (on behalf of mothers everywhere, thank you for that).

My kids had the time of their lives but was it all smooth-sailing? Absolutely not. Seamus crashed his bike as he attempted to descend the loose gravel trail. Maeve hated crawling through the mud. Hadley dismounted her bike to walk down steep sections of the trail while Bode struggled figuring out his technique on the Tyrolean Traverse. The fastest time from some “seasoned veterans” was 45 minutes. My kids posted times that were right in the mix: Adventure Girls finished in 1:16 while the boys were just one minute behind at 1:17.

As they rested and basked in the midday suns electrifying verdant Vail Mountain’, I asked Bode if he wanted to do it again in 2016.teams

“Yes, but next time we’re beating the girls.”

[Kids Adventure] Game On.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley, outdoors

Camping, hiking and redemption at Brainard Lake

August 15, 2015 By

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Booking the camping trip early, that is. Brainard Lake Recreation Area is a popular outdoor Mecca for locals but you will rarely find any out-of-state license plate in the parking lot–tourists congregate at nearby Rocky Mountain National Park and I’d prefer to keep it that way.

We’ve long wanted to camp at Brainard Lake but the problem is the Pawnee Campground fills up several months in advance. There are a few first-come, first-served campsites but unless you can come mid-week (we never can), you’re out of luck. So, on Dec. 31, 2014, my good husband somehow finagled us a campsite before the reservations opened for 2015. Don’t ask me how he did it; he has his ways.

Set in a glacially-carved valley, the craggy peaks of the Continental Divide are the backdrop for this azure lake that boasts a variety of year-round recreation opportunities in the Boulder Ranger District. It is open year-round but Jamie had reserved the campground’s opening day. There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground and the early-season weather was iffy. Our last several camping trips have either been rained, hailed or pooped out so I braced myself for whatever catastrophe would come our way. Though the temperatures were cooler and the sky overcast when we arrived, the weather held out.

The problem with booking something for June 26 six months in advance is he had no idea that the kids and I would leave early for Canada that year, just one day after camping. It’s rare that I have a bad attitude about getting outdoors but I had one about this trip. I was busy prepping for our month away and to throw in camping on top of it? I got over it really, really quickly.

 

Moose in the trees

Following our hot dogs and s’mores dinner, Jamie and I ditched the kids and went for a romantic stroll through the subalpine forest set in a glacially-carved valley.

That’s my kind of date night.

Brainard Lake at dusk

There are two things I hate about tent camping and hundreds of things I love. Hate: Sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag and inclement weather. If we had a trailer/RV, crummy weather wouldn’t be such a big deal but I have never been able to sleep through the night in a sleeping bag. Stomach sleepers of the world can assuredly relate.

Despite a sleepless night, the next morning dawned bright, clear and beautiful as Brainard Lake looked like a completely different place.

We’ve had four attempts at hiking 6 miles round-trip to 11,355′ Blue Lake.

First Attempt

Jamie and I were newly married and we successfully hiked to this gorgeous area.

Second Attempt

Late-June 2014. There was still a fair amount of snow during our daytrip, which put a kibosh on our high-elevation hiking plans. Hadley used to throw tantrums when she wouldn’t get her way. Now, those fits are about our refusal to hike through muck and snow. We made it as far as the moderate 1-mile hike to Mitchell Lake, which occupies a broad, marshy flat at the base of Mount Audubon before we made her turn back. Cue: Bode’s relief.

Third Attempt

Our trip in June was officially Hadley’s second attempt and I prayed the trail would be more clear so as to avoid tween tantrums. It didn’t happen. Upon reaching Mitchell Lake again, snow was a concern but a ranger we met en route warned us of the dangerous, icy conditions ahead getting to Blue Lake. It was like an episode of Groundhog Day and we made her turn back.  I promised her we’d return late-July and even invited some of her friends to join us. Cue: Bode’s Relief Part II.

 

Mitchell Lake

 

Trail conditions

A girl in her element? No, a tween tantrum

Fourth Attempt

Upon returning from a road-trip to Canada, Bode stayed an extra week in Canada with Grandma. Despite the fact that Hadley bagged her first 14er on that Saturday, she practically begged me to make the 1.5 hour drive back to Brainard Lake to hike Blue a few days later. Our friends we’d originally invited just happened to be camping in the area at the same time but were non-committal about their plans so we decided to go it alone because it was too difficult to coordinate schedules.

The hike to Blue Lake is 6 miles round-trip but the problem is the Mitchell Lake Trailhead has either been closed or full every time we’ve attempt to hike it. So in keeping with our luck, the parking lot  was full so we had to park 1 mile down the mountain. Because why hike 6 miles when you can do 8?

I debated making a final outhouse stop in the parking lot but opted to wait until we reached the trailhead and wouldn’t you know it, my bladder was inspired. As I walked to the outhouse, I heard my friend Lisa call out to me–they were waiting in a wooded grove to hike Blue Lake! Finding the parking lot was full, their husbands had dropped the families off, driven back to the Brainard Lake parking lot and biked back up the road (stroke of genius).

We had such a great time hiking with friends! As soon as we passed Mitchell Lake, Hadley caught fire–we were finally going to summit! There was a profusions of wildflowers as we passed through patchy krummholz before catching our first few of Mount Toll’s conical summit.

After a series of switch backs, we cleared treeline and we were greeted with 11,355′ Blue Lake, which frames a large rocky cirque with Mount Toll, Mt Audubon and Paiute Peak standing sentry.

Hadley and I stayed for about an hour as we soaked our feet in the blue-green water while lunching and watching a lovely waterfall flowing down from the south-side cliffs.

As we hiked the four miles back to the car, I observed, “Aren’t you glad you have finally done Blue Lake?”

“Yes, but now we have to come back and do Upper Blue Lake,” she said, referring to the 0.6-mile scramble up a steep traverse through thick willows, across the snow field, and up the rocky mountainside to see the smaller hidden lake.

I started to protest that she isn’t ever satisfied until I realized she finally *gets* what mountaineering is all about: you’re never really done as there are always mountains to climb.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley, hiking, outdoors

Lessons learned with the young women

August 12, 2015 By

I’ve somehow become known as an avid hiker (weird, right?)  So when my friend Sheree, the Young Women’s President in our ward, asked me for hike recommendations, I jumped at the chance to take the group of girls (ages 12+) to one of my favorite hikes in Denver’s Front Range. However, an hour before departure, storms raged in south Denver, east Denver had tornado sightings, and as we were driving toward the mountains, a light drizzle surrounded us so we debated bagging the whole thing. When we arrived at the trailhead, the weather had cleared to cool, overcast conditions that are perfect for hiking so we bit–hard.

Though Hadley is not yet old enough to be in Young Women’s, I brought her along on the hike and she trekked with her friend Alex, my friend Lisa’s daughter who, too is underage but who goes on activities because Lisa is a leader.  We followed a seasonal stream up a pretty valley for about a mile, followed by two forks in the trail, the latter of which led us up some steep terrain to the summit with stunning views of Mount Evans and Continental Divide. We were having a great time chatting and laughing in the outdoors!

When we were going up, the girls were great about staying together and waiting for everyone to get caught up. But as we started descending, Hadley and Alex (the fleetfoots in the group) took off. There were enough winds and turns that I didn’t realize it until we reached the second fork in the trail and they were nowhere to be found. Then panic set in. Had they seen the not-so obvious turnoff? It was growing dark and I can honestly say it was my first major freakout moment in the outdoors with my kids.

We dispatched Sheree and Lisa’s daughter Whitney to run ahead on the wrong trail to see if they’d followed it while another leader Kayla took off the mile down the canyon toward the parking lot. Lisa and I spread out in between them all. Echoes of our pleas reverberated off the canyon walls. “Hadley. ALEX.” I blew my emergency whistle, all of which was met with stone-cold silence. I had a mix of emotions that vascillated between anger and fear. She knows better. How many times have we been hiking and she has been told to stay within sight of the group? And then, guilt. It was my kid who wasn’t even supposed to be here who is causing this horrible emergency. What happens if we can’t find them and we have to call 911? What could happen out here at night?

It was the most panicked half-hour of my life. As I rounded the bend to the parking lot, relief set in as we saw Hadley and Alex sitting there absolutely clueless of what they’d put the entire group through. My anger washed away to relief as I hugged her and let loose a verbal scathing like no other. It was only then that she realized the seriousness of her trespass. Jamie later said he thought we were overreacting but it was nighttime that motivated our sense of urgency.

Remorseful, she apologized to the group. I started to hike back up to find Lisa, Whitney and Sheree and she asked to come along. It was completely dark by this time so I brought out the flashlight I always keep in my backpack until we met up with them. Back in the parking lot, we shared a prayer of gratitude that they were safely found. Stories abound in the news like the little 5-year-old Colorado City boy who wandered off from his family’s campsite this week and was found dead a few days later.

One of the other girls commented, “You see, this is why I don’t like hiking. It’s too scary,” which made me sad because it’s one of the most joy-filled ways to connect with nature. But I didn’t correct her.  We’ve spent so much time hiking and camping lately that it is easy to become comfortable–too comfortable. Last night was a sobering reminder to respect the outdoors, always stay together and to never take it for granted.

Filed Under: Hadley, hiking, outdoors

Servitude in the pumpkin patch

August 10, 2015 By

I haven’t posted many updates on our giant pumpkin growing season because there’s not much to tell. We definitely won’t have any record-breaking 1,000+ pound pumpkins.

What a week of no water looks like

The season started great and the plants had never looked better prior to pollination despite a month of non-stop rain.  Then due to a plethora of reasons like cracked vines, dogs eating the pumpkins and other fun things, pollination on the plants was late, which means we’re really far behind on growth.

The first pollination (early July) was cranking along nicely and then one day, dropped off dramatically when Jamie figured out the sprinklers hadn’t been working for an entire week! The second pollination was super late (only two weeks ago) and the pumpkin is only the size of a volleyball right now–usually our plants should be gaining 35-40 pounds per day.

Oh, the heartbreak that is Giant Pumpkin Growing.

The kids’ plants aren’t faring much better. Bode’s pumpkin was pollinated a week before Hadley’s but her pumpkin is rapidly catching up due to good genetics and the fact she actually weeds her patch. Though Bode is diligent in watering, he was on vacation for the entire month of July so his patch is a jungle–there are literally weeds as tall as he is. I helped him weed this morning and it was nearly impossible because many of the weeds are actually wrapped around the pumpkin vines so I was nervous to pull anything that might be detrimental to the pumpkin’s growth.

Weeding was a tedious, thankless task. It’s a good thing Bode is smart because he was not made for manual labor.

“Mom, I want to have a butler like Aunt Lisa.

“Aunt Lisa has a butler?”

“No, I want Aunt Lisa to be my butler.”

Filed Under: Bode, Humor, pumpkins

Hadley’s first 14er!

August 3, 2015 By

My 11-year-old daughter Hadley has always been a strong hiker but I was surprised when she announced she wanted a climb a 14er this summer.

I was a bit worried about her readiness but mostly about my own. I’ve “bagged” a dozen of Colorado’s  54 peaks that rise 14,000+ feet above sea level but it has been several years since my last climb.  In the interim, I’ve grown dazzlingly wiser, impressively slower and more cognizant of my own mortality because, if you’ve ever climbed a 14er, you know there are moments when you feel like you’re going to die (or that death might be more enjoyable than this).

Most mountaineering enthusiasts recommend starting with Mt. Bierstadt or Grays Peak but we opted to hike 14,036 Mount Sherman, a rounded peak that looms above the western edge of South Park. There are no easy 14ers (with the exception of driving to the top of Mount Evans and Pikes Peak in your air-conditioned car). The pitch isn’t the only factor that makes them tough, it’s the altitude. The barometric pressure decreases when you climb, causing air to expand in volume and decrease the amount of air you take in on each breath.

Case in point: We climbed famed Ha Ling Peak outside of Banff National Park in July and the trail was much more challenging, but Mount Sherman’s elevation made us feel like we were summiting Everest without oxygen. Or a sherpa. And with a 50-pound bag of rocks on our backs.

There are two standard routes up Mount Sherman and we chose the route accessed via the Southwest Ridge from Fourmile Creek outside of Fairplay, Colo. The hike is 5.25 miles round-trip from the gate but parking along the road is minimal and our 9 a.m. (relatively late) arrival forced us to park a mile away.  5.25 miles + 1 mile just to the trailhead + that same mile back to your car = seriously considering the virtues of hitchhiking.

My husband Jamie, Hadley and I have very different hiking styles. He is more of a sprint-and-stop kind of guy while I am slow and steady with minimal breaks and Hadley is somewhere in between. We started at about 11,500 feet so there was no time to acclimate to the altitude. Hadley and I slugged along the windy rock-strewn road past Dauntless and Hilltop mines,  gasping for air but after 20 minutes we were breathing more regularly as the trail narrowed. Despite the commanding views at the top, I am not partial to 14ers for their beauty. Part of the reason is you are doing the brunt of the climb above treeline and, call me crazy, but there is little innate beauty about rocks, particularly when that is all you see for hours on end.pond

First glimpse of the summit

First glimpse of the summit

snowfield

However, when we arrived at the snowfields, I was missing those rocks.

We generally carry an altimeter but it wasn’t needed on Mount Sherman–the summit is in view for most of the hike. If you’re not familiar with altimeters, they help you ascertain your elevation and avoid something agonizing called false summits: thinking you reached the top, only to find the real summit taunting you in the distance. For further clarification: Baby keeps you up for first six months of her life. Finally sleeps through the night. Parent thinks HOLY CRAP, BABY SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT. I HAVE ARRIVED! Next night: Baby wakes up every hour. False summit.

There were a number of families hiking with elementary-school-aged children but very few made it past 12,500 feet and many looked downright miserable. Soapbox: Do not EVER climb 14ers with a baby in a backpack. We always take an ibuprofen preventatively when we begin hiking and again at the first sign of an altitude-induced headache. Just imagine how much worse it is for a little one who can’t voice how the altitude is impacting them.

As we hiked to the saddle between 13,748-foot Mount Sheridan and Mount Sherman, Leadville and Turquoise Lake gleamed in the background ensconced by an army of 13,000 and 14,000-foot giants.

view

At that point, Hadley got summer fever and boldly forged forward up the most difficult part of the climb: a narrow ledge of scree. I got an illness of a different kind: altitude sickness. Jamie–knowing he will be stuck with me long after his daughter flies the coop–wisely stayed back with me  to ensure I didn’t become one with the glacier-scoured valley below.  summitpush

When we reached the summit, we joined an elite club of folks whose altitude sickness made them forget the misery of the climb as we marveled at the 360-degree views of the Mosquito Range’s craggy peaks, aspen groves, boreal forests and profusions of wildflowers as chirping pikas played peek-a-boo in the rocks.

summitgirl

summitpano

shermancouple

 

Hadley’s biggest advice for climbing your first 14er? “Don’t die.”

Though those views really are to-die-for and I can’t wait to do Mount Bierstadt with her next year.

Filed Under: Colorado, Hadley, hiking