Seven

Falling Snow, Excellent Snow

It was cold & snowy this past weekend in Colorado. The mountains got pounded according to reports. On Saturday, it snowed in Denver. I stayed around my neighborhood. I went for a walk over at Bear Creek Lake Park. It is an easy walk from my place. Here are a couple of pictures.


Me on the side of Mt. Carbon above Bear Creek Lake.








The shores of Bear Creek Lake






We only got a few inches in Denver. The snow had stopped by Sunday. It is Monday evening now, and it is snowing again after a sunny day.

Hey GG, I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Cheers,

-MM

Chaos Theory

Well my national championship dreams for Georgia are over. I can't say I'm surprised; I figured LSU needed to lose as well. It is disappointing in that I believe Georgia is a better team than both LSU and Ohio State. What is more disappointing is that the Rose Bowl didn't select Georgia. A match up with USC would have been great because I don't know who should be the better team between them. It would have been good for the SEC vs. PAC-10 debate as well. But the Jurassic Rose Bowl decided to choose the Big Ten team that exposed Ohio State. Georgia gets Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. I hope Georgia can get up for it. From what I have seen of Hawaii they could have won the Big Ten. Hopefully we can have several more seasons of chaos without a true national champion. Then maybe the people in charge of the "that's the way it is system" will realize that they could make a lot more money with a playoff. While they are making money, we could have a true national champion that is decided on the field.

Enough of my college football ramblings. The weather has been cold in Colorado. I hear the high country finally got pounded with some good snow this weekend. We really didn't get anything other the ice on the roads in Denver. I went for my hike on Sunday once again. I went to Deer Creek Canyon Open Space Park. It is in the foothills southwest of Denver. I climbed up Plymouth Mountain (7,295 Ft.) It beautiful place to hike especially with snow on the ground.


That's me at the scenic view on Plymouth Mtn.

Steak 'N Shake

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Winter has finally come to Colorado. The temperatures are finally on the cold side. It snowed in Denver the day before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for the mountains, it wasn’t the huge storm that is needed. Snow is badly needed for the ski resorts and next summer’s water supply. Despite the snow conditions, I went skiing with my friends Mark and Kathy at Copper Mountain. The skiing wasn’t too good. The conditions were pretty icy. Furthermore I had boots that were cutting off my circulation and skis that would not stay on. Fortunately someone stopped on the slopes and adjusted the bindings for me; otherwise I may have had a long walk down. Even though the skiing wasn’t good, the terrain was gorgeous.



A view of I-70 from the slopes of Copper Mountain






Mark & Kathy at Copper Mtn. Resort









Me at Loveland Pass. This was a side trip on the way back to Denver.





After getting back to Denver on Thanksgiving, I went over to Mark and Kathy’s for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of steak & baked potatoes. Well maybe not so traditional. But who wants turkey when you can have filet mignon.

The lazy bug hit on Friday. I got up with intentions of going hiking until I looked out the window saw that conditions were less than ideal. So I found myself on the couch eating cookies and I watched football and movies most of the day. On Saturday, I did get out for a short hike before the football games started. I did a short loop in the Mt. Falcon Open Space Park.


A view up Bear Creek Canyon from Mt. Falcon Open Space Park.




Georgia beat Georgia Tech as expected. The game was a little sloppier than it should have been though. Unfortunately for the Dawgs, Tennessee barely took care of business against Kentucky. So no SEC Championship game for Georgia this year. Maybe they can make the National Championship game in this crazy year. The Dawgs are ranked number 4 in the BCS Rankings. If Missouri loses in the Big 12 Championship game and if West Virginia loses to Pittsburgh next week, Georgia could end up playing Ohio State in the National Championship game. This year just cries for a playoff. Regardless of how the season ends up, there really isn’t a clear-cut number one and two team. But then there never really is since there isn’t a balanced schedule where everybody plays everybody.

After watching some soccer on Sunday, I went for a hike at Alderfer/Three Sisters Park near Evergreen. I did the Mountain Muhly Trail. There was still some snow on the ground, which added to the beauty. For the most part, I had the trail to myself. That doesn’t happen too often.


Me with The Three Sisters (The mountain) in the background

Book II, Chapter 9

Saturday was a sports day for me. I got up early to watch the US National team in their final game of the year. They beat South Africa 1-0 in a dull game. After the soccer game, I had to go to a sports bar to watch the Bulldogs. They weren't on local television this weekend. The Bulldogs won after a slow start.

On Sunday, I went to Genesee Park. I took the Beaver Brook Trail down into a canyon, and the Chavez Trail out of the canyon. It was nice hike.


Me along one of the Beaver Brook crossings.






It has been rather warm for here lately. That is about to change. The forcast has some cold temperatures coming on Tuesday, and it looks like the cold weather will stick around this time. Oh well, I was getting spoiled with the weather. The mountains need the snow anyway.

Another One Bites The Dust

The crazy year in College Football continues on... Another number one goes down. Illinois beat Ohio State. I can't say that was too big of a surprise. However, CBS apparently thinks there is going to be an upset of another number one this coming Saturday. The Nationally televised SEC game of the week will be LSU vs. Mississippi. The "best team" in the SEC and the country against the worst team in the SEC. I'm scratching my head on that. I guess they know something. Anyway the Dawgs won again this weekend. If they win out, they have a shot at a BCS Bowl. I would not have thought that with the way they were playing earlier this year. Go Dawgs!!!

My Sunday hike took me to the City of Boulder Mountain Park. The City of Boulder has a huge park in the foothills just west of town. I did a loop that took me over Green Mountain at an elevation of 8,144 ft. Green Mountain seems to be the most popular name for a mountain in Colorado. There are four of them listed on SummitPost.org. Anyway the hike was great. I had great views of the Indian Peaks, Longs Peak, and Boulder from the top.


Me on some rocks on the way down Green Mountain.






FYI - If you didn't read a certain comment from last week's post, you may have missed out on something.

Waitin' For a Train

Nice weather this weekend in Denver. It was a little chillier in the mountains. On Sunday, I went the trailhead at the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel in the James Peak Wilderness. I originally planned to hike to the Arapaho Lakes, but the snow was getting deep on the approach to the lakes. I decided it wasn't worth the effort without snowshoes. I turned around and took another trail. I went to one of the Forest Lakes instead.


Me on one of the Forest Lakes.






A train came out of the tunnel while I was eating lunch at my car. I followed it down the valley trying to find good picture spots. I got ahead of the train when it had to wait for another train that was going in the opposite direction.


A BNSF Train with the Continental Divide in the background

Who Let The Dawgs Out?

The weekend got off to a good start. The Bulldogs got a rare victory against the evil Swamp Lizards. Exciting game, the Dawgs fought with spirit that has been lacking this season. I can’t say I have ever seen an entire bench run onto the field to celebrate the first touchdown of a game. That could have backfired big time, but it worked. GO DAWGS!!!

I went a Halloween party after the game Saturday night. Pirates & Hippies seemed to be the in costumes. I was some weird hybrid of a bandwagon Rockies fan, Darth Vader, & Lord Dark Helmet. Sorry no pics, I didn’t take a camera.

Sunday afternoon, I went for a hike at Mount Galbraith Open Space Park. The hike was a rerun for me. I did it last November. It is a nice hiker only trail with some great views of Golden.
Me along the Mt. Galbraith Trail. Coors Brewery is down in the valley to my left.





As for the Rockies, their run has come to an end. I wasn’t expecting them to win the Series this year, but a sweep is very disappointing. I was expecting a better performance from them in Colorado. Oh well, it gets me ready for next season. I know the team now, and I plan to follow them from the start next season. It will mean more to me if they win the Series if I have been following them all season. Congrats to the Red Sox.

Go Dawgs!

-M

Four Seasons In One Day

We had some wacky weather in Denver this past weekend. The high on Saturday was 80° F. Less than 24 hours later, it was snowing. Several inches of snow fell, but the ground was too warm for it to hang around very long. I went for a walk after lunch Sunday and most of the snow was already gone.
Mt. Morrison from the greenway along Bear Creek.







I went to the Colorado Rapids final game of the season on Saturday. They lost to Real Salt Lake and will miss the playoffs. The cold front arrived at the start of the second half. Some wicked winds started blowing a kept going through the entire half. It was affecting play quite a bit.

The Rapids season may be over, but the Rockies incredible run is still going. The World Series comes to town next weekend. It is an interesting dilemma for me. The Red Sox were the first team I ever rooted for in baseball. They use to have Spring Training in my hometown, but I didn’t care for baseball as a kid. I didn’t develop an interest in baseball till my late teens. It wasn’t until I moved to Georgia that I followed what a team did everyday. And that was the Braves. The Red Sox are still my favorite American League team. If they hadn’t won the World Series in 2004, I would be rooting for them. But since they did win it, I got to throw my support to my new hometown team. I’ve gotten to learn the Rockies on this streak that they are on, and I don’t want to stop cheering for them. So Go Rockies!
-M

Rock Steady

All week long the weather has been beautiful in Colorado. Then the weekend comes along and everything changes. I had a small window of opportunity to go hiking on Saturday. I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park and hiked to Fern Lake. The weather wasn’t too bad. I was in shorts & T-shirt going up hill. Apparently other people were cold though. I didn’t get chilled until to the lake. It was windy there with a few snow flurries. There was a slight misty rain on the way down. I didn’t get any great pictures on this hike. Here is one of some fall color.





Fall color along the Fern Lake Trail










On the way back home I had to deal with some rain and hail. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad. I was still able to make it back in time for my football. The Dawgs didn’t play well again, but they won. It was been a crazy college football season. If the season were to end today, South Florida would be in the National Championship Game. Yikes!!!

Sunday was an all-day drizzle in Denver and snow in the mountains. I’m not quite ready for a snow hike now that I know how long the snow hangs around. So I stayed at home and practiced my Spanish. The Rapids game was only on Spanish Television. They kept their slim playoff hopes alive by beating Chivas USA on the road. It was Chivas USA’s first loss at home all year. The Rapids did it by scoring two goals in the second half while playing a man down. One game left, they need a win and some help.

Rocktober fever is still hot despite the cooler temperatures. The Rockies are up 3-0 on the Diamondbacks. They have won 20 of their last 21. The World Series is looking good. They just need to avoid a collapse of Yankee-like proportions.

Rock On!

-M

Rocktober

Baseball postseason has started, and I've found myself jumping on the Rockies Bandwagon. I live here, and I'm not going anywhere. So I might as well learn to root for the home team. They are hot; they have won 17 of their last 18. The Rockies have a good, young team. I'm starting to learn some of their players. I can see myself becoming a true fan the longer I live here. The Rockies sweep of the Phillies on Saturday night was nice distraction to a lousy Saturday afternoon. My Bulldogs got demolished. It was worse than the score. I sat through the whole thing in complete disgust. It was ugly. Living in Colorado makes it easier to take though.

On Sunday, I went for hike in the mountain bike infested Alderfer/Three Sisters Park outside of Evergreen. It is a beautiful park, but the mountain bikes are killing some of the trails. The mountains bikes are not going away; they are too popular. Hopefully, the open space parks will start creating separate trails. Even I consider mountain bikes the best kind of recreational vehicle since they don't cause air pollution. There is more hiking for me to do at Three Sisters Park. I might save it for when there is snow on the ground. That is not too far off. Here are today's pics.
Me on Evergreen Mtn. at 8,536 Ft. Mt. Evans is behind me at 14,264 Ft.






Fall color from the non-evergreens along the Evergreen Mtn. Trail.

Yellow

In-between soccer and football games on Saturday I went for a drive to check out some of the Fall color. I drove to Idaho Springs and took Hwy. 103 (Squaw Pass Rd.) past Mt. Evans and back home via the intentional long way. The weather was windy, and it was misty in some places. I could see some snow on some of the higher peaks. Here are some pictures.



The view from Juniper Pass.








Squaw Pass Rd.








On Sunday, I was a little more adventurous. I went to Blue Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The mountains had gotten fresh snow during the night. The road to the trailhead still had snow on it in places. This surprised me since I didn't get an early start. I guess it won't be long before they close this area for the season. Anyway, I made the hike up to Blue Lake in the snow. Three miles up & three miles back. It is a pretty easy hike. Blue Lake's elevation is probably 11,300 ft., but the elevation at the trailhead is probably around 10,500 ft. So the elevation gain in the 3 miles is minimum. The scenery was amazing, the temperature wasn't too bad, but the wind made it brutal at the lake. Here are the pics.
Brainard Lake. The pointy mtn. on the left is Mt. Toll. Blue Lake is located at the base of it. Mt. Audubon is on the right.

Me at Blue Lake. Mt. Toll is on the left. (There are no plans for water lillies on this lake.)





Me again at Blue Lake. Little Pawnee Peak is behind me.







Trees along the Peak to Peak Hwy. on the way home.

Book II

Happy Belated Birthday to my blog. I had meant to do this post yesterday, but I had a cold that was getting the best of me. I ended up crashing on the couch after work and forgot about it. I'm feeling better now. Anyway, my blog debuted a year ago yesterday with the post: Moved In, Hiking, etc. Not one of my more creative titles. I enjoy looking back on the old posts myself. I'm just amazed about all the places I've been this past year. I want to say thank you to everyone who has left comments. They are very much appreciated.

Can't say I did too much last weekend. I watched a lot of football (both kinds) and unpacked boxes. I did get out on Tuesday after work. I walked to Mt. Carbon in Bear Creek Lake Park. The top of this magnificent peak is about a 35-minute walk from my place. The elevation is a whopping 5,779 feet. Ok, maybe it's not whopping, but it is nice to have in the backyard. Here is a picture from it.













Bear Creek Lake from the side of Mt. Carbon. Mt. Morrison is on the left. Red Rocks is in front of Mt. Morrison. It would be visible if it weren't for the late day Sun.

I have added some pictures to my Picasa site. They are some extra pictures from my Mt. Elbert hike last month. There are a couple of shots of the rock shelter from 1981. You can't really tell what it is though. Unfortunately, I didn't have any pictures of the smelly pitters at Halfmoon Campground to include.

Women's soccer made the mainstream news today. Unfortunately, it was for negative reasons. The U.S. got thumped 4-0 by Brazil in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup. Making it worse, the U.S. coach is being heavily criticized for making what is being called the worst move in coaching history, and they are talking all sports. It was the leadoff story on Behind The Lines and 1st & Ten on ESPN. It is not often that you see the demand for a coach to fired when the coach has 50+ wins and only one lose. At least soccer is getting coverage. Personally, I think the coach has had a deer in headlights look to him throughout the tournament. It was his first major tournament, and he seemed to crumble in the pressure. Lost in all of this though, was the fact that Brazil was by far the better team today, period. They deserved the win.

Anyway, I hope to get back in the mountains this weekend. It has been too long.

-M

The Year In Beers

A year ago today, I became a Colorado Resident. I had moved into my old apartment with the help of Pops & Chuck Wagon. At that time the beer bottle collection started with the help of Chuck Wagon.













I am afraid I have to tell you the beer bottle collection did not make it to my new apartment. The collection has found a lovely new home at the bottom of a recycling bin. As most of you know, I moved last weekend. It was a pain in the butt due to some stairs, my desk, and my couch. I got give a big shout out to Mark who helped me with this move. Thanks, I owe you man!!! By the way, I found the beer bottle opener.

Last, but not least, I want to say Happy Anniversary to the Crane’s! They shared their first wedding anniversary last Sunday.

Cheers,

-M

Hog Butcher For The World

Some of my readers may be wondering where I went last weekend. With all the places I could go in Colorado, I chose to leave the great state of Colorado and fly to Chicago. Say what? Yep, Chicago! The U.S. Men’s soccer team was playing Brazil there. That is pretty much the only reason that could get me there. I flew in Saturday morning, and then waited around for Jim & Stacy plus their friend Hunter to arrive. After a long train/bus ride to our hotel downtown, we got a little sight-seeing in before I needed a TV to watch my Bulldogs. Unfortunately they were the first of my sports teams to go down this past weekend. My dedication won’t waver despite these misfortunes.

My Bro in front of the Chicago Mirror Bean Sculpture in Millenium Park.

Group photo from underneath the mirror bean sculpture. The red in the photo is myself and my brother.

On Sunday, we played tourists in the morning and went to the Sears Tower. Home of the world’s largest antenna. The view from the 103rd floor was magnificent. We were able to pick out Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, and the park formerly known as new Comiskey Park.

One of the views of downtown from the Sears Tower.

The afternoon was dedicated to the soccer game. 43,000 people showed up to see Brazil beat the U.S. 4-2. The game was closer than the score. The U.S. could have easily come away with a result if it wasn’t for a couple costly mistakes and a couple of questionable calls. The U.S. actually scored three goals. Unfortunately one of them was in their own net. The game was competitive and a lot of fun to watch. I didn’t go in expecting a U.S. win, but they gave me hope that a result was possible until Brazil got a clinching Penalty Kick in injury time.

The teams walking onto the pitch at Soldier Field before the game.

Stacy, Hunter, myself, & Jim at Soldier field after the game.

Buckingham Fountain after dark. The Sear Tower is the tallest object in the picture. Our hotel is the Congress Hotel on the left.

On Monday, everybody went home. For me it was the longest commute of my life. I had to work on Monday after getting back from Chicago. It was a long day. The rest of this week has been dedicated to work and moving preparation. Not a fun week after a fun weekend.

-M

Why Should The Fire Die?

This past Saturday I went down to Pagosa Springs to see Nickel Creek on their Farwell (For Now) Tour. Nickel Creek is calling quits for now after the tour. Apparently they have lost the fire to produce new music together. They definitely have not lost it in the live arena. When looking at their tour schedule, I saw that they were only doing the festival circuit in Colorado. So naturally I chose to go to the show that was furthest away. Actually, it worked out best schedule wise for me. I don’t mind the drive; the scenery is too good. On a side note, there are a couple of locations along the way that were used in National Lampoon’s Vacation. The Four Corners Folk Festival was an interesting mix of old timers, hippies, and a combination of both. The show was great. It is too bad that Nickel Creek is going on an indefinite hiatus.

On Sunday, I went home, but I took a different way back. I went through Creede and Lake City. I had not been that way before and wanted to see what was there. Naturally, it was very scenic. However, it was different from the Colorado that I have seen so far. The mountains in this part of the San Juan’s seem to roll a little more. The Rio Grande River has carved a beautiful valley through the mountains. Unfortunately, my pictures don’t even come close to capturing what I saw. Here are some pictures anyway.

Looking toward the Rio Grande Pyramid (13,821 Ft.) and Brown Lakes on South Clear Creek.



Me at North Clear Creek Falls.










Lake Fork Gunnison River on Hwy. 149 north of Lake City.






While I didn’t rush home on Sunday, I did have an interest in getting home. College Football has started, and I was in the dark about the Georgia game on Saturday. I had taped it and was ready to watch it as soon as I got home. The Dawgs did great! There were a lot of questions about their defense going into the season, and they held Oklahoma State’s self proclaimed “most explosive offense in the world” to 14 points. We’ll see how the Dawgs do against the “Evil Genius” next week. After the Bulldog game, it was time to watch the soccer. I finished watching the Fulham game that I had taped Saturday morning. U.S. Nat. Team player Clint Dempsey had a goal and 2 assists has Fulham salvaged a tie. I then watched a Colorado Rapids game that I taped on Sunday. They got a draw on the road to keep pace for that final playoff spot. I had a nice fill of sports and scenery that day.

Monday was not as much fun. The good news was that I had the day off. The bad news was that I used it to start packing for my move and to try and solve some computer problems I’m having. Hey Pops, sorry about your Noles. Look on the bright side. At least it wasn’t against Appalachian State. The Noles did show signs of life in the second half. I didn’t think that was possible after that first half.

Until next time (which will be different),

-M

Spiceless

This past week I finalized where I am moving to. For those who know my place, I will still be in the same area, but I will be on the other side of Kipling. The place is a little smaller, but I will have a garage that I can use as storage. It looks like it will be a good place. On Wednesday I went into Denver for my first concert since I have moved here. I saw Crowded House at the Fillmore. Great show!!! Good singing by the audience as well. Neil Finn has to be one of the most underrated artists around. He is amazing in all of his career incarnations.

On Sunday morning, my friends Mark and Kathy managed to get away from their house projects and go into the high foothills with me. I took them to Chief Mountain, which is off of the Squaw Pass Rd. that leads to Mt. Evans. According to the signs, the hike is a little over 2 miles up. It was a pretty easy hike. Not steep at all. Even with the top at 11,709 feet, it seemed easier than Blood Mountain back in Georgia. The view from the leaveitrite rock on top of Chief Mountain was quite rewarding. We could see Longs Peak, the Indian Peaks, Grays Peak, Torreys Peak, and Mt. Evans.
Kathy and Mark on their way up Chief Mountain.








Kathy, Mark, and myself on top of Chief Mountain. Mt. Evans is behind us.





Sunday afternoon, I went to see the Colorado Rapids beat the LA Galaxy 3-0. This was supposed to be David Beckham’s big debut in Colorado. Not surprisingly, he didn’t even make the trip. Apparently, it is not a good idea to play a full 90 minutes in England on Wednesday and then fly back to LA and play a full 90 minutes on Thursday. The body doesn’t react well. Who would have thought that… Landon Donovan and several other starters didn’t make the trip as well. It looks like LA is throwing in the towel before the game even started. Which doesn’t bother me, I was there to see the Rapids win. The Beckham part would have been an interesting sideshow. It seemed the majority of the crowd felt that way too. It was 90% capacity for a sold out stadium. The majority of the fans that showed were pro-Rapid fans. While they may have been disappointed he wasn’t there, they appeared to be there to root against him. They did give the Beckham fans something. They played Spice Girls music at halftime. The local news sent the anti-soccer reporter that focused on the 10% that didn’t show. Alas, they also forgot to report that the Rapids won 3-0. You would think they would report that the hometown team won. The Rapids didn’t look like they had a shot at the playoffs a couple of weeks ago. They have won 3 in a row and are now in a tie for that last playoff spot with the Columbus Crew who happens to be the Rapids next opponent.












Former US National team players Tony Sanneh (Rapids) and Cobi Jones (Galaxy). Cobi was the biggest name that LA brought.



The starters on their way out. LA would have better off if they let the little Beckham's play.



One of the anti-Beckham signs at the game.














Go Rapids,

-M

I Have Climbed The Highest Mountain

I revisited a spot from the old 1981 trip this past weekend and did what I couldn't do then. On Saturday, I went to the Leadville, Colorado area and camped at Halfmoon Campground. I needed an early start on Sunday, for I planned to climb Mt. Elbert, the highest mountain in Colorado at 14,433 Ft. I attempted this mountain on the family vacation in 1981, but I didn't have the will power as a 9 year old from Florida to fight through the altitude. I dropped out at around 13,000-foot mark, which is just below the final ascent of the first false summit. I hung out in a rock shelter with my sister and the marmots while my parents and my brother went to the top. I've always wanted to revisit this hike. Now that I live in Colorado, I have the opportunity to do it as a weekend hike.

I was on the trail before sunrise. I had to use a headlamp for about the first mile. The Sun was up by the time I reached tree line. It looked like it was going to be a good day.

The view of the first false summit of Mt. Elbert from just below tree line.

I hike at a pace that I can keep moving. Nothing too fast or too slow. At about the 13,000 feet, I find that the altitude starts to affect my normal pace. I needed to take a break. I found the rocks that we used for shelter in 1981 and took a 15-minute break there to let my body adjust. This time I had the will power to keep going. I climbed the first summit, and the next, and the next. I lost track of all the false summits. I just kept on going till I made it to the top.

Me within 50 yards of the summit of Mt. Elbert. La Plata Peak, a 14er, is visible on the right.

Me on top of Mt. Elbert. (14,433 Ft.)

After hanging out for quite awhile on top and informing Goat Boy through the marvels of technology that he can't bug me about this anymore, I went down. There were lots of people going up as I was going down. I was worried about them, because the clouds were building up. On the way down, the marvels of technology struck again. The Disco Smitty sports service gave me a live report of John Smoltz setting the Braves' all-time franchise strikeout record. I wasn't expecting to hear that on the side of a mountain in Colorado. It started to rain when I got back to tree line. Fortunately for the people who were still going up, there wasn't any lightning in this storm. Plus the weather cleared up after it rained, so they should be all right. I made it down without any problems and drove home. Not a bad weekend.

Happy Trails,
-MM

Heart Of The Sunrise

I was a little busier this weekend. On Saturday I needed to continue my apartment search, but I wanted to go for a hike. So I stayed close and went for a 6-mile hike at Mt. Falcon Open Space Park. I had been there before several times. This time I finished off the trails there that I hadn't hiked yet. I also went back to some favorite spots like the Summer White House. During the afternoon I went back to my apartment search. I still haven't decided on a new place yet. In the evening, I went to the Colorado Rapids game verses the Houston Dynamo. The Rapids won 1-0. It was their first win since late May. The goal was a beautiful header by Dwayne De Rosario. Unfortunately for De Rosario, he headed the ball into his own goal.

On Sunday, I got up at four in the morning and drove to Mt. Evans. Mt. Evans is Denver's closest 14er, and there is a road that gets to about a quarter of a mile from the top. It is the highest paved road in North America. I made it up there before sunrise. There were about 5 other cars in the parking lot. There were a few people walking around in the parking lot and others trying to stay warm in their cars. I hiked to the top and had it all to myself. I was shocked about that. I didn't think you could have a 14er to yourself in the summer, especially one where you can practically drive to the top.


Sunrise from the Top of Mt. Evans. (14,264 ft.)





Me on top of Mt. Evans







Me again on Mt. Evans.





I stayed on top for quite awhile. The view was great. I was able to identify the following 14ers from up there: Longs Peak, Pikes Peak, Torreys Peak, Grays Peak, Quandary Peak, & Mt Bierstadt. It was quite a bit cooler on top, but I found that to be a nice change from the warm days in Denver lately.
Me near the top of Mt. Evans. The west ridge of Mt. Evans is starting to see some sun. Mt. Bierstadt is still in the shadows.

I wandered out along the west ridge of Mt. Evans before leaving. Lots of great rocks and views. There were also a few mountain goats. When I got back to my car, the parking lot and summit house were covered with mountain goats. I thought I might see an incident with goats vs. dogs. A lady had her dogs on a leash, and they wanted to go after the goats. One of the goats took offense to this. He looked like he might go after the dogs and lady. Fortunately nothing happen.

A mountain goat and my car in the parking lot of Mt. Evans. The elevation of the parking lot is 14, 130 ft. Not bad for Hybrid VeHicle.

Me at Summit Lake (12,800 ft.) with Mt. Evans behind the lake.




Mt. Evans was a bit of a cheap climb. I've been to the top of three 14ers now. Two of them were cheap ones. I rode up to the top of Pikes Peak as a kid. I see myself doing a legit climb of Mt. Evans in the future. It is so close to Denver, and the terrain is great. I saw several routes that looked like they would be fun. This was more of an exploring trip to see what it was like up there. It is also an easy way to get use to some elevation for what is next...

A Hazy Shade of Summer

This weekend was pretty low key. I spent some of my time doing some research on potential new apartments. I'll be moving in September, my current place has some issues that are unacceptable. It's a shame; it is in a great location. I also spent some of my time watching soccer. The Colorado Rapids are not doing so good, and I don’t see them improving this year. Especially after trading away Kyle Beckerman a couple of weeks ago.

I went for a drive on the Squaw Pass Road. It goes from Evergreen area to the base of Mt. Evans. The weather was about has hazy as I have seen it so far in the Rockies. The drive was still scenic though. It looked like it would be a good drive during Fall color as well. Anyway, here is a picture.
Me at some cliffs at Juniper Pass along the Squaw Pass Road.