Back On My Feet

Got back to hiking today. Although I went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks recently, there wasn't much in the way of hiking on that trip. It was mainly driving around looking at geysers, wildlife, and views. My last hike at a significant elevation was Quandary Peak on July 1st. So today I got off my rear end and back up on my feet. I drove to the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. I parked the car there and went off into the James Peak Wilderness.
This is an old school house in Tolland, CO. It is located along the road and train tracks that lead to the tunnel.

Moffat Tunnel's East Portal. The trailhead is to the right of the tunnel.





I went to Crater Lakes. The trail goes between two lakes that are probably only 100 yards apart. Very scenic. The wild flowers were blooming in full force. There is another lake further up the mountainside at about 11,000 feet. The trail up was steep, but the scenery was again great. I didn't spend as much time as I would like up there. It looked like a storm might be brewing. So I came on down. It started to rain before I got back to my car. I didn't get too wet. It didn't start raining hard till after I got to my car. There were still people going up despite the rain and lightning. That surprised me.


That's me looking down on one of the lower lakes.








A view of the lower lakes.









If you haven't discovered them already, I have additional pictures up of the Grand Teton & Yellowstone trip on my Picasa site. I just finished adding the labels to them the other day. Check them out if you like.

-M

Awesome

My friends, Charles and Tina, have made their second trip to Colorado this year. They drove from Florida. They picked me up in Denver last week, and we went to Wyoming. It was a trip down memory lane for me. Our destination was the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. I had been there before on a family vacation in 1981. The first stop on this trip was Grand Teton National Park. We did one hike in the park. We took a boat ride across Jenny Lake to get to Cascade Canyon Trailhead. We walked several miles up into the canyon. It was a beautiful hike. We saw a couple a couple of moose, and a lot of people when we were leaving. It was a popular hike. The rest of the day was spent driving around the park. We got stuck in a Bear Jam. We caught a couple of glimpses of the bear. I didn’t get a good of look to tell whether it was a Grizzly or a Black Bear. I think it was a Grizzly though.

Jenny Lake from the eastern shoreline. Looking towards Cascade Canyon.

Charles & Tina in Cascade Canyon.










The next day we packed up and headed to Yellowstone. We set up camp at Grant Village. From there we set out to look at Geysers and Hot Springs. This park requires lots of driving. There is a lot to see, and it is a huge park with lots of animal jams. We saw elk, moose, bison, marmots, coyotes, and grizzly bear with her cub. We also saw what we believed to be a wolf. Charlie was the only who saw it with binoculars. It took off before Tina and I had a chance to see it through the binoculars.

Morning Glory Pool. This a beautiful hot spring that is losing its color and heat due to people throwing junk into it.

Grand Prismatic Spring.










We abandoned our camp for the third night in Yellowstone. We needed some sleep. The campsites were right on top of one another, and there were a few rude neighbors right next to us who didn’t observe quiet hours. We went to Canyon Village and got a couple of cabins. They were not luxurious. I believe they were built in the first half of the 20th century for the workers. On the outside the cabins had the appearance of a shantytown. Fortunately, they had fixed up the inside so that they usable and not that bad. The cabins served their purpose for me. I got some descent sleep.

Me at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

A rainbow that forms in the mist of the Lower Falls.








We left Yellowstone last Sunday via the Bear Tooth Pass route into Montana. This is a very scenic drive. We stayed the night in Billings, Montana. It took about 9 hours to get back to Denver from there.

It was an awesome trip with awesome beer, awesome food, awesome choices, awesome scenery, awesome animals, awesome friends, awesome etc.

Awesome

-M

Elevation

I climbed my first 14er today. It is my second 14er if you can count riding up Pikes Peak in a vehicle in 1981. Anyway, I made it up Quandary Peak this morning. Its elevation is 14,265 Feet. It is a Class 1 trail all the way up. That means it is the easiest type of trail in the trail ratings. It was easy except for the altitude. The altitude was getting to me during that last 1000 feet of elevation gain. I gutted it out though. Lots of people on this hike. There is easy access to the trailhead, and it is a short hike to the top. Only 5.4 miles for a round trip. Although it felt longer. The top reminded me of Blood Mountain on a Saturday with all the people. That was all right though, most of the people were friendly. The only negative were some of the dog owners. Too many of them had no control over their dogs. A couple of dogs attacked another dog on top. These same dogs chased off a bunch of mountain goats on the way down. Owners were constantly yelling at their dogs to come back and the dogs were ignoring them. One dog was very lucky it didn't slide off the mountain on a snowfield. The majority of the trail was loose rocks. I would think that would be rough on the dog's paws; I know it was rough on my feet, and I wearing boots. Anyway, after tiring of the dog owners, I went about 100 feet down the mountain and enjoyed the view in peace. Here are some pictures.

Look! There is a pika on the rock.

View from the top of Quandary Peak. Looking down on McCullough Gulch

Me on the western ridge of Quandary Peak about a 100 feet off the summit.

Me again with Mt. Bross, Mt. Lincoln, & Mt. Cameron in the background. They are all 14ers.

Meet The Parents

My parents were in town this past weekend. They arrived last Thursday evening. I was showing off the bike path in my backyard as my mom calls it, when we found out about a bull elk that was nearby. It was having dinner about 1/4 of a mile from my apartment. Pretty cool, but I am quite surprise to see an elk wander this far into town. On Friday while I was working, my parents went for a walk on the Bear Creek Bike Path and saw the elk again. It was heading further into town. I guess the elk was trying to get away from all of the hippies that were at Red Rocks for the band Widespread Panic.

On Saturday, I took my parents to Long Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. I was there a couple of weeks ago. The elevation is not too bad for Colorado, only about 10,500 ft. We walked part of the ways around the lake.
Mom, Dad (a.k.a. Pops on this site), and myself at Long Lake.






On Sunday, I took them over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. The temperature was probably in 80's in the mountains. It was cool when the wind blew. Back in Denver the temperature reached 100° F. It was good to be in the mountains. We did a short hike off of Trail Ridge Road that took us to an elevation of 12,300 Ft. I didn't tell Pops that we were that high till after we were finished hiking. He wouldn't have gone if he had known.













Mom, Dad (a.k.a. Pops on this site), and myself with Trail Ridge Road in the background.

After crossing over the Divide, we went through Grand Lake and Granby. This area, I am sad to say, is in great danger of a major fire. It looked like 80 percent of the trees were brown from what I assume is the pine beetle. It just looks like it is just a matter of time before something bad happens there. Anyway, from there we headed back to my home by going over Berthoud Pass to I-70. I-70 was slammed with people going home, but it crept along faster than other places I have lived.

After getting home I watched the Gold Cup Final between U.S. and Mexico that I had taped during the day. Great Game! U.S. won 2-1. The game-winning goal by Benny Feilhaber was spectacular to say the least. After I finished watching the game, we went to Ted's Montana Grill for some Bison Burgers. Very tasty!

On Monday, while Dad was opening the blinds to my apartment, he spotted the Elk wandering through the parking lot of my apartment complex.
This picture was taken through my bedroom window on Monday morning.






The elk was heading west towards the foothills. The hippies would have left Red Rocks by now, so I guess the Elk felt it was safe to go back.

My parents left at about 9 this morning. They are on their way to Montana.

Until next time,

-M

Mike Almighty

Today, I climbed Mt. Sniktau (13,234 Ft.) This is the highest I've been since moving to Colorado. Mt. Sniktau is a relatively easy 13er. It has easy access because the trailhead is at Loveland Pass (11,990 Ft.) Round Trip is only 3.36 miles according to summitpost.org. The trail starting out of Loveland Pass follows the Continental Divide and is well used. After about a mile of up, the trail to Mt. Sniktau leaves the Divide. Fortunately, this is where the people disappear as well. They either keep following the Divide or turn around. I saw one person coming down as I was going up. On top it was just me, a marmot, a chipmunk, and the pika on the rock. I spent close to an hour up there with out seeing anyone.













That's me on top of Mt. Sniktau. The Man, The Myth, The Legend. That goes out to my Bro and my "other" Bro. Sorry I didn't get to see you this weekend.














Me with what I believe is Torreys Peak (a 14er) in the background.

Happy "Pops" Day!

-M

Eli's Coming

On Sunday, I met up with a friend of mine to go hiking. My buddy, Devon, has a dog that was coming along. The dog, Ely, doesn't like me very much. Fortunately, he got over this dislike during this trip. Which was good since he was sitting behind me in the vehicle. Anyway, Devon introduced me to the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Beautiful area. It can't be much more than an hour away. Our hike took us up to Lake Isabelle. There is still quite a bit of snow on the ground. The elevation of the lake is just under 11,000 ft.

Devon and Ely walking down to Lake Isabelle.

Me and Ely at Lake Isabelle. Ely is the dog.

Another Day In Paradise

I just hung out in Paradise; I mean Colorado this past weekend. No big adventure to follow the previous weekend. Saturday, I took care of some things around town and watched soccer on TV. On Sunday, I went up to the mountains briefly. It is nice having the Continental Divide a little less than an hour away. I went for a short hike at Loveland Pass. It is what I would call a high altitude training exercise. Nice place to train. Here is a picture.

This view is looking towards the Arapahoe Ski Basin.

On my previous post, "This Means Something", I talked about going to Mount Rushmore. I forgot to mention that I looked for the backside of Mt. Rushmore like Frank & Ernest did. Unfortunately or fortunately, I couldn't find the view they had.

-M

This Means Something

I went camping this past weekend. On Saturday, I went to Devils Tower in Northeast, Wyoming. I think it took about 6 hours to get there. I saw over a hundred antelope on the way up. Devils Tower gets a lot of day use, but not to many people stay there though. They only had one campground loop open with about 22 sites, and it wasn't full. They other loop was closed because prairie dogs have invaded it.

That's me in the boulder field at Devils Tower.






Sunday morning, after a mornings hike at Devils Tower N.M., I made my way into the Black Hills of South Dakota. That's another new state for me, Bro! I drove through parts of Spearfish Canyon. That is where the winter camp scenes were filmed in Dances With Wolves. From there I made my way to Mt. Rushmore. I made the mistake of driving through Keystone, South Dakota. It is a minature Pigeon Forge; it is not a real town. Very crowded, busy, and tacky. It is right next to Mt. Rushmore, but it is possible to get to Mt. Rushmore without going to Keystone. Mt. Rushmore is also quite busy. I am sure it is number one destination for people visiting this state.

Here's the standard Mt. Rushmore picture.








From Mt. Rushmore, I went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. It is quite an ambitious project that has a long ways to go. When finished it will be bigger and grander than Mt. Rushmore. I doubt it will be finished in my lifetime. From Crazy Horse, I went to find a campsite. After an early dinner, I went for a drive in Custer State Park along the Needles Hwy. This road is real cool. It is narrow and winds through some amazing rock formations.

The next day, I got up early and hiked to the top of Harney Peak. At 7,242 Ft., it is the highest point in South Dakota. Harney Peak has an amazing Fire Tower on it. It is a small rock castle built on top of a cliff. It had living quarters that looks like it included plumbing and electricity. The water was taken from a dam that was created in between rock formation on top of the mountain. I was impressed by this abandoned Fire Tower's complex.
The Fire Tower on top of Harney Peak

That's me looking towards Cathedral Spires and Little Devil's Tower from Harney Peak.


After spending an hour and a half up top, I came back down. It was 6 miles round trip. It was time to start making my way back home. I drove through another part of Custer State Park on the way back. I also drove through Wind Cave National Park. I didn't stop and see the cave, but the countryside was gorgeous.
I did take a picture of a Tatanka while driving through Wind Cave N.P.





I was home by 6:00 P.M. on Monday. Not a bad three-day weekend.

Picture This

Charles & Tina went back home last Saturday. I needed something to do on Sunday. So I did something they can't do. I went to Rocky Mountain National Park on the weekend. My destination in the park was Estes Cone. It is a small mountain compared to others in the park. It peaks out at 11,006 Ft., and the trail is 3.2 miles to the summit of Estes Cone from the Longs Peak trailhead. The first part of the hike is relatively easy. The snow has melted significantly since I was in the area a few weeks back. However, there were quite a few places where it still covered the trail. The snow was a bit softer this time too. It went past my knees in some of those soft places. Overall it was not bad. The final 0.7 miles of the hike was tough. It wasn't because of the snow or altitude. It was just steep. The views on top were worth it. 360° View with lots of rocks. I even had the summit to myself for about 30 minutes.

View of Mt. Meeker, Longs Peak, & Mt. Lady Washington from Estes Cone

Me on one of the rocks of Estes Cone. It was windy enough for me to put on a jacket.

I have finished going through all the pictures from the Sand Dunes trip. I had taken 314 Photos. Charles & Tina had given me similar amounts of photos. This is one of the problems & benefits of the digital age. We don't have to be selective about the photos we take. Which is good, it allows for more experimentation. Anyway, additional selected photos are up on My Picasa picture site. Check them out if you like.

-M

The Land Of The Sand People

This past week, my friends Charles (Dave) & Tina were in Colorado. They insisted I do things with them. On Saturday (May 5th), they wanted to do the Coors Brewery Tour. They needed me to take them Golden. So I went and drank my three free beers. It was painful:-) I had Killian's Irish Red, Blue Moon, & Molson. Sorry Rick, Molson finished last in the taste test.
On Sunday (May 6th), they dragged me down to the Great Sand Dunes National Park for a couple of days. It is just a bunch of sand, mountains, water, snow, ice, wildlife, etc. Who would like that? I only took 314 pictures over the three-day trip. When we got to the Sand Dunes on Sunday, it was snowing lightly. We went for a short walk on the Dunes and drove around a bit.

Charles & Tina along Medano Creek with the snow coming down.

We ended up staying in a motel in Alamosa. Nobody was thrilled with the idea of starting off camping in the snow & wind. Tina almost got herself in trouble by using the wimp word, but Charles was able to ignore that word. He was driving.
The next day started off in the 30's. (Fahrenheit) It didn't feel bad to me. The animals were out that day. We saw elk, coyotes, antelope, bunnies, and enough deer to rival the Shenandoah's. The snow had stopped, but there was a little left on the Dunes when we arrived in the morning.

Snow on the Sand Dunes.

Charles and Tina crossing Medano Creek to get the Dunes.

We ended up going for a long hike on the Dunes. The Dunes were wet from the melted snow. This made it a lot easier to walk on the Dunes. The Dunes can be tough, but they were not on this day.

That's Charles in the front and me in the back. We are on top of High Dune. Photo courtesy of Tina.

The three of us in front of Star Dune.

We came across what is believed to be a Native American drawing of the Ancient Sand People. Quite scary! Photo courtesy of Tina.

Later that day, we went to Zapata Falls. It is a pretty cool waterfall that is hidden within the rocks of the mountainside. We did camp on Monday night. We had an excellent site. It had a 270-degree view of mountains and dunes. On Tuesday, we hiked along the side of the dunes.

Charles with Mt. Herard peeking out of the clouds.

After our hike, we made our way back to Denver. I had the pleasure of working on Wednesday while Charles & Tina went to Rocky Mountain National Park. Lucky Me! They came back Friday afternoon and treated me to some buffalo meatloaf. I took them to Tommy Knocker's before their flight back on Saturday. I will post more pictures on my Picasa picture site. They will probably be cooler than the ones here. I just got to go through them. So stay tuned and check back if you're interested.

- M

Blog Trailer: "Land Of The Sand People"

My friends Charles (Dave) & Tina are in Colorado this week. They are currently in Rocky Mountain National Park. However, this weekend we went down to the Sand Dunes for an extended weekend. We got back on Tuesday. I got lots of pictures to go though. My evenings are busy this week with Lost, Rapids (Soccer), and the return of Charles & Tina. I probably won't decide which ones are blog worthy till sometime Saturday. So here is a teaser picture for my loyal readers.

The Dam Would Break

It was a warm weekend in Denver. We actually had temperatures in the 80's. I made my first trip to Coors Field this weekend. The Braves were in town. I went to Friday night's game. I met my friend Devon at his place. He let me borrow a bike, and we rode to the game on bikes. Beats trying to park there. Coors Field is pretty nice. I liked it better than Turner Field. The game was good; the Braves won 9-7. I fear Wickman may be catching the Braves Closer disease. It felt a little odd being there, I'm use to cheering for the home team. Quite a few Braves fans there though.

Didn't really do much in the way of hiking this weekend. Hard to top last weekend. Didn't even try. I went for walk today along Bear Creek, which runs behind my apartment. This spring thaw is on. The creek was the highest I've seen it. Parts of some trails were flooded.

This is one of my favorites spots along Bear Creek. There use to be a Beaver dam here. Gone.



For a similar view taken in winter click here.

As for the NFL draft on Saturday, I am not going to write down my thoughts on the Miami Dolphins taking an injured punt returner with the number 9 pick overall. I'm too happy living out here.

Next weekends post will be a little late, I have company coming to town. I plan to take a couple of days off to go into the mountains with them. Hopefully I'll have some cool pics. Til then, Take Care,

-M

Walk On

Since my last post, I have enjoyed a nice hike at Meyer Ranch Park, a Rapids' soccer game at their brand new stadium, a nice drive in the mountains, and a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. For this post I will write about the Rocky Mountain National Park trip. For the other adventures, check out my pictures on Mike's Photos on Picasa. There are also additional photos of the Rocky Mountain National Park trip. They are under the April 2007 set.

Sunday, I decided to check out the Trailhead for Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. I wanted to see what was there. I hadn't been before. I didn't really have a plan, but I brought gear to go hiking. I got there a little after noon. The weather was sunny, but there were clouds in the area. It was short sleeve weather, for me anyway. I decided I would go up the trail. I wasn't sure how far I would go since I was getting a late start and was not sure what the trail conditions would be like. The elevation at the trailhead is around 9,400 ft. Anyway; I started hiking and felt good. I was hiking on snow, but it was hard and not icy. Off the trail, some the drifts looked like they were waist deep at least. With the trail conditions good and with myself feeling good, I decided I would shoot for tree line and make another decision there.

Here is my view as I approach tree line. That's Longs Peak (14,255 ft.) in the middle.

I made tree line with no problems. I still felt good, so I decided to keep going. My next goal was the trail junction for Chasm Lake at the base of Mt. Lady Washington. Along the way the clouds rolled in obscuring my view of Longs Peak.

This is my last view of Longs Peak as the clouds surround it.

I made it to the trail junction in good shape. I was starting to feel the altitude, but overall I was good. The view was fantastic despite not being able to see Longs Peak anymore.

Looking down on Peacock Pool and Columbine Falls. Both frozen.

Here again, I was faced with decision of whether I should keep going. I have the option of going 0.7 miles to Chasm Lake or 4 miles to Longs Peak. Well obviously it is the wrong time of the season and too late in the day for hiker like myself to attempt Longs Peak. (Most people start before daylight during the late summer when attempting Longs Peak.) So it was either Chasm Lake or go back. I could see most of the trail, it contoured the side of a mountain most of the way there. It looked like there was a short up at the end. So I walked on. I was starting tire a little bit, but I had a finally destination to reach. I got to see some sheep along the way. They were too far away and blended in with the rocks to get a good picture. The last uphill was probably only 0.1 mile, but it was tough. I was getting tired and the altitude was getting to me. There was also a little bit of sleet coming down. I made it though. According to the map, my elevation was just below 12,000 ft.

That's me standing on Chasm Lake. The base of Longs Peak is behind me.





Now all I had to do was get back to my car. On the way back, the sheep crossed the trail in front of me. I was able to get a decent picture this time.

Sheep checking me out as I take their picture.














I made it back to the car at 5:45 PM. There was the occasional snow flurry in the air at the trailhead. It had cooled off a bit since noon. Anyway the round trip was 8.4 miles. Not a bad afternoon hike for old man like myself.

Walk On,

-M

Watch More TV

Old Man Winter woke up after taking March off. It appears that most places east of the Rockies was a little a chilly. It has been freezing rain and light snow most of the weekend at my place. Nothing major, just unpleasant weather. I've been spoiled by the great weather we had in March. So this was one of those TV weekends. Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the TV.

The Colorado Rapids opened up the MLS season Saturday with 2-1 victory over D.C. United. They looked good doing it. The new soccer stadium was sold out, although there were a few fans dressed as empty seats. Below freezing temperatures scared some people off. If it hadn't been sold out, I would have gone:-) Actually, I am looking forward to seeing the new stadium, just not in freezing temperatures. The MLS is a lot more entertaining when you have a team to root for. Go Rapids!!!

It appears I am bad luck on NHL hockey teams. While I was living in Atlanta, the Thrashers could never make the playoffs. They made the playoffs now that I'm gone. The Avalanche had made the playoffs every year since they have been in Colorado. They didn't make it this year. No wonder I haven't become a hockey fan.

The Braves are off to a good start. They swept the Phillies and took 2 of 3 from the Mets. The Jones Boys haven't started hitting yet either. I've tried watching the Rockies a few times. I don't know the players, and there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for them.

Anyway I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and remember to enjoy discount Chocolate Week responsibly.

-M

Foolin'

Another wonderful weekend to be foolin' around in Colorado. On Sunday, I went for a hike at White Ranch Park. It is another one of those Jefferson County Open Space Parks. Lots of trails at this park, and there were not too many people out. This surprised me because it was a nice day. There were clouds and it could be windy in some places, but temperate was pleasant. The terrain was not all the tough on the section of trail that I hiked. There were lots of pretty meadows and stuff. Anyway, here are some pictures.
That's me on the right. I didn't notice the animal in the background when I was setting up the shot.

One of the few small patches of snow in White Ranch Park.

I had the pleasure of eating some home cooking Saturday evening thanks to my friends Mark & Kathy. They even sent leftovers home with me, which are all gone. My stomach is very happy. No fooling!!!

Hey Carter, how was Martinsville? I hope you had a good time. I'm sad I missed it.

later,

-M

Three is a Magic Number

No new pictures this weekend. Saturday was a raining day in town. It pretty much rained all day. It didn’t feel all that cold, but the snow line was just above 6,000 ft. After the rain lighten up, I could see that the foothills had gotten some fresh snow. It didn’t last long though, I went out Sunday morning for some breakfast burritos around 9:00 am and most of the new snow in the foothills was already gone. The rest of Sunday morning was spent watching the soccer friendly between US vs. Ecuador. US won 3-1. Hat-Trick by Landon Donovan. Excellent goals too. I think Carter would agree. I hope that is the Donovan that shows up in 2010. It looked like a good crowd was on hand in Tampa. The pitch didn’t look too good. That surprised me considering that the Bucs hadn’t played in a while.

After the game, I did go for a hike. Even though I had time, I didn’t drive anywhere. I figured most of the trails would either have snow or mud. So I just walked out the back of my apartments and hiked over to Bear Creek Lake Park. There were some muddy spots here and there. But the day was beautiful though. It was probably around 70° here.

Happy Trails,
-M

Like Sands Through The Hourglass

With the weather being extremely nice, I decided to adventure out of the Denver area this past weekend. The Great Sand Dunes National Park has been calling to me for a while. I had been there before in a past life, but I figure I could make it different by climbing a different dune. It took about three and a half hours to get there. After setting up camp, I made my way into the Dunes. Destination High Dune, approximately 8,691 ft. It is the highest dune visible from the Visitor Center. The hike got pretty steep about 3 quarters the way up. One step forward, half a step back. The extra effort with a little altitude was rough on the lungs. However, once I got past the real steep part, I was able to catch my breath, and I was fine.













Me on top of High Dune. Mt. Herald (13,297') in the background.



The ever-changing terminus of Medano Creek








Medano Creek after sunset.














Sunday morning started off quite chilly in the morning. By 9:00 A.M., I was comfortably hiking in shorts & a t-shirt.














View from the Dunes Overlook Side-Trail. High Dune is the high point in the picture. The San Juan Mountains are visible on the horizon on the other side of the San Luis Valley.














Medano Creek about a mile and half from its terminus. Mt. Herald in the background.

After making my way across the snow & ice of Medano Creek, it was time to kick off the boots and enjoy the sand.

For additional pictures click here.