Finally feel like I'm getting back into a routine after our hike. Took a while.
Mon - run commute 38. Actually mooched a ride downtown to Kings Chef with Bob, but I did run home.
Tues - run commute 39. The run to work included 3 x one mile with five minutes rest in between. I do these on the roads and I don't really pay attention to the time, I just make sure I'm running hard. They were all well under seven minutes depending on traffic and stoplights and whatnot. CityRock 94 at lunch.
Wed - bike commute 40. Straight to CityRock in the AM to throw some weights around and do some bouldering. On the way home I climbed Cheyenne Canon, which I am not in shape to be doing but with the Royal 50 looming I need to pedal more.
Thurs - run commute 40. Through Sondermann Park. Included 2 x 20 minutes pretty hard.
As much as I can't stand children under the age of 27, the wife and I have done an old college roommate of mine a favor and adopted his niece under the Air Force Academy cadet sponsorship program. We are having her and her parents over on Saturday after the Air Force/Stony Brook football game. I am going to try to get her to transfer to Pitt, or at least Army if she doesn't have the qualifications to get into that prestigious school.
On Sunday we are going to head out early and take a drive (no hiking as we'll have the dog) through Rocky Mountain National Park before heading over to Fort Collins for a brewery tour and the Fortitude 10K on Monday. We are planning on a late lunch Saturday at Lumpy Ridge Brewing and a brewery tour in the Fort on Sat evening if anyone is around.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Red Rock Canyon climbing
Took a class on lead climbing from the Colorado Mountain Club and it went well. My two biggest days of outdoor climbing yet. And I didn't fall to my death. I can't wait to climb something that isn't slab. Everyone on the ground yelling, "trust your feet," but I don't trust my feet (which will stick) and I don't yet trust the gear to keep me from falling (which is bombproof) so it's just a constant raging fear of impending painful death for me.
Friday, August 24, 2018
accolade 31
Mon - bike commute 37, including a longer ride home to stop by Garage Run. CityRock 91 at lunch.
Tues - bike commute 38. CityRock 92.
Wed - run commute 37. Legs still sore from the Double, mostly from running down the mountain.
Thurs - bike commute 39, CityRock 93.
Fri - drank a few too many beers at Fossil on Thursday night but I still forced myself out of bed for a 1:15 dog hike in the Garden and a trip to Accolade.
Going climbing this weekend. Red Rock Canyon on Saturday, and then possibly Shelf Road on Sunday.
Tues - bike commute 38. CityRock 92.
Wed - run commute 37. Legs still sore from the Double, mostly from running down the mountain.
Thurs - bike commute 39, CityRock 93.
Fri - drank a few too many beers at Fossil on Thursday night but I still forced myself out of bed for a 1:15 dog hike in the Garden and a trip to Accolade.
Going climbing this weekend. Red Rock Canyon on Saturday, and then possibly Shelf Road on Sunday.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
so how much did it all cost?
First off, I want to point out that this is what we spent and it is not at all a guide to what it costs to do the Colorado Trail, or any thru-hike. I counted the price of gear as brand new, even though I had most of the stuff already and continue to use almost everything. The high costs of zero days were often two or three nights in a nice hotel, eating at restaurants three or four times a day, often footing the bill for friends who had helped us out. And the bars, well, we drank a lot at times.
The approximate breakdown:
big four - $756
base weight - $287.99
mail - $117.05 + $28.85 (Salida box) = $145.90
trail food - $1036.91. About six thousand calories per day for the two of us.
Total for that, which is all you'd need to do the hike, is $2226.80. $4.45 per mile. Probably not a whole lot a normal hiker could do to get this cost significantly lower. Big four and base weight was for me, mail and trail food was for the two of us.
Of course there were the zero days.
Breck - $818.18.
Leadville - $760.98
Salida - $1165.01
Creede - $169.83 (no hotel costs as we stayed with a friend)
Silverton - $406.26
Durango - $664.62
And $119 for a rental car to get back to COS.
The zero day total comes to $4103.88. Obviously there might be some ways to trim this part of the budget down a bit. Not going to every town, not spending multiple nights at every town, not trying to drink all the beers and eat all the pizzas and cheeseburgers at every town, I could see this number drop to under $500 pretty easily. I'm sure some spend much less that that.
The grand total comes to $6330.68. $186.19 per day. Approximately $12.66 per mile. Livin' large, even though most of it was living in a tent and reeking of BO.
The approximate breakdown:
big four - $756
base weight - $287.99
mail - $117.05 + $28.85 (Salida box) = $145.90
trail food - $1036.91. About six thousand calories per day for the two of us.
Total for that, which is all you'd need to do the hike, is $2226.80. $4.45 per mile. Probably not a whole lot a normal hiker could do to get this cost significantly lower. Big four and base weight was for me, mail and trail food was for the two of us.
Of course there were the zero days.
Breck - $818.18.
Leadville - $760.98
Salida - $1165.01
Creede - $169.83 (no hotel costs as we stayed with a friend)
Silverton - $406.26
Durango - $664.62
And $119 for a rental car to get back to COS.
The zero day total comes to $4103.88. Obviously there might be some ways to trim this part of the budget down a bit. Not going to every town, not spending multiple nights at every town, not trying to drink all the beers and eat all the pizzas and cheeseburgers at every town, I could see this number drop to under $500 pretty easily. I'm sure some spend much less that that.
The grand total comes to $6330.68. $186.19 per day. Approximately $12.66 per mile. Livin' large, even though most of it was living in a tent and reeking of BO.
Monday, August 20, 2018
Pikes
Pretty good weekend for me and much better than I expected it would be.
Still in shape from the Colorado Trail so I knew finishing wouldn't be an issue, I just thought it would be slower than usual. Told $100 to plan on four hours on Saturday, then another four hour ascent followed by a three hour descent on Sunday.
Saturday, of course, was a wash as they ended the race at Barr Camp. I was pleasantly surprised at how my day went though. I was able to run around 70% of the course, much more than I thought I'd do. I ran 1:49:55, though that includes a ten minute break when I stopped about 100 meters from the finish line to have a beer.
On Sunday things went well once again. Got to the summit in 3:47. The downhill hurt like hell as I have not done any downhill running in a long time, but my down split of 2:17 was not my worst ever. Finished in 6:03. For some reason I'm already excited for next year.
Still in shape from the Colorado Trail so I knew finishing wouldn't be an issue, I just thought it would be slower than usual. Told $100 to plan on four hours on Saturday, then another four hour ascent followed by a three hour descent on Sunday.
Saturday, of course, was a wash as they ended the race at Barr Camp. I was pleasantly surprised at how my day went though. I was able to run around 70% of the course, much more than I thought I'd do. I ran 1:49:55, though that includes a ten minute break when I stopped about 100 meters from the finish line to have a beer.
On Sunday things went well once again. Got to the summit in 3:47. The downhill hurt like hell as I have not done any downhill running in a long time, but my down split of 2:17 was not my worst ever. Finished in 6:03. For some reason I'm already excited for next year.
Relive 'Morning Run'
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
accolade 30
Still trying to transition back to a runner from a hiker. Been spending a lot of time in the gym, whether Accolade or CityRock. Plus the usual running/biking to work.
$100 and I caught David Lowery and Johnny Hickman (half of the band Cracker) at Bristol on Sunday. Great show.
Hit the DIM hash on Monday. It had been quite a while since my last hash. Short but fun trail through Red Rock Canyon, beginning and ending at Fossil.
$100 and I caught David Lowery and Johnny Hickman (half of the band Cracker) at Bristol on Sunday. Great show.
Hit the DIM hash on Monday. It had been quite a while since my last hash. Short but fun trail through Red Rock Canyon, beginning and ending at Fossil.
Monday, August 13, 2018
beard
At some point I will post some more stuff about our Colorado Trail shindig.
I went about seven weeks without shaving. Here's the final result. My selfie game is only slightly stronger than my beard game.
Still took a while to shave it all off.
Being summer I was not able to achieve a life goal of posting a pic on the ice beard runners FB page. But I did get to drink a few beers with the king of bearded runners, who wasn't very impressed with my facial hair.
I went about seven weeks without shaving. Here's the final result. My selfie game is only slightly stronger than my beard game.
Still took a while to shave it all off.
Being summer I was not able to achieve a life goal of posting a pic on the ice beard runners FB page. But I did get to drink a few beers with the king of bearded runners, who wasn't very impressed with my facial hair.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Crestone Peak
Hit the road in the van with $100 and the dog on Friday and we headed back down to Westcliffe (night outside #34). We met Kircher down there, and he and I were going to hit a 14er or two on Saturday.
Saw a bunch of mountain goats on our way up to Broken Hand Pass. Another 14er, Humbolt Peak, in the background.
The top. Helluva climb to get here. Really pushed the line between steep scrambling and actual rock climbing.
Another view from the top.
On the way down.
You can see a red streak going up the mountain, that's what we went up and down. Crestone Peak just to the left as you look at this pic.
Broken Hand Pass. Sketchiest part of this hike, of which there were many sketchy parts, was the climb just to the east of this pass. Lots of potential to get skulled by falling rocks.
We decided to do Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle. Crestone Peak ended up kicking our ass pretty good and we ended up doing just that peak. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday though, getting your ass kicked in the mountains. My watch ended up clocking out at 19 miles and eleven hours, and we still had at least another mile to go. Other than a 45 minute break at the top, we were moving the entire time. My 34th Colorado 14er.
The long approach. That's Kircher leading the way with Crestone Needle in the background.
Saw a bunch of mountain goats on our way up to Broken Hand Pass. Another 14er, Humbolt Peak, in the background.
The top. Helluva climb to get here. Really pushed the line between steep scrambling and actual rock climbing.
Another view from the top.
On the way down.
You can see a red streak going up the mountain, that's what we went up and down. Crestone Peak just to the left as you look at this pic.
Broken Hand Pass. Sketchiest part of this hike, of which there were many sketchy parts, was the climb just to the east of this pass. Lots of potential to get skulled by falling rocks.
Thursday, August 09, 2018
run commute 35
Not that I had a choice, but I dove headfirst back into the real world and am slowly getting back into a routine.
Sunday - very hungover, but did get outside. 2.2 mile dog walk, 7.3 mile run on the Garden roads, accolade 28 and an hour of hot yoga with $100. Also did some meal prep for the upcoming week and was around normal food for the first time in eight weeks.
Monday - bike commute 33, narrowly missing the hail storm that crushed certain spots around town, including our zoo and O'Day's new Tacoma. CityRock 86 at lunch.
Tuesday - 2.3 mile dog walk followed by run commute 34. The run to work included 2 x 2 miles with a five minute jog in the middle. CityRock 87 at lunch. More hail today, though not as devastating. Note that the westside didn't get any of the damaging weather that has been reported on around Colorado.
Wednesday - bike commute 34, including 14 miles home. Was hoping to hit Red Rock Canyon but the trails are pretty muddy. CityRock 88 at lunch.
Thursday - run commute 35. Threw in some two minutes on/two minutes off.
With the help of a friend we are hoping the van is back up and running and plan on heading to Westcliffe this weekend. Then Pikes. Then I have a class through the CMC on lead climbing, including placing the gear required to stop a fall. So I'm keeping busy.
Sunday - very hungover, but did get outside. 2.2 mile dog walk, 7.3 mile run on the Garden roads, accolade 28 and an hour of hot yoga with $100. Also did some meal prep for the upcoming week and was around normal food for the first time in eight weeks.
Monday - bike commute 33, narrowly missing the hail storm that crushed certain spots around town, including our zoo and O'Day's new Tacoma. CityRock 86 at lunch.
Tuesday - 2.3 mile dog walk followed by run commute 34. The run to work included 2 x 2 miles with a five minute jog in the middle. CityRock 87 at lunch. More hail today, though not as devastating. Note that the westside didn't get any of the damaging weather that has been reported on around Colorado.
Wednesday - bike commute 34, including 14 miles home. Was hoping to hit Red Rock Canyon but the trails are pretty muddy. CityRock 88 at lunch.
Thursday - run commute 35. Threw in some two minutes on/two minutes off.
With the help of a friend we are hoping the van is back up and running and plan on heading to Westcliffe this weekend. Then Pikes. Then I have a class through the CMC on lead climbing, including placing the gear required to stop a fall. So I'm keeping busy.
Sunday, August 05, 2018
back to the grind
It's been a fantastic six-ish weeks but I return to work on Monday.
The week off was a blast, but I spent it eating junkfood and drinking way too much. So it will be good for me to get back into the routine of hour long workouts before and after work and climbing over lunch.
I did get up Pikes on Saturday, via Elk Park. It wasn't pretty. I'll get the double done but it's going to take a while.
The focus now is to get ready for the JFK 50 in November. 23 miles running last week.
The week off was a blast, but I spent it eating junkfood and drinking way too much. So it will be good for me to get back into the routine of hour long workouts before and after work and climbing over lunch.
I did get up Pikes on Saturday, via Elk Park. It wasn't pretty. I'll get the double done but it's going to take a while.
The focus now is to get ready for the JFK 50 in November. 23 miles running last week.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
done!
Bucket list item completed, $100 and I completed the Colorado Trail after 34 days of hiking and visiting mountain towns.
More updates later. Rented a car in Durango, drove to COS, and it's back to DGO with the subaru and dog today. Staying at Pagosa Hot Springs tonight, then doing a brewery tour back home.
More updates later. Rented a car in Durango, drove to COS, and it's back to DGO with the subaru and dog today. Staying at Pagosa Hot Springs tonight, then doing a brewery tour back home.
Friday, July 13, 2018
Salida
Probably my last update while still on trail. We are over halfway and taking two zero days in Salida. Things are going great, we are having a blast, and we got word yesterday that the entire trail is open so it's Durango or bust! Sunday we leave for Creede, then Silverton, then Durango.
For some reason, this has become the official song of our hike.
For some reason, this has become the official song of our hike.
Saturday, July 07, 2018
update
Quick update from out zero day in Leadville.
First off, we had to make the rough decision to send the dog home in Breck. I thought about dropping with her, grabbing the jeep, and crewing for $100 but she talked me out of it. Dog is living the life with my sister or Amanda. She is currently here in Leadville and we miss her terribly, but believe we made the best decision. The dog wasn't injured, but we knew with another day or two of big mountain miles she would have gotten hurt. The brightside to this is that I feel my pack weight has been cut in half now that I don't have to carry food and water for the pooch.
Other than the dog issue, $100 and I are loving the trail life. The simplicity is awesome. Get up, eat, pack up, hike ten to twelve miles, eat, hike another few miles to a great campsite, eat, sleep. Repeat. We are still on somewhat of a schedule due to Salida, but after that we will probably start to crank out some bigger mile days.
Meeting all kinds of characters on the trail and it's been great. We are currently on a 200ish mile stretch that is part of the Continental Divide trail and we love seeing and chatting with those guys.
We are coming to terms with the fact that our hike will more than likely end at Molas Pass near Silverton, as the CO trail is currently closed south of that due to fires. Doutbful it will open by the time we get there. We will be content with a 400 mile thru-hike and will return to finish the trail in the future when the trail is open.
First off, we had to make the rough decision to send the dog home in Breck. I thought about dropping with her, grabbing the jeep, and crewing for $100 but she talked me out of it. Dog is living the life with my sister or Amanda. She is currently here in Leadville and we miss her terribly, but believe we made the best decision. The dog wasn't injured, but we knew with another day or two of big mountain miles she would have gotten hurt. The brightside to this is that I feel my pack weight has been cut in half now that I don't have to carry food and water for the pooch.
Other than the dog issue, $100 and I are loving the trail life. The simplicity is awesome. Get up, eat, pack up, hike ten to twelve miles, eat, hike another few miles to a great campsite, eat, sleep. Repeat. We are still on somewhat of a schedule due to Salida, but after that we will probably start to crank out some bigger mile days.
Meeting all kinds of characters on the trail and it's been great. We are currently on a 200ish mile stretch that is part of the Continental Divide trail and we love seeing and chatting with those guys.
We are coming to terms with the fact that our hike will more than likely end at Molas Pass near Silverton, as the CO trail is currently closed south of that due to fires. Doutbful it will open by the time we get there. We will be content with a 400 mile thru-hike and will return to finish the trail in the future when the trail is open.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
on-out
We are on our way. Pack weighed 42 pounds. A bit heavy, but nothing to do about it now. Hope everyone has a great two months while we're gone!
Friday, June 22, 2018
Food takes up space and has weight, the two things the postal service charges for. This is for everything but our Salida box.
Mail drops to our Breck hotel, Salida (PT Wood's), a friend in Creede, and the Silverton post office. We have a box for Leadville that Marc & Amanda are bringing out for us.
Mail drops to our Breck hotel, Salida (PT Wood's), a friend in Creede, and the Silverton post office. We have a box for Leadville that Marc & Amanda are bringing out for us.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
happy national selfie day!
I'm not one for selfies, but I saw on the bookface that today is national selfie day. So here you go.
Last time my hair was this short was 1999, my first day in the Army.
Last time my hair was this short was 1999, my first day in the Army.
bike commute 32
Been pretty lazy this month but I'm still trying not to drive to work. 32nd bike commute of the year today. I'm at run commute 33. CityRock 84. I've given up on Accolade and I'll be cancelling my membership before we leave, I just don't go enough to justify the cost.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
open
Glad I didn't stress out over the trail closure, as it will be ending very soon. We've been getting quite a bit of rain here in the Springs lately and we are glad it looks like we will come back to a house that hasn't burned down.
I am giving a food drop to a friend after work today, she is going to meet us 40 miles into our hike on Monday. Shit is getting real.
I'm also shaving my head tomorrow, going with the GZ look for the trail. I'll post before and after pics. I'm not one to order $100 around but she floated the same idea and I shot that down pretty quickly.
Buddy Guy crushed it last night. His shows are about an hour, half the usual length for a headliner, but at 81 he really gets after it for that hour. Still one of the best guitarists around.
I am giving a food drop to a friend after work today, she is going to meet us 40 miles into our hike on Monday. Shit is getting real.
I'm also shaving my head tomorrow, going with the GZ look for the trail. I'll post before and after pics. I'm not one to order $100 around but she floated the same idea and I shot that down pretty quickly.
Buddy Guy crushed it last night. His shows are about an hour, half the usual length for a headliner, but at 81 he really gets after it for that hour. Still one of the best guitarists around.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
update
Just watching the clock until Saturday.
Haven't been running at all. Got some blisters, took a bunch of days off, ran the Garden, took a week off. Got out for an easy 10k on Saturday but that was it. A few bike commutes, a few easy efforts at the rock gym, and the usual hour long dog hike in the AM. Had friends and family visiting constantly over the previous three weeks, so the extra time was needed. We are seeing Buddy Guy tonight, but then the schedule is clean between Wednesday and Saturday AM when we leave.
We are somewhat locked into a schedule from the start of the hike until Salida. We have lodging in Breck, Leadville, and Salida. When we get to Salida we will see what is going on with the trail over the last few sections. The trail is currently closed and if we had started our hike a few weeks ago we would be forced to bail back to Silverton from Molas Pass. Obviously we want to hike the entire thing but if we were only able to get to Silverton we would still be pretty excited about what we accomplished. We would then return next year to finish the trail. But I'm hopeful the monsoon season starts soon and the trail is open by the time we get there.
I will be posting to my FB page as signal allows, as that is much easier to update via phone. If I can get access to a regular computer when in town, I'll throw something up here, but no promises.
Haven't been running at all. Got some blisters, took a bunch of days off, ran the Garden, took a week off. Got out for an easy 10k on Saturday but that was it. A few bike commutes, a few easy efforts at the rock gym, and the usual hour long dog hike in the AM. Had friends and family visiting constantly over the previous three weeks, so the extra time was needed. We are seeing Buddy Guy tonight, but then the schedule is clean between Wednesday and Saturday AM when we leave.
We are somewhat locked into a schedule from the start of the hike until Salida. We have lodging in Breck, Leadville, and Salida. When we get to Salida we will see what is going on with the trail over the last few sections. The trail is currently closed and if we had started our hike a few weeks ago we would be forced to bail back to Silverton from Molas Pass. Obviously we want to hike the entire thing but if we were only able to get to Silverton we would still be pretty excited about what we accomplished. We would then return next year to finish the trail. But I'm hopeful the monsoon season starts soon and the trail is open by the time we get there.
I will be posting to my FB page as signal allows, as that is much easier to update via phone. If I can get access to a regular computer when in town, I'll throw something up here, but no promises.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
food
Pretty much about done packing. For food I have a daily gallon size zip lock bag stuffed with 3000 calories, mostly junk food. Here is one recent shopping trip:
Each zip lock weighs about 1.5 pounds. Here's the first three days.
Lots of crappy junk food, which is high in calories and low in weight. Pop tarts, snickers, star crunch, trail mix, peanut m&m's, nutter butter, kit kat, instant potatoes. The big meal at supper will either be a Mountain House civilian MRE thing or two packets of ramen. The plan is to ingest cheap, shitty, lightweight calories until we can get to a town and eat real food (pizza and cheeseburgers and beer). Dietician to the ultra stars Meredith does not approve of this plan but I'll mostly be out of cell range so she won't be able to yell at me.
I have my pack ready for the first three days. With six liters of water and three days of food I'm still under 30 pounds, which I'm stoked about. Will probably take some of the dog food to help Holly ease into things.
Each zip lock weighs about 1.5 pounds. Here's the first three days.
Lots of crappy junk food, which is high in calories and low in weight. Pop tarts, snickers, star crunch, trail mix, peanut m&m's, nutter butter, kit kat, instant potatoes. The big meal at supper will either be a Mountain House civilian MRE thing or two packets of ramen. The plan is to ingest cheap, shitty, lightweight calories until we can get to a town and eat real food (pizza and cheeseburgers and beer). Dietician to the ultra stars Meredith does not approve of this plan but I'll mostly be out of cell range so she won't be able to yell at me.
I have my pack ready for the first three days. With six liters of water and three days of food I'm still under 30 pounds, which I'm stoked about. Will probably take some of the dog food to help Holly ease into things.
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