upcoming mountains

Tomorrow morning I'm gonna head over to Manitou Springs and see how quickly I can get up Pikes Peak. Think I can break my PR in the Ascent, 3:29. The weather has been pretty crappy up high though, so there's a good chance I won't make it to the Peak and I'll end up doing some of the lower trails on the mountain. Still though, I'm hungry for some of them summit donuts!

Have a job interview in Denver on Fri, and I'm thinking about attempting the CO Mines Peak/Mt. Flora double while I'm up there. I'd be getting a very late start though, so I'd high tail it back down at the first sight of dark clouds and just try Mt. Herman on the way back home. Hopefully it isn't as snowy as the pic.

Gonna head up Cameron's Cone again on Sunday. Last time I had to navigate and had some issues finding my way back down, but this week the Incline Club is gonna mark the way up so it's just gonna be a hard run.

Looking like my next attempt at a 14er will be a double of Mount Evans and Mount Bierstadt. Got a good topo map and think I have a pretty good route marked out, though there's a ridge that looks like it's gonna be a little scary crossing. Also looking at a quick trip out to the Leadville/Fairplay area to bag Quandry Peak.

CoTex SP

Just updated the Cotex - South Park blog.

from the CO hash list...

WATER...... It has been scientifically proven that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli bacteria found in feces, in other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop!

However, we do not run that risk when drinking beer because alcohol has to go through a distillation process of boiling, filtering and fermenting.

WATER = Poop

BEER = HEALTH

Free yourself of Poop, drink BEER!!!

It is better to drink beer and talk shit than to drink water and be full of shit.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information, I am doing it as a public service.

coming soon to a liver near you...

Well, my descent into alcoholism just accelerated, as the Black Sheep made it official with this announcement:

Hey all you 21 and up Black Sheep supporters, we have a present for you. Starting June 1st, going all summer long, The Black Sheep is pleased to announce $7 All You Can Drink PBR and $3 You-call-its, every night when we don't have a show. No cover, great djs, Elvis pinball, and a night so cheap we're pretty sure you'll want to come back every day. Tell all your friends.

Woohoo!

Mt. Cutler

Wanted an easy hike after good back to back long runs over the weekend, and that's just what I got by trekking up Mount Cutler. At a whopping 7,231 feet above sea level, it's not much higher than the start of the incline, but it's listed on summitpost.org so I went ahead and bagged it.

Cheyenne Canyon is such a great playground, and Cutler is just one of many peaks here. Easy, well-beaten path from the Cutler trailhead right up to the top. Great views along the way of the canyon, seven falls, the Will Rogers shrine, Cheyenne Mountain, the Broadmoor hotel, and Colorado Springs.

Pics of the hike are here.

blue dress hash

Couple pics 'o me from the recent Pikes Peak blue dress run. Great to see Boobs finally back in the USA! Good thing I didn't hafta be at work for two or three hours after this one was over. Oh yeah, it appears that BATT has lost Slut's KDH3 shirt! Checked my stuff, hoping in my drunken haze that I had nabbed it, but no luck. So it's whereabouts is currently unknown.


For the rest of BATT's pics, click here.

just a reminder...

...to you Astros fans that the baseball season is still going on. The mighty Buccos have taken the first two games of the series!

Rocky Mountain

Got out this afternoon for a hike up Rocky Mountain, this time dragging along my camera.

Did the incline on the way up, once again it handed me my ass. Pretty cool, even for a Thursday afternoon I saw everything from olympians to overweight housewives to guys from the special forces to hippies trying to hackey sack their way to the top. Always a good time on the incline.

From the top of the incline I just took the same route I took last time, so I got in some good bouldering once again. Need to learn some real rock climbing moves, trying to get up and down from the actual peak of Rocky Mountain makes me look like a retard humping a doorknob.

Wish I had a better camera, the views of Pikes from this mountain are awesome. My camera just doesn't do the views from these hikes any justice.

Pics from the hike are posted here.

Been having great weather lately, and if it holds I might make an attempt to summit Mount Evans and Mount Bierstadt next week, those can both be bagged on one long hike.

my hero!

This blurb is taken straight from the world briefs of this mornings Colorado Springs Gazette.

"Drunkenness is off the charts"

Vilnius, Lithuania - Lithuanian police were so astonished by a breath test that registered 18 times the legal alcohol limit, they thought their device was broken.

It wasn't.

Police said Tuesday that Vidmantas Sungaila, 41, registered 7.27 grams of alcohol per liter in his blood repeatedly on different devices after he was pulled over Saturday for driving his truck down the center of a two-lane highway. Lithuania's legal limit is 0.4 grams per liter.

Sungalia, who was slapped with a $1,110 fine and the loss of his license for up to three years, told police he had been drinking the night before and tried to freshen up by downing a pint of beer for breakfast.

singin' the blues

Pretty shocked about the death of Clifford Antone. Had so many good times at his bar. Vallejo, Monte, the Dirty Wormz, Bob, the Scabs, the Gourds, Buddy Guy, South Austin Jug Band, Blues Traveler...

Rogue loop

Congrats to all the wankers who finished the Rogue Loop on Sunday. Hash numbers are way down from last year, what's up with that! Someone needs to get on the ball and shame the BRT back into action!

Anyways, kudos to No Hands (winner of the "I'm a wus" 10K), No Dick Doc, Lewis & Cock, Tarantula Fucker, Just Nicole, TJ, Easy Access, Lovebite, and anyone I may have missed.

Now go get 'em at the Belt! FYI, I got lost last year and still kicked Melissa's ass there!

enemy contact!

I got shot at today. Not one, not two, but three bullets came approximately ten feet from hitting me. About a dozen more shots were fired in my general direction, but none of those were that close. Once again I got to hear that distinctive sound a bullet makes when it whizzes by so close to you.

One of my running routes runs behind a shooting range. Turns out some dickhead was firing the wrong way. Thought I had left behind all the idiots with guns when I left Texas but I guess not.

The shooters weren't shooting at me, they didn't see me and were shooting into the area I was in. Which is an area very popular with hikers and trail runners, but luckily I was the only one in the kill zone at the time. They've had a lot of problems with safety issues at that particular shooting range, and I plan on filing a complaint at the ranger station tomorrow.

Still got them infantry reflexes though! The smart thing to do would have been to immediately drop to the ground and low crawl under a big rock. But I didn't want to stop my run, so I crouched down and took off, using whatever cover I could find, until I was out of the shooter's range.

Ended up being a great run. Rampart Range/Cave of the Winds/Waldo Canyon/Ute Pass in just over three and a half hours. Wanted to do the incline too but I ran out of time since I have to work tonight.

made it!

The hike was a little tougher than I was expecting, but I can add another peak to my list. Took just under two hours to get to the top, and just over three hours for the round trip. Had two nasty falls on some scree coming down, now my hands are tore up and I have a nice roadrash-looking bruise on my ass. Was also attacked by a group of birds on the top...they would dive at me, coming within two or three feet of my head, then pull up and circle around before diving again. Chased me off the peak pretty quick.

Pics are here.

Blodgett Peak or bust!

Off for a quick attempt at Blodgett Peak before work. Just over 9400 feet, supposed to be a pretty good workout.

By the way, I broke my phone last night at the Black Sheep PBR drunk fest, so I'll be unreachable for a while. I must have dropped it when the bartender told me that from now on every non-music night at the Sheep will be $7 all-you-can-drink Pabst!

finally!

One down, 55 more to go in my quest to drink a PBR and smoke a stogie on top of all of Colorado's 14ers.

Set off at 5:30AM on the Barr Trail. Weather report was good, trail reports were positive, and I wasn't too hungover, so I figured I'd have a pretty good chance of a summit.

Folks, including myself, always say that Pikes Peak is an "easy" fourteener. And it is, in the sense that there is a well beaten trail from the bottom to the top. No navigation, no bushwacking, a refuel point halfway up. But it's still a rough hike, about twelve miles and a 7400 foot climb to the top, and then you hafta get back down (right, Melissa!).

Made good time on the way up. Did stop to take a ton of pictures and had a nice break at Barr Camp. Still made it up in just under six hours, pretty good for hiking the entire thing. And after busting my ass for six hours and finally bagging my first fourteener, what is awaiting me at the top?



Yup, Asian tourists! There's actually a mall on top of Pikes Peak, and lazy tourists can get there via road or the Cog Railway. There was a trainload of folks up there when I arrived, and I was like a celebrity since I was the only one who hiked up. The gals in this pic were actually from Thailand, and they said they knew Free Meat and she was a big, huge wanker!

A beer, a stog, and a cup of coffee later (about 45 minutes) I was on my way back down. Saw a few dark clouds rolling in so I had to bust ass down to treeline. I was motivated by the plaque dedicated to an 88 year old woman who was struck by lightening on her 14th summit of Pikes. That's how I wanna go. Except I didn't want to do it today.

Took a long break at the treeline shelter, then took a longer break at Barr Camp. Still made it down in just under twelve hours. Think if I was going for time I could hike the entire thing in sub-ten hours, but I was in no hurry today.

ugh...

Currnently stuck on the graveyard (10PM 'till 8AM) shift at work. Not complaining too much right now because I have a lot of reading to catch up on, but if they keep me here too long I'll be looking for a new job once again. The good news is that it's a four days on-three days off schedule, so I should be able to finally get some climbing in. Gonna try for Pikes this Thursday so I can celebrate at the Black Sheep drunkfest that evening!

Rocky Mountain high

Decided to bail on Barr Camp this morning and instead finally make an attempt on Rocky Mountain. The decision was a good one, as I was rewarded with a fun climb, another bagged peak, and the coolest view of Pikes Peak I've had since I moved here. Lots of fun bouldering after the incline, and then some very hairy moments as you have to climb up a huge boulder to get to the high point of RM. I'll do this one again and bring a camera.

Off to the Denver hash!

stuff

Was reviewing my pre-CP50 training and decided to make some changes. Came up with a new plan that has me running 3-4 days a week. Cuts out a lot of the shorter runs I had been doing. Basically now anytime I run it'll be for at least two hours, usually more. Probably run every other Saturday to get in some back to back long runs. Plan goes something like this:

Mon - off/mountain bike/peak bag
Tues - Palmer Park fartleks
Wed - Incline/Mt Manitou hike
Thurs - Barr Trail tempo run
Fri - off/mountain bike/moonhike
Sat - off/CRUD run
Sun - Incline Club run

Still hitting the gym when I can, it's just tough for me to stay holed up inside when there's so much outdoor stuff to do up here.

As much as I was bitching about my performance at CP, looking back it might not have been too bad. I was only an hour slower than my 50 miler at Sunmart, and the Colorado course was a heckuva lot harder. I also had roughly the same pace as my 100K at Bandera. Hard to say which course was harder but the CP course was definitely slower.

Also drooling over Pikes Peak, seems the last of the snow is melting. Gonna take a scouting trip up to treeline on Sunday, check out the condition of the trail. A summit attempt could follow shortly. From what I'm hearing there are several other 14ers I could have already done, I just want to make Pikes my first one. Once I bag Pikes the floodgates should open to other 14ers.

Work is going well. Have to turn in my "wilderness resume" today so they can figure out if I'm good to travel with the groups on their outdoor activities. I think I'll be OK. Upcoming trips include trailbuilding at the Garden of the Gods, an alpine restoration project in the Sangre de Cristo wilderness area, a Mount Sherman peak attempt, and a canyoneering trip to Grand Gulch in Utah. Good stuff.

LVH3

The Lehigh Valley H3 (I'm part of their mismanagement!) made the news this week. Check it out here.
I swear I'll get back to hash with those wankers someday.

pub run

Next Austin Duathlete pub run is on Thursday, May 18th. Start at the downtown RunTex at 6PM. Five miles, three pubs. Be there or be square.

get uppity!

I swiped this off my friend suzy's my space page. She sent me something about my beloved Pirates that made me cry, and this cheered me up a bit, thought I'd share it.

Was out the door just after dawn this morning for my run to the Y. Was greeted with this sight (yes, this is my luxourious back yard). Mid-May, and it's still snowing. Haven't been able to get a glimpse of the Peak, but I hope it's not too bad as I'm hoping for another summit attempt on Monday or Tuesday. As much as I'd love for it to warm up and melt all the snow, I'm glad for the precipitation, Colorado has been under some major forest fire conditions lately.

baaaarrrrrryyyyy...

I hate Barry Bonds. Mostly from his days as a post-season choke artist with the Pirates, and to a lesser degree from the recent steroid mess. And I usually hate Philly fans too, though I thought this sign was pretty good.

Palmer Park

I've always had great times at city parks. Schenley and Frick Parks in Pittsburgh, Fairmount Park in Philly, Walnut Creek Park in Austin.

Found out about a gem of a city park here in Colorado Springs, Palmer Park. Took a recovery hike there today, seems to be tons of great, technical trails. And it's only three miles from my house, so I can ride my bike there (fuck you and your dirty oil money, Saudi Arabia!)!

Anyways, it'll be a great place to train for both running and mountain biking. Reminded me a lot of the BMX loop at Walnut Creek, but with a lot more hills. Might even have to start up the night workouts again, this park would be a great place for those! They have bears in the park though, guess I should also work on my tree climbing skills, or at least always bring someone slower along for the workout (one of the reason's I always let Troy tag along on our night workouts at Walnut Creek).

Already feel fairly recovered from the CP50. Felt like hell on Saturday evening, not much better on Sunday. But after today's hike I'm planning on finally climbing Rocky Mountain via the Incline tomorrow, possibly with Batt (and Slut's shirt).

I took a few pics of various trails in the park, they're available here. The green shirt among those pics is for Melissa, I was complaining to her about forking out $55 for a lousy piece of schwag that I'd never wear.

reach out and lick someone

Just thought I'd share this, it's a pic of Meat making out with her phone. And I'm not making anything up, she really was getting it on with a cell phone. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose.

Just Melissa

Some of yunz might remember Melissa, survivor of the Burnet Road Challenge and veteran of a few Austin hashes. She now has a blog so go tell her how much it sucks, if you're able to read it.

In what is starting to become a regular occurance for attractive, single Austin females, she will be moving to Colorado (Denver) soon. Conviently a week after the Barr Mountain Trail Race, since she knows I'd kick her ass there.

finally over

Finished, with an unofficial time of 9:54:16. Hardest run I've done, seriously considered dropping out at the 50K mark and again at 36 miles. Good to have my first CO ultra out of the way though. More info once I feel up to it.

Collegiate Peaks or bust!

Off to the Collegiate Peaks 50 miler soon. Kinda worried about it, as I'm not in the best shape of my life. But for me CP is actually just an epic training run for the upcoming San Juan Solstice, so that takes a bit of the pressure off. I figure I'll be good for about 35 miles and that's when the fun will start. I'll be happy to get my first Colorado ultra out of the way though. Detailed race report should be posted tomorrow.

new job

New gig at the Griffith Center is working out great. Definitely made the right choice bailing on the Cedar Springs job and taking this one. Besides the better pay and close location, I now get to wear jeans to work! Sneakers too, just in case I have to run an escapee down. And the people I work with seem pretty cool too. It's also rare to find anyone who has been there for less than two years and most have been there significantly longer, so maybe I'll actually keep this job for a while. Even have great medical benefits now, right in time for 14er season!

The actual work part has me as a counselor on a sexual offense unit. The unit currently has about a dozen kids, ages 12 to 17, most convicted of a crime and sent here for rehab. A lot of these kids are such sad cases, I can't imagine they'll ever get over the trauma they've faced. But we do what we can to help 'em out. A team (the therapist and counselors) figures out a treatment plan for each kid, then the counselors implement the plan.

The Griffith Center owns a school across the street, so the kids can continue their education while they're here. There are also other units on the "campus" (the whole campus is about a city block) such as abuse and high risk (violent).

Work trip coming up in a few month to the Slot Canyons of Utah, hoping to get in on that. Missed the mountain bike trip to Moab already, which sucks. Oh well, next year.

he dresses funny too...

This is the current state of the Iraq war, seems it has reverted to name calling. Maybe GW will go on TV soon and talk about how his dad could beat up Zarqawi's dad.

cnn

If he's so incompetent why can't we catch him?

update

Too much crap to do this weekend, so I ended up bailing on the Sand Dunes.

Was rewarded with two great long runs. Saturday was a climb up Rampart Range Road, then down through the Cave of the Winds. As an added bonus I finally found the path that leads from the Cave over to Waldo Canyon. Got in a good four hours.

Sunday was also an awesome run, with the Incline Club up to Barr Camp and back. For the first time I was able to run the entire thing without stopping. Made it to Barr Camp in 98 minutes, a personal best by several minutes. Decided to go ahead and enter the Barr Trail Mountain Race in July, and if I keep improving like I have been I should do pretty good.

Glad I got these runs in, give me a bit of confidence heading into Collegiate Peaks this weekend.

After the Barr Camp run it was straight off to Denver for the second annual Lone Tree Invihash. Basically just a trail laid by some of the DH3s more active hashers. Awesome trail, lots of shiggy and killer falses. Had shiggy, creek crossings, tunnels under major highways, golf courses, I think all we were missing were some railroad tracks.

Even managed to hit my first DIM (Damn, It's Monday) hash. I like the DIM, it's usually a longer trail, the beer checks are quick, the circle doesn't go on forever. So you get in a good trail in a short amount of time.

That's it for now. New job is going great. I'll post an update on that later.