Sore Legs.

One of my goals for the year was to hike five more 14ers. I've already done four this summer, and plan on doing the Lincoln-Democrat-Bross combo next weekend, so I'll definitely get there. There's something about mountain climbing that is so addictive.

We did Grays and Torreys on the Fourth of July with our friends Laura, John, and Stacy. This was the first multiple-14er hike that I had done, and it was definitely challenging in a different way than some of the others we've done. It's tough enough to mentally get yourself to the top of one 14er, let alone two. I actually thought that getting to Grays was fairly easy (all things considered), but having to climb down the saddle and then back up another pitch left me mentally pooped. Plus, we had to haul it up and then back down Torreys, because there was some questionable weather moving in.

Grays (left) and Torreys (right)

Giving his wife a heart attack

Laura & me

Summit of Grays

The group

Stacy's 5th 14er!

Summit of Torreys

Yesterday, we did Missouri Mountain with our friends Gretchen and Dave, who are 14er crazies. This was Gretchen's 30th summit and Dave's 20-something. I'm just glad I'm almost to double digits! Missouri was probably the prettiest summit we've done, although it had some killer switchbacks through the trees and a long windy walk along a ridge to get to the summit. We had the summit to ourselves for awhile, and the wind died down just as we were eating lunch. Beautiful, beautiful day.

Incredibly beautiful. We walked along that ridge to get to the summit.

Windy and a little chilly!

At the summit

On top of Missouri, with our Cardinals hats!

Summers in Colorado are seriously the best.

Peace, love & Missouri.

Summer's Here.

I haven't really been blogging much, mostly because 1) I don't feel that my life is that blog-able right now, and 2) we have been so busy that blogging is at the bottom of the list.

What have we been doing, you ask? Well, aside from the usual pool lounging, beer-kickballing, and social getting-togethering, we have been exploring and discovering new nooks and crannies of the West.

We went to South Dakota -- to the beautiful Black Hills, Custer State Park, Badlands National Park, and Mount Rushmore -- all in 3 days. We came home exhausted, grimy, and $62 poorer due to a nit-picky Wyoming cop (6mph over?! Really?!), but we had a great time.

Badlands

Custer State Park buffalo

We've also gotten in two good Colorado hikes so far this summer. Colorado summers are my favorite (minus the fact that our state is a tinderbox this year).

Hiking to Murray Lake.

Not having much fun on the way down, thanks to the snow.

Mt. Evans Ascent. 14er number six!

Summit!

So...yeah. Nothing too exciting, I guess. At least not compared to the posts where I was galavanting about Antarctica. :)

Peace, love, & summertime!

Mt. Sherman

It looks like our first 14er season has come to a close. We ended it this weekend by climbing Mt. Sherman with our friends Nicole and Eric. We originally intended to climb Mt. Democrat, but had to shuffle plans around when we discovered the road to the mountain was closed for the day. Luckily, Mt. Sherman wasn't too far away, so we still managed to summit well before noon (and avoided any potential bad weather). It was a fabulous fall day in the mountains, and the aspens were an incredible vibrant yellow! (Thanks Nicole, for insisting that we stop to snap some cute couples shots by the trees!) :) 

Mt. Sherman is littered with old mining buildings and railroad tracks. Very cool.

Summit #5

No photoshop here! The colors were really that awesome.

Peace, Love & Aspens.

What are you on?

So I finally joined 24-Hour Fitness. I've been putting it off mostly because I don't feel like throwing $30 a month away when we could be putting it towards our future home. But, I get a discount with Raytheon so I decided to go ahead and join.

And today, when I walked in, I was annoyed. Immediately.

I know not all people who work out are macho meat-head weight lifters. But SERIOUSLY. They overtake the gym with their huge muscles and it annoys me. I mean, it's really impressive that you're lifting a weight twice the size of my head, but I am perfectly content with curling 15 pounds and I don't need you STARING AT ME, thankyouverymuch.

So then, after two arm exercises, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and went upstairs to get some cardio in. I jumped on the treadmill, but the sweat-drenched man next to me was flicking perspiration on me, so I only lasted a mile. Then I decided to bike. Biking is fun. And people on bikes don't flick sweat nearly as bad. So I started pedaling, and all of a sudden something caught my eye. You see, the gym that I go to is somehow linked to Lance Armstrong (I'm not sure how, I've only been there once, obviously). So Lance's face is pretty much plastered all over the place, which is fine I guess. I'd rather it be Derek Jeter........

*sigh*

Anyway, so next to a giant photo of Lance is a quote from the biker:

"This is my body, and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it; study it; tweak it; listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I am on. What am I on? I am on my bike busting my ass six hours a day; what are YOU on?"  

And all of a sudden, I had a total change of heart. Because I realized that the reason I'm at this smelly gym is so that I can push myself doing the things I love. Because, Mr. Armstrong, I'm on top of mountains. I'm on a snowboard. I'm on a running path high above sea level.  I'm on a trail leading up to a tucked-away turquoise waterfall. And I guess I can bust my ass at the gym so that I can be even better at climbing 14ers and shredding down the slopes. 

So fine. All you smelly, pump-you-up dudes can stick around. I'm just going to do my own thing. And I'll probably ignore you. But at least I know that I've climbed to the top of Colorado...and that's all that matters to me. :)

Peace, love & AnnoyingMachoMen.

Antero.

Mt. Antero specs:

14,269 feet high

15 mile round trip if you don't drive up the 4WD/high clearance vehicle road (we didn't)

5,200 foot elevation gain

1 creek crossing and 1 proud American with an ATV

5 hours to summit 

 1 false summit

Recipe for a great hike, I'd say. :) It was certainly the most difficult hike we've done so far, simply because of the length. But, it was a great time, as everything is with Mike Wall as your husband. He kept calling it Mt. Arturo and I think he broke out some Elton John again. Anyway, Antero is in the Sawatch Range, near all of the Collegiate Peaks, which is an incredibly beautiful area! I'm excited to explore it more. 

We also enjoyed a wonderful evening at City Park Jazz on Sunday evening with some friends. City Park Jazz has been a highlight of the summer -- live music, no admission fee, tons of people-watching, bottles of wine and picnic dinners. It doesn't get much more summer than that! We've shared it with some great friends as well, which we've really enjoyed. We're so thankful to have met some incredible people out here who share not only our love for the state, but also for the God who created it. Unfortunately, it was the last weekend for Jazz, which makes it really feel like summer is coming to a close. Sigh. Oh well, I'm sure fall will bring even more adventures!

Peace, love, & jazz.

Bierstadt & BBQ

Second 14er: complete!

Along with our friend Stacy, Mike and I made it up another 14er! Mt. Bierstadt is now checked off, and it was absolutely breathtaking (in terms of scenery as well as what it did to our lungs). I didn't like Quandary all that much, mostly because of the hoards of people that accompanied us on our trek, but Bierstadt was a completely different experience.

We started out at 6am, and watching the sun come up over the Sawtooth Ridge was incredible. It didn't just slowly rise over the mountains, but it broke through with full force and drenched us in light. It was wonderful.

There's something about being out on a mountain, experiencing nature in its rawest form -- smelling the evergreens, climbing over boulders, tiptoeing over streams -- it just fills you with an incredible sense of wonder and adventure, but also with a sense of smallness. So often I get so caught up in bills, lists, and timecards that I forget how big God is, and how wonderful a world he made for us to enjoy -- but also to respect and marvel at. Because I don't know about you, but I think that Sawtooth looks intimidating, and I wouldn't want to be caught on it!

We finished up our afternoon with amazing barbeque in Idaho Springs, mostly because Stacy and Mike were craving sweet potato fries and talked about them the entire way up the mountain (in between singing Elton John's "Benny and the Jetts" and "Rocketman"). I have entertaining people in my life :)

Hope everyone has a great week -- remember to smile and to have fun! And if all else fails, try singing "Benny and the Jetts" when the day gets rough.

Peace, love, & Elton John.

Quandary.

Well, we are officially Coloradoans. Why?

1) Mike has lived here for a year now (and I'm not far behind him!)
2) We conquered our first 14er

After hearing chatter about "peakbagging" and climbing 14ers, we decided we should probably attempt one. We did some research, and read that Quandary Peak, near Breckenridge, was an "easy" one to begin with. So we booked a campsite at Prospector Campground (just so we could use our sweet new tent), bought some trail mix, and went for it.

Dillon Reservoir on our way to the campground. God can make some pretty cool things.

About 8am or so, almost halfway up! I would also like to point out that I started this hike out with my ponytail in the middle of my head. By the time we reached the summit, it was a side pony because of the insane wind.

I was really excited about maybe seeing mountain goats...and we did :) This guy came down the trail like he owned it...which I guess he did, because we all got out of the way.

He really was this close! I wasn't zoomed in at all. 

Summit! 

This one is for you, Mom and Dad! One time, you made it to 12,005 feet at RMNP...now a little part of you has made it to 14,265 feet! (I mean the t-shirt, not the fact that I carry your genes)

So, we bagged one peak! I have to say that I have never been more winded in my life, nor have I ever resented my asthma as much as I did during our nearly 7 mile hike. But, the Walls are on the register at the summit, and that's what counts. I can't say that I fell in love with doing 14ers, but I do like a challenge (see Slacker post) and so I'm sure we'll do more of them in the future. 

Also, I have the best husband ever who agreed not to camp the second night (I don't sleep well in tents), took me out for Mexican/a giant margarita, and then took me to see Harry Potter. 

Peace, love & mountain goats.