Fail.

Mike has been plotting a secret Labor Day camping/hiking trip for months, ever since we got back from South Dakota. Usually I'm the trip planner, so I was really excited to see what he had put together. We bought a backpacking stove and freeze-dried meals and like 15 Clif bars, we made a ton of PBJ sandwiches and packed up all of our camping/backpacking gear. Then we drove four hours to Blue Mesa Reservoir, arriving close to midnight.

Then I spent the entire night scrambling in and out of my mummy sleeping bag, running from the tent to the vault toilet.

Over. And. Over. Again.

Ugh.

Thanks, stomach bug.

So, the secret camping trip ended quite abruptly. Mike was planning on hiking Sunshine and Redcloud Peaks -- two 14ers about two hours from our campsite -- on Saturday. On Sunday we were going to hike down into Black Canyon of the Gunnison for an overnight stay, and then we were going to hike back up out of the canyon on Monday.

Sounded incredible.

Instead, we spent Saturday morning driving through Black Canyon to see it from a tourist's perspective (aka the side of the road), then the afternoon driving back to Denver. Mike, of course, was a real trooper throughout my tearful, exhaustion-induced breakdowns (I felt really bad for ruining everything). Always thankful for that guy.

Regardless of the less-than-perfect outcome of the trip, we did manage to have a good weekend...after I spent the next 24 hours either on the couch or in my bed. Monday I felt much better, so we squeezed in a 6-mile hike in Indian Peaks Wilderness to Blue Lake.

And then we topped off the weekend with cream cheese & jalapeno stuffed burgers and Reese's s'mores. (Obviously by Monday night, my stomach was feeling much better!).

Peace, Love, and RuinedTrips.

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.

BFFs.

Once again, it's been forever since I blogged. Our summer is just too busy!

Last week, four of my best friends from college came out to visit from Missouri. It was so great to catch up, and we had the best time hiking in the mountains, drinking wine in our hot tub in Breckenridge, and just giggling at dinner downtown. I'm so glad they made the trip out and am so thankful for each of them.

Mike was a real trooper and was extremely patient with us and the high levels of estrogen that overloaded the apartment. (Read: bras and clothes strewn about the apartment, 5 cosmetic bags in the bathrooms, and countless exclamations of "Mike, don't come in here right now!").

After church on Sunday

Breakfast at Snooze

City Park Jazz

Hiking Silver Dollar Lake near Georgetown

Next post includes THREE 14'ers :)

Peace, love & good friends.

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!

7 Days.

In the past seven days, I...

...read this book in one sitting. Following the near-death experience of a 4 year-old child in emergency surgery, this book is seriously a very good read. Regardless of whether or not you believe in life after death, it certainly gets you thinking about what happens when we die. I started the book a little skeptical, not really sure what to think about claims of visiting heaven and seeing Jesus. However, I finished it pretty convinced that this child experienced something very real. Obviously, no one can ever know what happened. But as a Christian, I believe in divine intervention and in the reality of heaven -- and this book certainly convicted me of whether or not my life really reflects those beliefs. 

...hiked to this waterfall. Our friend David came in town over the weekend, and we managed to work in an overnight camping trip to Glenwood Springs. Hanging Lake (above) is in the area, and I'm so glad we made it! It was gorgeous!

...purchased a mountain car! Mike and I are the loving parents of a new (used) 2002 Subaru Outback, and we couldn't be more excited! Now we won't have to call AAA when we can't get out of a parking spot in Keystone in the dead of winter at 5am. Yes, that almost happened. (Thank you to the random stranger that helped push us out -- we still owe you)

In the past 7 days, I also managed to spill my Iced Skinny Caramel Macchiato all over my work pants, eat 15 mini Reese's in one day, and rack up 50 cents in library overdue fees. 

Peace, love, & ReallyExcitingWeeks.

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.