Two weeks to Peru. Two peaks in one hike!

What I'd like to say is, every time I feel I'm in shape and ready to take on the Andes, I challenge myself with a new hike and excel.

The truth is that for every new challenge, no matter how far I feel I've come, the result is unimaginable fatigue later that day and a a day or two of no hiking to follow. Every muscle from core to ankles, shoulders to knees, reminds me I'm but a mortal with a middle aged body! Hahaha. And yet... I remain undeterred!

On Sunday, Dana and I decided to do South Boulder Peak. It fulfilled both of our needs to escape to the wilderness, my need not to drive too far, her need to stay below 10,000 (as she has a cold) and it was reportedly still a great challenge.

South Boulder Peak from the south trailhead of the Mesa Trail was apparently 5.5 miles. Or at least, we thought we read that. And with a gain of close to 3000 feet, it seemed like a good way to spend a morning together. Neither of us had done this particular trail either.

We departed the trail head at around 7:15am. The day was still cool and we were in good spirits, chattering non-stop. At first there was gravely dirt road, but then as we entered Shadow Canyon, it turned to steep, rocky path... one that required concentration to avoid spills and discover best route.

It was wooded and wonderful. That faint smell of pine needles, earthiness and the onset of fall.

Nearer the top (2 hours later) we found ourselves exposed. The wildfire that had taken it's toll here in 2012, still apparent. Burned trunks, baby aspens and low growing shrubbery. I had thought the forest bounced back quicker than that after a fire... I was wrong.

At the top of Shadow Canyon, the trail comes to a T intersection. Go left for 0.3 mile and you get to South Boulder Peak. Go right and you find yourself, also in 0.3 mile, at the top of Bear Peak.

South Boulder Peak

We went left, per the plan and struggled up South Boulder Peak, scrambling over boulders, large and small to finally reach the summit - seriously, the summit looks WAY easier that it was! There is no geological pin affixed to the top... you assume you are there, but short of a selfie, there is no proof!

Brunch. Just us, our power bars and nuts and the handful of chipmunks with a sense of entitlement and hungry eyes to rival any Golden Retriever! I threw a few cashews and almonds into the rocks as we packed up to leave. Winter is coming... a little extra fat and protein for them seemed understandable. Plus I'm a softie.

This was Bear Peak behind us. I was feeling kinda good still and wondered if I wasn't prudent to skip over the valley between, then up the ridge line to Bear Peak. Why not nail two peaks in one day when it was only going to add 0.6 mile to the distance?

Dana was less convinced. Back at the T intersection, she started back down Shadow Canyon as I headed up the ridge to Bear Peak alone. O.M.G. Sometimes, I just don't know what comes over me. Hiking on paper is definitely easier than hiking in the dry mid-morning sun, 8,000+ feet up in the sky.

Honestly though, Bear Peak from this point is not as difficult as South Boulder Peak (or quite as high) and it didn't take long before I was one of 4 people enjoying the view over Boulder from there.

View from Bear Peak to Green Mountain

View from Bear Peak back to South Boulder Peak

Then it was time to go. Back down Shadow Canyon, hopefully catching up with Dana before she got to her car. The trail through the woods was a welcome relief from the now hot sun and increasing dryness. I was almost out of water, which is utterly unheard of for me.

We reconnected about a mile from the bottom. Both of us water-less, parched and way more than just tired. Bodies hurting. Mentally and physically DONE for today. That was so not 5.5 miles!!!

The creek coming out of Eldorado Springs was a perfect place to "ice" our feet and debrief before going our separate ways. It was a good 15 minutes before the pain of spent feet was replaced with the pain of frostbitten feet. I had a tiny blister to show for my efforts today. And a large (and growing) appetite!

Until our next adventure, my friend... Thanks for lending yourself to yet another training challenge on my route to Peru!

3 Weeks to Peru!

Hot the heels of (.... well, in the not-to-distant memory of) the bear chase, I had some anxiety about early morning hikes, alone on Boulder hiking trails that are bursting with ripe berries and such.
I did it still. But Im not going to lie, every rustle I heard in the woods made me nervous.

Mark decided that there was something to be done about that. We made a little trip to REI for research and purchase reasons and I learned a lot about options one might have to ward off bears!

1. Bear spray. The canisters range in size but start at over 9.0oz and require a holster to carry it. Can you imagine me doing a "quick draw" to spray a bear in the face at close range with something akin to a small fire extinguisher?! Me neither.

2.  Bear Bells... for the hiker who wants to sound like a Christmas elf prancing down the trail. I'd drive myself nuts and throw myself at the mercy of the nearest bear. Just sayin'.

3.  Bear Horn
Toot. Toot! The instructions say that you are supposed to sound the horn about every 1/4 mile on the trail to alert creatures that you are coming. OMG, I can only imagine what the City of Boulder (and all the other hikers) would say about that. Not going to happen, obviously.
I am content to stuff this can of noise into my little backpack and retrieve it should I have an encounter.

And that's it, or so I thought.
Then the other day Mark came home with this little gift for me too:
Pepper Spray.  Quick release from the key ring, then just press the trigger and behold... no more unwanted attention from bear or anyone else!

It even matches my outfit!

Mt Bierstadt - Oh Boy!

Where do I begin?

T-26 days to Peru. With all sorts of hiking under my belt, I was long overdue to push the hiking to another level ... An altitude of 14,000 feet to be exact.

Julia and I planned Mt Bierstadt a couple of weeks ago. The weather looked good, the drive reasonable and the timing perfect. I did almost none of the planning so when Julia's knee went bung and she called to bail on Bierstadt last night, I had to jump into action and rightly so. It was no longer good enough to have a bag full of snacks and no idea where the mountain was!

By 9:30pm last night, I was hitting the sack. My backpack ready at the front door with food, water, cell phone and some extra layers. Yeah, there were miscellaneous pockets full of first aid stuff, hand sanitizer, head lamp, knife etc etc too. I should have been a Girl Scout, eh?!

4am and I was wide awake - ahead of schedule. I decided to make tracks early and was headed out of Boulder with my cell phone displaying the route map by 4:35am.

Driving through Georgetown an hour later I was impressed by it's cuteness, even though we were a ways off sunrise and it's colors were yet to pop. I followed the signs to Guanella Pass and enjoyed putting little Audi through her paces on hair pin turns in the darkness.

Ok, confession: I lost cell signal about as soon as I left Georgetown and that left my route map saying "visual not available". Wonderful. I wracked my early morning, half caffeinated brain to remember the details on how to find the trail head and eventually, I found it. It was 6:15am and the first rays of light were casting a pink hue on some high clouds.

Strava... That's the app I use to track my hiking and the app Im yet to use with any semblance of competence. I once again forgot to turn it on at the trail head and a mile later, cursed as I started it - knowing I had already done myself a disservice. 

By this time I had already turned my "silent retreat" solo hike into a mildly social outing, having met a lovely German couple and their daughter. We hiked together a bit before I realized the daughter and I were in sync regarding pace, but the parents were a tad on the pokey side. I adopted said daughter and stole her away from her parents. Appelonia and I breathed heavily in the early, thin air as we ascended, step by step. The trail gradually getting more difficult and more steep. The summit, clearly in sight, never seeming to get much closer. Her folks slowly going out of view.

I had underestimated the effect of altitude on temperature.  At the car park, the air was cool. Once on the trail I had to move quickly to stay warm and yet my fingers were freezing. None of my layers came in the form of gloves, or hat. A mile in, I began to shed layers though. My fingers were now toasty warm and wildly tingly with "pins and needles". Closer to the top, as the trail became a pile of big rocks (as all mountains appear to be at the top) the wind was frigid and there was no getting away from it.

At the most bouldery section, the trail seems to come and go. I'd go as far as saying there are 100 trails to the top and no real trails to the top... at least no good ones. LOL  Make your way up Bierstadt as you make your way in life - winging it - cutting your own path.

Appelonia and I found the geological pin that I call "proof that I summited" and had our picture with a sign that fellow hikers had gifted us. Yep, I forgot my sign this morning too!

There was time for a snack at the top and I broke out my Cheez-Its. Appelonia had never had them and me... Well I thought they had never tasted so good. I was convinced that sharp white cheddar Cheez-Its with ridges were the bomb (until I got to the bottom later and they tasted fairly normal again). If I ever needed another reason to hike to 14,000 feet again, the way food tastes might push me over the edge. Strange but true.

Did I mention I saw a goat? Big, white and shedding chunks of fur. What a treat. It makes up for the fact that several other hikers saw a giant moose near the car park and I didn't. 

I hurried down, alone. My German millenial had rejoined her parents - who actually did make it to the top! As I plodded along, I warmed up. By the time I had a mile to go I was once again hot and now, the sun was actually shining. I arrived back at the car at 11:15am.

Bierstadt: 

7.5 miles round trip, with 2,700' of elevation gain.

I'd call it moderate to difficult. There is a fair bit of "loose dirt" even in steep areas. The last mile is smaller rocks turning to larger boulders that require scrambling which is best done without poles, in my opinion.

The view is impressive from the car park all the way up. Whether its morning, noon or evening, the literally breathtaking view makes the hike, the hard labor so worthwhile.

And the people... They make you smile. Everyone has a kind word of encouragement to share. A little bit of Colorado magic has smeared itself along the entire trail.

'Tis true. I might have decided today that more of Colorado's 14-ers (there are 58) will be in my future - Made possible in no small part by Diamox.

*Diamox is a drug that I had pre-emptively taken for acute mountain sickness. The side effect being those pesky "pins and needles" in my fingers and later, on the tip of my tongue. And, being a diuretic, some extra pee breaks. On the bright side, I had no altitude symptoms at all, which was a freakin' miracle! In fact, while I wouldn't go as far as saying my brain was at its highest and best, I did note that conversation in English was a piece of cake AND I managed to drag out some Deutsch language from the cobwebs deep inside. That, my friends, is a win any day.