Vacation Time!
I'm off to California for a vacation. No computer means no blogging. I will be back next week! :)

On Top of the World
Since this year did not work out to summit a 14er, I thought I would share what it should look like when you do summit. This is from our girls' 14er last year on top of Mt Sherman.
You can see why it is so worth the all day hike! But don't let the sunny, blue skies fool you...it was actually 80-90 mph winds that day on top of Sherman!

Good News!!!
My very best friend in the whole world (Bethie)...
got engagged this weekend to Phil Prentice. The three of us went to highschool together. Phil popped the question this weekend and the big day will be October 6, 2007.

CONGRATULATIONS BETHIE!!! :)

Winter Wonderland...No Camping
I was supposed to go camping tonight up by Grays and Torres with a 14er hike planned for tomorrow morning. With a severe winter weather warning in effect (in the mountains) today we decided to stay home. Bummer! This was my last chance to summit a 14er this year. At least I get to head to Cali next week to get away from this weather for a few days! :)

What Happened to Fall?!
Appearently we skipped over Fall this year and headed straight to winter. The foothills got their first snow of the year this morning. The Peak is covered with that powerdery, white stuff as well. I was hoping to avoid my full leg tights until at least October...too late, I had to use them today and got rained (!) on again. I think I liked the drought seasons better!

Fall Setting In on the Front Range
Well September has officially brought the fall weather and the leaves are changing. Fall is my favorite time of year because of the color change and incredible riding weather. While I love Colorado's golden Aspens, I would have to say that Michigan and the Northeast have a better variety of color.

Mom and Dad, they say prime time leaf viewing in the mountains is at the end of the month. The Front Range will probably be in full effect when you come out.

A Present for Myself
I promised myself a Patagonia Puff Down jacket if I got into grad school...plus it was a reward for surviving my long summer. With the temps getting down to freezing at night, it came just in time! I would have to say, it is pretty darn awesome! :)

Girls' Annual 14er: Mt Evans
Every year we get all of our girls together to hike a 14er (14,000 ft peak) together. This year Mt Evans was the lucky mountain. We left early Saturday morning with snow in the forecast for the day. This is a picture of the Aspens on the way up to the trailhead on Guenilla Pass...notice the little white dots freefalling and lack of blue sky.
When we got out to hike there was already snow on the ground, and it was definitely below freezing. Mandy thought it would be fun to wear dresses to the top...any extra layer to keep warm was welcomed that morning!
We set off from Mt. Bierstedt's trailhead to take the road less travelled up to Mt Evans. All we knew was we had to get up to the saddle with Sawtooth (the jagged edge) and then make it over to Evans...we couldn't see Evans from where we were.
Camelbaks are imperative to hiking...though our's were freezing as we climbed higher.
We got up on top of the saddle and had to turn around. We were about a mile off from Mt Evans' peak but could not see it at 13,000 feet with all of the snow and clouds up there. Not even a cairn (trail marker) was visible at that point.
Once we got down in the valley it started to clear but you could see the next storm on the way in.
We went off our trail a bit and had to pioneer our own trail through the Willows and along the marsh...that was an adventure in itself!
We all made it safe and sound back down to the main trail. Fingers and toes all regained feeling by this point and we were ready to head to Beau Jo's (Colorado's famous pizza joint.)

So Over the Allergies!
I wish I owned this contraption. I have probably used up an entire rain forest of tissues in the past 48 hours and it looks like I will be midway through another rain forest by the end of the day!

Best Line of the Week

Sunday I was riding home and timed my ride perfectly to ride straight through a monsoon. As I was sitting at a stop light (counting the time between lightening strikes and thunder cracks in pouring rain,) the stoplight starts to flicker off and on, then a girl in a car rolled down her window. Here I think she is going to offer me a ride or phone to use but instead she very politely says "You have very pretty legs." Hum...not at all what I thought I was going to hear in the midst of that monsoon!

(A block later it was full on hailing so I ducked for shelter and called for a ride...not even two miles away from home and it was sunny, blue skies when we pulled into the driveway. Gotta love Colorado weather!)

WOO-HOO!!! I got in!!!
You are looking at a future doctor! :) I got my acceptance letter in the mail on Saturday and will be starting classes in October! Yea!!!

Today Is the Big Day!
I have my interview for grad school this afternoon...wish me luck! This is the building that all of the classes are held in, located in downtown Colorado Springs.

Backpacking 101: Lake Como
I went on my very first backpacking trip this weekend. We hiked up to Lake Como in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. The start to the trip was a huge challenge for me for a few reasons:
*I have never hiked anywhere with a 65 lb pack on my back...not to mention all I have done for the last 12 months was ride a bike...which meant my hip flexors and stabalizers were killing me!
*We hiked 4 miles and gained 3000 ft. The road was seriously all rocks and boulders, all uphill and a "gentle" 10-12% grade the entire way.
*It was all done in the pitch black!
*Mary had to stay home with a tooth ache :(

But in the morning it was well worth it! It was awesome to wake up to the beauty of Lake Como right out of our tents. This is where we camped (after relocating the first night...Anne and I literally almost slid right into the lake! We had a tough time finding spots in the dark.)
We hiked up Mt Blanca. This is a view on the saddle between Mt Blanca and Ellingwood Point. This was my favorite mountian hike so far as the entire way up to the final ascent was decorated with lakes.
However, it was also my least favorite mountain hike as it was far from groomed trail. I was crawling over boulders and rocks pretty much the entire way once we got near the top. It was more of rock climbing than hiking...kinda scary!
Kiebo is the three-legged wonder dog of our group. He did his first 14er this weekend on the toughest "trail" I have ever seen.
Saturday night was an interesting one. These were the clouds that started to blow in.
About an hour later we had an inch of "grapple." Grapple is mountain hail and snow mix. It was complete with a lightening storm right on top of us! Let me tell you, running through the storm in my pink crocs to find shelter was quite the rush!
We packed out Monday morning. This is the crew, nine of us and two dogs. I hiked out with my pack again and was lucky enough to take 5 blisters along on the way out! Would I do it again? Heck ya!

Birthday Dinner with the Family
We went out to dinner last night at Salsa Brava to celebrate my birthday. This is my Colorado family minus Joel (at class) and Dave (leading a trip.) I had the delicious fish tacos and for dessert Anne made her mom's secret (delicious!) homemade carrot cake...my favorite!!!