ivy league hiking

Well, it was a bit last minute, but I managed to squeeze in one 14er before the snow falls and the season ends for those of us who are at least a little sane. After a rather rugged drive to the trailhead the night before, we spent a perfect fall day hiking to the summit of Mt. Harvard (14,420 ft). The Aspen trees were showing their colors, and the sky was that amazing, high-altitude blue. Of course, at about 13,000 feet you always start thinking, "Why doe people do this? We are insane." You know, it's that point when oxygen has fled the scene and every step over a boulder is laborious. But oh, the views and the joy of the summit! Here are some pics from the outing. Since I managed to misplace my camera that morning, credit goes to Joel for these shots.

On the drive to Buena Vista, we say the most incredible sunset as we crested Wilkerson Pass (my favorite part of the drive!) and crossed the high mountain plain.

A stream crossing on the way up. The mountain is the background is Mt. Yale. I was supposed to climb that earlier in the summer, but I was sick. Sigh.

The cairns were massive. It may sound weird, but I think cairns are really beautiful.

I wandered off a little at the summit, just to take it in for a few seconds (it was sort of a crowded summit day, unfortuntely). You can't tell from the pic, but I'm freezing my booty off.

Since the camera flashed, we all look photoshopped in. But I promise, this is not a backdrop at a photo studio.

home sweet Colorado

Here are a few photographic reasons why I am, and will always be, a Colorado mountain girl at heart:

Lake Hartenstein, where we camped on a recent backpacking trip.

The view from inside my tent.

A nearby stream, perfect for washing my face and filtering fresh mountain water.

Olin on the final part of our ascent of an unnamed peak near the lake.

Sunset on the lake.

waterfall weekend

I'm sure it saddened Pedro a bit, but last weekend was mostly a hiking weekend for me. On Saturday, we hiked up Cheyenne Canyon to St. Mary's Falls. The hike was beautiful and strenuous. The weather smiled on us until about halfway back, when the smile turned down and all we could say was, "What the hail?" That's the second time in a week I've been pelted by frozen bb's. I came away from the day a little wet and with a badly bruised knuckle, but smiling from the adventure.




(On the way up to St. Mary's Falls, this peak taunted me the whole time. It was far too late in the day to go past the falls, but I sure as heck was tempted.)


On Sunday, after church, we hit a trailhead that leaves straight from Green Mountain Falls. This one far exceeded my expectations, definitely one of those hikes that is less about destination and more about the beauty along the way. The trail follows a cascading stream and leads up a steep, shady, and root-woven mountain. In fact, I couldn't tell exactly which falls we were supposed to be looking for--that water was a-fallin' the whole way! This time I came away having bashed a different knuckle, and with a mystery rip in the rear of my pantalones, but again I was grinning like a kid in a candy store.



Key thought from the weekend? Thank God for waterfalls and shaded forests and unruly roots and granite peaks, and for friends to exlpore them with.