Month: July 2018

Rocky Mountain High

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I would be lying if I didn’t say I was looking forward to our week in Colorado just as much as I’m looking forward to our time in Hawaii in a few weeks. Colorado is home more than any place I’ve ever been in my life. No, we don’t have family there, and that’s actually the only hard part about life there. My heart and head feel so free when I’m in the mountains.. that means home to me.

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Huron Peak 14,003 feet above sea level

Brian and I came here to visit friends, but also hike some mountains! We convinced our friends to take the windy drive up to Leadville, camp, and wake up early to summit Huron Peak. The mountain is one of Colorado’s fifty three ’14-ers’ meaning that it stands over 14,000 feet above sea level. The trailhead was accessible by a 4×4 road, which scared and excited me. We bought a new truck a few weeks ago exactly for this purpose! Once on the 4×4 road, there was a lot of hopping of the truck, leaning over the windows, and jaw clenching.. all in hopes of not damaging the bottom of the truck. Rain and darkness started to descend upon us so we parked and set up camp for the night, about a mile from the trailhead. The group thought that we could push on with the truck, but that it was probably best to set up camp before it got too dark. We whipped up some delicious chicken fajitas for dinner before calling it quits.

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Brian soaking in the views

The next morning we woke up at 5:45 and had a quick breakfast. The group decided to attempt the last mile of the 4×4 road to get us right up to the trailhead. Brian drove through the last section of the road quite easily! We were all kind of bummed we didn’t just go through with it the night before, but oh well! Parked next to all the other trucks, we laced up our boots and hit the trail!

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Mountain Goat

Brian and I have summited 6 other 14-ers, and this one was one of the more mellow summits we’ve done! The trail wove in and out of the forest before approaching a beautiful (and flat!) meadow which then led into the last and hardest part of the hike. Just past the meadow we started seeing quite a bit more wildlife. Pika, Ptarmigan (with 7 babies!), Prairie Falcon, and Mountain Goat were among the highlights of the trip! The last 50 feet of the trail was a scramble to the peak. When we reached the top we immediately dropped our bags and did a slow 360 degree spin to take it all in.

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Atop Huron Peak

The summit was really warm, and I wasn’t itching to get down and out of the wind like I usually am! We snacked and lazed around in the sun, trying to amp ourselves up for the rocky climb down. Scrambling down the mountain and into the gentle meadow was probably my knees favorite part. The clouds also started rolling in just as we reached the meadow. Hiking in the rain isn’t a problem for us, but being on the top of a mountain in the middle of the storm is. Thankfully we didn’t have to outrun the storm! The drive back from the trailhead was insanely easy compared to the drive in. Brian said confidence in the truck and familiarity with the road played a huge part. The day ended with a steak dinner from Quincy’s in Leadville and an early to bed kinda night.

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Sunrise from Bowman’s Shortcut

We also took a smoky hike up to the top of Bowman’s Shortcut to the Top of the World in Vail. There was a wildfire 40 miles away that completely tarnished our views from the top as well as our eyes! The smoke was so thick and strong that our clothes smelled as if we had lit a campfire and sat by it for hours. Bowman’s Shortcut is a fairly easy hike and I highly recommend it.. when there isn’t a wildfire in the vicinity!

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Sun behind the smoke

Red River Gorge, KY

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Courthouse Rock

Red River Gorge was a place Brian talked about often so I was naturally quite excited when we had the chance to plan a trip there with his best friend and brother for a weekend of hiking! Our initial thought was to camp, but the near 100 degree temperatures turned us to the idea of getting a cabin instead, probably the best idea we’ve ever had. After an eventful drive down to Kentucky including a car key broken in half and an amazing infomercial like story involving Gorilla Glue (that stuff doesn’t mess around), we rolled up to the Nada Tunnel. Nada Tunnel is a 900 foot tunnel is entrance to Red River Gorge. It was created by log haulers in the 1900’s, it’s only 12 feet wide and 12 feet tall.. so it’s a pretty tight squeeze no matter the size of vehicle!

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Driving through Nada Tunnel

We got to the cabin and quickly threw our things inside before lacing up our boots and hitting the trails. We chose Grays Arch for our first hike of the weekend. It was a quick 3.4 mile loop that took us to a huge arch in the middle of the forest. We lost and gained quite a bit of elevation on the hike, but the trail was nicely marked and the arch is a great place to sit under and admire while you take a break and have a snack. Once we reached the cabin we took showers and cooked dinner. We enjoyed playing some games before heading to bed and resting before a packed day of hiking.

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View of Indian Staircase from the ridge

Saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready for our long day of hiking. Rain was pattering down on the roof and the clouds looked fairly ominous. Everyone had breakfast and got dressed for the hike, trying to ignore the rain. Once we got into the car and reached the trailhead, the rain had stopped! The trail started winding up through the forest and brought us to a steep wall with tiny footholds worn into the rock face (pictured above), known as Indian Staircase. We scrambled up the side of the wall and were rewarded with views of the green valley stretching for miles and miles. The trail continued on a ridge, wrapping around a steep drop off below. At times, the path was only inches away from the cliffside, a couple of the guys weren’t super excited about that. Our final destination was an area known for cliff jumping named, Turtle Rock. Brian and his friend jumped off a few times while Brian’s brother and I watched along with kayakers and other jumpers enjoying the shoreline. The evening consisted of a hot dinner and cold showers before bed.

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Brian jumping from Turtle Rock

On Sunday we awoke early again, our day packed with more hiking. We set out to tackle Double Arch Trail and Auxier Ridge, totaling in over 9 miles of hiking. The Double Arch Trail led us down deep into the forest, dense with poison ivy and paw paw trees. We climbed up to Double Arch which is an arch within an arch. The trail continued over the arches and led to more amazing views over the gorge. We met up with the Auxier Ridge Trail which took us to Courthouse Rock (first photo of post). A long and steep staircase led us to the ridge which, again, looked over the gorge, we could even see Double Arch across the way!

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Double Arch

On our final morning at Red River Gorge we hiked to Natural Bridge via Battleship Rock. We climbed up some slippery stone steps to reach the ridge where Battleship Rock was. The fog was thick through the forest, making the views of the gorge below even more beautiful. We followed the ridge and it took us to the top of Natural Bridge. We climbed below, squeezing through a tiny gap in a rock. The bridge looked like it was man made, perfectly arched with crisp edges. Once we reached the car we packed up and hit the road for Indiana.

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Views from Battleship Rock

The stormy weather in the forecast thankfully held off and gave us the most beautiful weekend of hiking Red River Gorge could offer!

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