Beautiful Times in Colorado

Hi all! Since my last blog update, which ended with us in New Mexico for a wondrous wedding, we have been attempting to chase down cooler temperatures and find some climbing out of the heat. I’d say we have been mostly successful, but we’ve definitely encountered our fair share of HOT temperatures. Regardless, we have had a very fun couple weeks exploring Colorado.

Upon a recommendation from Megs, the New Mexican bride, we left New Mexico and ventured into Colorado via a scenic route, aka NOT the main highways. We took 84 North through Chama, NM and up into Pagosa Springs, CO. Pagosa Springs, known for its hot springs, is such a beautiful and charming town that I was able to forgive it for the overwhelming smell of sulphur/rotten eggs that it emits. We spent a night in Pagosa Springs and then continued along Colorado Highway 160 East to 285 North all the way to Denver. I know we have many more places to visit and drives to do, but I am pretty sure the drive along Highways 160 and 285 is the MOST beautiful drive we will do during our entire trip. I now understand why Colorado is the Rocky Mountain state…there are gorgeous mountains EVERYWHERE. Check out some pictures from our drive to Denver.

Denver was a great pitstop, mainly because we got to spend some quality time with Dana and Taylor (which included two nights sleeping in an amazing apartment, doing laundry, and washing some of our dishes!). It was really great to catch up with Dana and Taylor. We took a bike ride around Denver, sampled some tasty local beers, ate delicious Mexican food, and (my favorite) enjoyed Dana’s delicious cooking! And, of course, we got in a couple days of climbing in Boulder Canyon (sadly, Taylor was not able to join because he has one of those "job" things that requires him to work Monday thru Friday rather than climb…boo!). Climbing with Dana was JUST what I needed (seriously, I’m not just trying to be nice because she hosted us for two nights!). She is such a strong, committed and inspirational female climber. Prior to our time in Boulder Canyon, I was on the verge of swearing off trad climbing forever. I hadn’t yet had a trad climbing experience that really got me psyched on the whole sport. I think this is wholly due to the fact that I have only gone trad climbing with Marco as a partner. Now don’t get me wrong, he’s a great partner, but when I am leading a route, and there’s only Marco around, I feel I have a license to whine, complain, cry (when necessary) and generally wimp out on every climb. My comfort level with him is so great that I depend on him a bit too much in situations that make me uncomfortable. Rather than sucking it up and pushing through the pain and discomfort, I generally give in and turn to him. But a level of discomfort is necessary when trad climbing—it’s part of what makes the whole experience. So, when we set out climbing with Dana and her partner Lance, I felt a bit more pressure to step up my game and not be a huge giant wimp—in other words, I was too embarrassed to throw a hissy fit in the middle of a lead when other people were around. We got on two really classic 5.7 routes on Cob Rock in Boulder Canyon, Empor and North Face Center. After the first pitch of our climb, Empor, Dana crossed paths with Marco and me just as I arrived at the belay station. She had just finished a solid lead on the first pitch of North Face Center and was commenting that she hadn’t been trad climbing in a while—her and Taylor have been doing a lot of sport climbing lately. I was uber impressed with her ability to just jump on the route and take the first lead despite being a bit out of practice. I (whether wisely or not) was inspired by her confidence and decided to lead the second pitch of Empor, rather than making Marco lead them both. Leading that pitch was definitely a turning point for me. It was a tricky lead and had a cruxy move midway through the climb. After scoping out the crux, I started to get a little worked up and decided (as usual) it was better to bail on the lead and have Marco finish it. So, after much thought, I had him lower me to the belay station. But, just as my feet touched the ledge, I realized I was being a giant baby. I could do the lead, I just needed to suck it up and get a little uncomfortable. So, rather than giving the lead to him, I climbed back up the route to my last piece of gear and attempted to pull the moves. I fell on my first attempt…and my second attempt! But how great is that—I fell on my gear and NOTHING HAPPENED! This really helped ease my nerves a bit and got me pretty psyched. I was able to pull the moves and finish up the route. The whole experience got me really excited about trad climbing. I felt a palpable change in my outlook towards trad climbing. After finishing Empor, I took the first pitch of North Face Center and it was amazing. I finally understand the appeal of trad climbing…I got such a rush from that day of climbing. It was a great feeling. I’m finally gaining a bit more confidence in my gear placement and my trad climbing abilities in general. It’s amazing what a little bit of confidence will do!

We climbed again the following day with Dana and got on some sport routes at Avalon in Boulder Canyon. Once again, Dana impressed me with her focus and commitment. She took the first lead on two great routes, Slayer, 5.10b, and Marquis de Sade, 5.10c. Both had difficult cruxes and she pulled through them with commitment and dedication. Particularly with respect to Marquis de Sade--that route was hard! Overall, after climbing with Dana, I have realized I need to be a bit more committed and focused on my route climbing, and I need to have more confidence in my abilities. It was quite inspirational! Thanks Dana!

Redhead power!

After two nights in Denver, Marco and I headed north to cooler temperatures in Estes Park, CO. We were looking to do some bouldering in and around the area. We purchased the new Colorado Bouldering guide book (Front Range by Sharp End Publishing) that included bouldering in the Lumpy Ridge area and Carter Lake area, two areas we were particularly interested in. Unfortunately, when attempting to boulder at Lumpy Ridge, we had a difficult time finding the boulders, and, by the time we finally found the boulders, it was just in time for the afternoon thunderstorms to roll in, so we had to scamper out of the area before even getting on any boulders. We had better luck at Carter Lake, but, unfortunately, the temperatures there were incredibly hot and it was a really far drive from where we were camping (we were tethered to camping near Estes Park because it was the only area in which the temperatures were cool enough for camping due to its high elevation)! Fortunately, as the name implies, there was a lake on hand so we were able to jump in after baking on the boulders. Carter Lake had some great boulder problems, however, I was a little put off by the warning in the guidebook, which said to be wary of “massive, hungry rattlesnakes.” The hike to the boulders was roughly ten minutes, but it was the longest ten minutes of my life! I jumped at every single sound. It was terrifying. In the end, the bouldering was a lot of fun and the scenery was beautiful, so it was worth it.

Warming up on Little Boulder in Carter Lake.

Marco scoping out Rocky Top, V4, on Extension Boulder.

Marco admiring Kahuna Roof, V6, on Kahuna Boulder. Check out the moves below...

Sad little Marco, after getting the boot from Kahuna Roof! It was too hot to go back and work the problem--but he was so close to sending!

The Layback aka Beach Crack, V3.

The camping scene in and around Estes Park was a bit too difficult for Marco and me to navigate. After some digging, we found some free camping in Roosevelt National Forest, however, it was a bit of a drive from the climbing areas and involved three miles of some seriously unpaved, rough roads. But, it was the only area in the National Forest that was accessible in our van—the other two areas we attempted to access required some serious off-roading and were only fit for a jeep or four-wheel drive vehicle. For anyone in the area, we suggest camping at Johnny Park, which you can get to by driving down Cabin Creek Road, which is on the east side of Route 7 just north of Allenspark, CO. Follow signs for National Forest access along the dirt road and, after crossing over some private property and passing a number of cows, you will come upon the free campsites a few miles down the road. However, just to warn you, it is Colorado. People there like their guns and ATVs. On more than one morning we were woken up by gun shots and/or people riding ATVs, and we found these on the rocks surrounding our fire pit:

We were also interrupted by free roaming cows on a number of occasions, including one morning where they were feeling a bit aggressive and were charging at each other just behind our van. We woke up to a stampede sound. As soon as Marco opened the van door he pulled his head back inside…those cows were NOT happy!

Even though the camping was a bit difficult (difficult = being located more than five minutes from the climbing area...we're spoiled!), the views and our surroundings were unreal. We experienced some of the most beautiful sights while in Estes Park, including the most vivid and colorful rainbows I have ever seen in my life! Given that it thunderstorms EVERY single day in August in Estes Park, we caught quite a number of rainbows. In addition, we saw the most unreal lightning ever! It was so surreal. The thunderstorms never got old—one night there was hail, one day we drove through a patch of snow that had just fallen unexpectedly. The experience was very unique.

Sunset from campsite.

Thunderstorms aren't all that bad when they yield such beautiful results. The picture doesn't do the rainbow justice...it was huge and so wonderful looking!

Double rainbow!

Meadow Mountain Cafe...probably the best breakfast of our trip! It was adorable and must be checked out if you are in or around Allenspark, CO!

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. The inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining and the hotel featured in Dumb and Dumber. They make some delicious cocktails!

After spending a few nights in Estes Park, we took a one-night vacation from van life and spent the night with some dear friends, John and Rob. John and I went to law school together and were immediate friends on the first day of law school...it helped he was wearing a Red Sox hat and mentioned he had lived in Boston--two quick ways to my heart! Unfortunately, since graduating, I have not seen nearly enough of him and it makes me really sad that we've lost touch. Therefore, it was SUCH a treat to get to spend a night hanging out with him and Rob. We were treated to an absolutely delicious home-cooked meal by Rob, and we enjoyed a long night of catching up and hanging out with their adorable pups, Rockie, Cooper and Barkley. It was such a great night and I am really happy we got to spend time with John and Rob. Thanks John and Rob for the amazing food, wonderful company, and comfortable bed to sleep in!

After having a difficult time finding climbing due to the constant thunderstorms, long commutes, and hot temperatures, we decided to spend a couple days at Rocky Mountain National Park. Wow! What an amazing national park! After Glacier National Park, this is my favorite national park to date. Driving through the Rocky Mountains is an experience everyone must have—it’s incredible. And we saw so much wildlife. Elk are the new deer…they’re everywhere. We saw a beaver swimming across a lake. We saw a pack of male bighorn sheep and three of them charged right up to our van (which we hid behind because we were incredibly scared they were going to ram us!). Instead of ramming us, they rammed each other. It was very cool to see. We saw moose galore—a mother and a calf, numerous bull moose, and an entire family of moose! In terms of exploring the park, we drove along Trail Ridge Road, from east to west, all the way to Grand Lake. This took the better part of a day and we stopped along the way to explore the tundra and other amazing things the drive has to offer. We spent the first night at Timber Creek campground, where we experienced some of the most unreal views of lightning, and spent the second day hiking around Bear Lake and to Emerald Lake. We encountered a bit of rain and some looming thunderstorms on the hike, but it was a very worthwhile and easy hike. I highly recommend it if in the area.

Day 1: Driving Trail Ridge Road

Beaver in Lily Lake.

The chipmunks were expert beggars for food...though we didn't give them any! One climbed over my leg as I was sitting on a rock.

Overlook at Forest Canyon.

Bighorn sheep!

Getting closer to the van...

And the ramming begins! Thankfully it was not into us.

Taking a short hike through the tundra at Rock Cut.

A marmot sunning himself on the rock.

Mama moose.

Mama and baby moose.

The moose just crossed in front of our van like it was no big deal. The woman walking ahead of the moose didn't even notice!

Day 2: Hiking Bear Lake to Emerald Lake.

Longs Peak view from Bear Lake.

Nymph Lake.

Emerald Lake.

After a couple days in Rocky Mountain National Park, we decided to leave Colorado and drive west to Utah! Though Utah may sound hotter than Colorado, Joe’s Valley in mid-Utah is actually pretty mild at the moment. The days can get toasty, but it drops down into the 50s and 60s at night…perfect weather to sleep in your van! And the camping is FREE and a stone’s throw from the climbing, which = easy van life. So, here we are, bouldering in Joe’s Valley. Stay tuned for an entry regarding the adventures we’re having in Utah and at Joe’s! Love to all!