Colorado

[I just found this as a draft in a forgotten file. Without any edits, I thought I’d share it today.] ::::: I throw the car from sixth gear down to fourth; there is no time for fifth. The engine revs, then catches and begins to pull, once again able to accelerate up the incline. Forty…

When I think of my last days in Colorado, I will think of the temperature – days in the high 90s, the brutal sun beating down on the Mile High City, and me, applying SPF 100 like my life depended on it (which it kind of did). The air conditioner in my Subaru struggled, no…

If you know my sister Becca, you know she’s all about dogs. She always has been; her first word was “woof-woof.” In addition to running a dog rescue (whence came Foxy!), she has three dogs of her own – and they’re like her kids. So when she and my brother-in-law decided to go to Seattle,…

This morning, I set out to try to climb Humboldt Peak, the mountain that thwarted me last September. I’ll just go ahead and tell you that I didn’t make it to the top – because this is actually a story about something different. In the trail description, the guidebooks said that a high-clearance, 4WD vehicle…

I’ve only used one vacation day in 2014. I have a couple on the horizon – but mostly, I’m saving them for July when I’ll combine the majority with a chunk of unpaid leave, close my computer, and walk away into the mountains. I finally have a chance to fulfill a dream that’s been years…

I’ve been thinking a lot about adventure. So many of us crave it – but what is it, actually? Is it doing something crazy – quitting your job and selling everything you own and taking off for parts unknown? Is it doing something risky – hanging from cliffs and diving out of planes and willingly…

Three months ago, Colorado was in the midst of out-of-control wildfires. Everything was brittle and dead, and when the summer storms started, the lightning-induced fires were hard to contain. And because this state is completely bi-polar, today is a very different story. Unless you’ve been living under a (dry, well-insulated) rock, I’m sure you’ve heard…

I woke up this morning to freezing temperatures, icy wind, and snow on the ground. Not cool, April 9th. NOT COOL. After several days of near-70 degree weather, I was starting to believe that spring was here to stay – but leave it up to April, the hormonal teenage girl of Colorado’s calendar year, to…

On Saturday, I climbed my 31st 14er, and my toughest one to date, Longs Peak. Believe me when I tell you that two days later, my entire body hurts.  Not just my quads, y’all – my entire body.  I’m talking about the fronts of my ankles, and the tops of my shoulders, and that fat…

As some of you may know, I’ve spent the past few summers climbing as many 14ers (mountains over 14,000’ high) as I can.  There are 54 in Colorado, and while I’m not sure that I have a goal of climbing every single one of them, I love the challenge and adventure that each one brings….