I forgot to get my house key back from our neighbor's daughter and managed to lock myself out without my helmet. Riding in to work felt weird, and more dangerous than usual. Thankfully my dear better half can bring me the helmet later so I don't have to ride home without it. Even without the helmet it was still better than driving.
Today we took a hike up to Highland Mary Lakes, near Silverton, CO. It was a lovely hike, up to an elevation of 12,136 feet. the trailhead started above 10,000 feet so it wasn't too bad in terms of elevation gain. The trail was very rocky however, which made for interesting times when the clouds in the picture above turned into a rain storm. We had planned to spend a couple of hours exploring the lakes but had to cut it short and scramble to get back to the trailhead before we got soaked.
This is where the rockiness of the trail really became an issue. To get to the lakes we had to cross a boulder field that required a lot of rock-hopping to get through. As you can imagine, this was much more nerve-wracking when we were trying to outrun a storm. When all was said and done we made it safe and sound and only a little wet.
Since we got back to town early my uncle David and I decided to take my son to hike up to a waterfall that is pretty much right in town in Ouray. My son was reluctant at first but then decided to go. The hike up to the falls was an easy couple of hundred yards. The falls themselves were incredible, falling a hundred feet or more down from the mountain above. We had a great time and then spent some time wandering around town with just the three of us. My uncle David sprung for ice cream, which was delicious and really hit the spot since the sun had come out and it was hot again.
We are set to return to the Silverton area tomorrow to hike up to Ice Lakes Basin for an overnight trip. Hopefully the nasty rain that blew in tonight will have cleared out by morning.
Yesterday we did our "tune-up" hike to make sure we were all properly acclimated. We hiked from the trailhead, at 9,400 feet, up to Upper Blue Lake, elevation 11,600 feet. The total out and back distance was 7-ish miles. I can honestly say I am proud of myself. I never thought I would be able to do something like this, and here I am. Sore, but alright. I am very much looking forward to my two other hikes this week, and to getting back to Spokane and exploring that area in a whole new way.
The view out my window this morning. I could get used to the kind of scenery I have enjoyed the last few days. We get to our final destination of Ouray, CO today. I can hardly wait.
Not long ago I realized the time had come for me to get a cell phone. Since I am prone to diving in headfirst, I went from no cell phone to Droid in one shot. I have spent the last six weeks exploring all the things you can do with it, and it is a lot.
One of the reasons I don't blog much anymore is that I hated being chained to my computer. Now I am not limited in that way, and we'll see if I post more often. I'm excited about being able to share things as they come up, instead of trying to remember to do it later. Time will tell I guess.
Oh, I took the picture while running not long ago. Pretty cool, I thought.
