Sunday June 28, 2009- Mt. Belford & Mt. Oxford

JetBoil Personal Cooking System

SUNDAY morning after a quick oatmeal breakfast and hot tea, thanks to our borrowed shop JetBoil, we headed up the trail with one stream crossing from the melting couloirs on the Northwest facing slope. The trail switchbacks steeply up the Northwest ridge of Mt. Belford, as you can see drawn in below, where it was rather windy and cool until finally reaching the warmth of the morning sun.

This picture is from the previous evening as the sun was setting. It consists of short switchbacks, but really clear-cut and well-maintained. Props to the trail crews!

Here's some carefully positioned steps on the Mt. Belford Trail...very posh.

The last hike to the top, easy snow crossing, you can see the summit of Mt. Belford at the top of the picture-knob like. Toby tried to roll around in the snow like he usually does, but it was too hard still as it was only about 8:20 am.

Brian signing us in at the summit of Mt. Belford at 14,197'. We were on the summit long enough for Brian to sign us in and snap a quick photo. It was 1.2 miles across the southeast ridge over to Mt. Oxford with almost a 700' drop/rise in elevation mid-saddle, so we needed to keep houghing it.

After hiking down the South side summit of Mt. Belford this was our view toward Mt. Oxford and the ridge we'd have to hike to get there. There was only one group of three guys ahead of us and a few small groups or individuals behind us.

Brian pausing to wait for Tobers and I as we scrambled down the rocky ridge on the first half of the saddle.

Mt. Oxford Geological Survey Marker- 14,153'

Toby and I walked across the summit to what looked like a higher point on Mt. Oxford, at least Brian thought, but it was not. I think he was just trying to keep me busy while we waited for him to finish snacking.

It took us about an hour to hike the ridge and summit Mt. Oxford, and we were hauling pretty fast. We crossed paths with the group ahead of us as they were coming down and they said," you guys must have someplace to be...we've been watching you haul up the mountain!" We kind of laughed and we're thinking already that we should have had an earlier morning start, so we were trying to make up time as to not get caught in a storm.

As we were sitting here on the summit of Mt. Oxford, for only about 10 minutes refueling, signing in, and snapping a few photos...we noticed the clouds beginning to accumulate West of us. So, we booked it back down & up the ridge back to the summit of Mt. Belford and back down the steep switchbacks to the comforts of camp.

It rained after we'd been in camp for about 30 minutes or so, so we took advantage of it and took a nice long nap. We then enjoyed an afternoon of sunbathing, card playing, more naps, and a nice freeze-dried chili mac dinner.

Monday-June 29, 2009- Missouri Mountain

Monday morning after another round of oatmeal and hot tea we set off for Missouri Mountain. Shortly after the trail junction for Mt. Belford Trail and Elkhead Pass Trail we encountered our first stream crossing. The wide rushing body of water was at first intimidating, but we threw on our gaiters and slowly crossed being weary of icy rocks. We were pretty stoked when our feet stayed dry thanks to our waterproof shoes and gaiters...it's nice when your gear actually works properly! We had one more similar sized stream crossing in the next mile, and then a few smaller ones as we neared the base of Missouri Mountain.

There are several snow fields/couloir crossings on the hike up, where we encountered sufficient kick steps, but they were icy and an ice axe would have been nice. Once we reached the saddle and began to ascend the ridge south to the peak, we had to navigate through some technical hard snow patches, where an ice axe would have been useful. Upon reaching the 14,067 foot summit, we had such majestic views full of slightly snow capped peaks, green mountain sides, and several mountain lakes. BEAUTIFUL!!!

Brian and Tobers, as we near the summit. There were only two other guys hiking Missouri that day, and instead of hiking the standard route like we did, they climbed with ice axes up the couloir beneath the summit. They reached the summit about 20-30 min before us and then one snowboarded and the other kick-stepped/glissaded down the same couloir they hiked up. You can see them to the left of Brian...very very tiny people.

Missouri Mountain Geological Survey Marker- 14,067'

The survey marker was on that square rock sitting in front of us, seemed strange, and not very long-lasting..hmm? It was an absolutely bluebird day with few puffy white clouds, so we ended up staying on the summit for about an hour, which is much longer than we normally do but it was hard to resist.

View down from the summit into the Missouri Basin (Northward), you can see Ben kick-stepping down at the very bottom middle above the rocks.

Here's Toby and I crossing one of the hard snow fields along the ridge on our descent. This is where I would have liked to have had an ice axe.

Brian, crossing the upper snowfield heading down the mountain. Thankfully at this time of the day it still wasn't warm enough for us to posthole through the snow! We had a quick hike back our base camp, Brian got water for our lunch while I cleaned up and organized our gear to pack up after lunch. Toby was pretty spent and crashed in the car as soon as we got there, I actually had to lift him out of the car when we got home. That was one tired pup, actually we were all REALLY exhausted, but that didn't stop us from seeing the Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen movie over in Dillon. We are SO GRATEFUL for being able to live here in the mountains and experience such memorable adventures!

June 2009-Hiking Beneath the Buffalo-Buena Vista, CO

We decided to hike to the Buffalo Meadows beneath the Buffalo Peaks Northeast of Buena Vista after hearing so often how beautiful it is. You access this area via the Fourmile Recreation Area off CR 371 and 375, I highly recommend a high-clearance vehicle. This is the view of Mt. Princeton from the Fourmile Trailhead, where we hiked along the Tumble Creek Trail North to the Buffalo Meadows.

The Fourmile Creek paralleling the trail was extremely full and overflowing in several locations. There were several Beaver dams and waterfalls up and down the creek, we never saw the Beavers, but we did see results of their recent escapades.

Buffalo Peaks

Taking a quick break to get re-energized and take a photo op.

It was such a beautiful, mellow hike, with several wildflowers starting to peek out, and greening Aspen trees. A great trail for when the flatlanders visit!

It did however, begin to snow on us shortly after reaching the Buffalo Meadows. This is another reason to always bring rain gear, gaiters would have been nice too! It was still pretty brown and blan in the Meadows, so we've decided to come back later in the summer when more of the wildflowers have bloomed.

Zak's Birthday/ Backyard Evenings!

Brian got all crafty for Zak's Birthday, and those of you who know the Slutalope, know quite well he and old Jack are good buddies...SO, Brian made a Whiskey Cake for his birthday, not only in the made from scratch cake, but also in the frosting! He thoroughly enjoyed getting buzzed from eating his cake, shots aside!

Enjoying our dirt-bag backyard...trying to make it as least white trashy as possible! Rounds of Horse shoes and barbecuing definitely help.

A little air guitar from the Slutalope

Tobers watching all the yard madness...dreaming of plush grass to roll around in.

Turkey Hunting-Spring 2009

So, as some of you know, Brian has been exercising his hunting heritage and completed his Hunter's Safety Course during the Winter in preparation for Elk Hunting in the Fall. Well, he has expanded on this desire for providing food via self-propelled activities to include Turkey Hunting. So, here's Hunter Brian is his get-up...hard to see right! :)

These are the turkey tracks Brian found while scouting, never did have a chance to shoot one though, they were no where to be found. Apparently Turkey hunting here, compared to Hunter, NY where Zak has hunted a lot, is much more challenging.

2009 Memorial Day Weekend-Arches National Park, UT

Over Memorial Day weekend Brian and I spontaneously packed up everything we could possibly need, in a whirlwind manner, including camping gear, road bikes, hiking stuff, Toby food, etc and headed Northwest on HWY 24 toward I-70. It was a STORMY week, so we just had to get out of the house and see what came across our path. We drove back roads through Avon, Beaver Creek, Edwards, and Eagle and then jumped on I-70 and headed west. Upon driving through Glenwood Canyon toward Glenwood Springs we pulled off at a rest area for Hanging Lake Trailhead because while driving we noticed a bike path paralleling the river. The clouds had been clearing up a bit just enough for the sun to peek out for about 2 hours, providing us with a perfect window to go for a ride along the high flowing - intimidating river! It was AWESOME!

This view is looking North from the Hanging Lake Trailhead parking lot.

Our fabulous, but low-riding, Volvo fully decked out for a spontaneous adventure-filled weekend! Looking back South toward HWY and river.

After stopping in Glenwood Springs for dinner we headed out West in an awful thunderstorm. Yes, there was some hydro-planning activity, but all was well. We drove until we reached Fruita, CO just past Grand Junction and parked in the Welcome Center/Rest Area to catch a few ZZZs in the back of the car. The three of us fit snuggly in the back on our thermarests and sleeping bags! The next morning up just after sunrise, we decided to head toward MOAB, UT and get some breakfast. It was a rather long wait for breakfast...but we ate at the Eckletica Restaurant, yummy quiches, fresh squeezed OJ, and patio seating! Then we headed to Arches National Park. We ending up buying an annual pass, which covers several of the nearby Parks for only $15 then the entrance fee, since we knew we'd be back!

Arches National Park, UT

Gossip..ladies? something, I'll look it up and edit!

Balancing Rock

Toby spreading the love!

Pine Tree Arch? I think. We hiked out to the Landscape Arch, and several others I'll add, but I'm going to go ride real quick and I'll edit this later... something like a 5 or 6 mile desert hike! Beautfiul...need to pack MORE water, and MORE food though next time!

Pretty Cactus Flower!

Toby enjoying the sunny weather...as soon as we left Arches and headed back to I-70 it started thunderstorming again! We're thankful for having a few windows of sun so we could enjoy our weekend!

MTB Excursion: Lost Canyon Road to Twin Lakes Loop

Brian and I decided to try and find a dry trail we could mountain bike on, and thanks to our friend/co-workers guidebook (Arkansas Valley Mountain Biking-by Mark Wolff) we were able to find a fantastic loop with beautiful scenery. This loop is just West of Granite, you actually turn West onto Lost Canyon Road from HWY 24, right by the convenient store/gas station in Granite. Then you drive until you see this sign 398-B and park in the triangular cutoff between the two dirt roads.

Then head West up the road, a nice warm-up climb and make sure you stay on the main road to the left.

This will be a beautiful ride in the Fall when the Aspen leaves are changing color!

As you wind around past the campsites and start heading North again keep your eye out for the CDT and CO Trail sign. This is where you turn right to get on the singletrack part of the ride!

There are several fallen trees to watch out for on the trail, so stay alert! You might also startle a turkey or two as you ride by, so don't be alarmed when you hear their flustered flapping wings.

Self-portrait taken about half way through, the East mountains toward Buffalo Peaks is behind me.

Here's Brian catching up after investigating a problem with his chain. The singletrack was fantastic, besides a few fallen trees, it was a very distinct groomed-like trail.

Our view to the Southeast toward Buena Vista and the distant Sangre de Cristos.

There were a few patches of snow along the trail we had to walk through, but overall the trail was really dry and ready for summer hikers and cyclists!

At one clearing in the trees we realized we could see our car way down below.

Below is one of the larger creek crossings, there were about three or four total, but for this one we definitely had to get off the bike to walk across.

We realized we were getting closer to Twin Lakes as we pedaled up a ridge and came upon this view and studied how the trail sketchily wound back down the North side of the ridge.

We could just start to see the lake through the dense trees, but had to focus on the steepening trail and watch for our abrupt right turn ahead.

Brian, waited for me to take a picture of this turn, so I could include it in my trip report for my work blog-The Trailhead Register. He's a patient and photogenic spouse!

A view of the new trail heading Eastbound beginning to loop back along the South end of the lake. There was a cool breeze wafting from the lake which made it a bit cool riding beneath the shady pines.

Looking West toward Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive we watched the storm rolling in toward Leadville.

The Columbines were blooming with several different shades of lavender! Pretty cool to see them this early in the year!

A not-so-fantastic panorama stitch job of the lake. But you get the idea.

The trailhead we rode out at the end of the lake and then proceeded along county dirt roads back to the car at 398-B. We highly recommend this trail to intermediate riders! Can't wait to hike it next year when we hike the CO Trail!

Oh, and this is a random picture from March I felt like throwing in of when Jenni and I got our hair done during one of our Girl's Weekends! Cheese!