Isolation peak.

Yesterday I got up early and drove up to the wild basin rmnp trail head. My goal was to climb my first 13er, Isolation peak, which is 13118 feet in elevation. Since I was planning on the hike taking me 12 or more hours, I knew I would have to get started early, so I wouldn't be coming down in darkness. I did take my headlamp along just in case though.
I got to the trail head and set out at 747 am. I had reached Bluebird lake which I hiked to last week in 2 hrs 45 min. The trail up isn't too bad. The hardest part comes once you reach the turn off for Ouzel lake. Lots of steep trail from that point out, and it feels like you have done the two or some miles at least twice when you arrive at the lake.
There was a brisk wind coming off the lake, so I walked around till I found a little bit of a sheltered spot so I could pump some water. I recently bought a water filter pump so I can refill from any source. It has come in handy since I like to drink a lot while I am exercising and I won't get giardia or something else.
Refilled, I set out for Lark pond. This is one of the feeders of Bluebird lake. This is where the hiking can get more difficult, as you are now above 11000 feet and there is no maintained trail. Supposedly there is a route marked by cairns, but I have yet to find it, though I do see the cairns sporadically.
I reached Lark pond and took a turn to the north, to climb up into the saddle between Isolation and Mahana peaks to Isolation lake. This lake is at just under 12000 feet in elevation, and was already showing some ice on it's surface. I was a bit confused by the conflicting descriptions/topo map in the guide book I had, so I ended up going directly at the 1100 foot pile of talus in front of me to get to the top. It was loose and a little sketchy in places, and I was on all fours for most of the climb up just to make sure I had a solid grip on something with a foot or hand. However, it was not technical climbing.
Here is where I could really start to feel the altitude. I had to take short but pretty frequent rests and a few longer ones here and there. But I finally got to the top after about an hour! Though when heading up it is hard to tell exactly where you are aiming for and I had to traverse the ridge a bit as I ended up maybe a quarter mile north of the peak.
I got to the top and what a view. Isolation peak lies right on the continential divide. All water that falls or originates to the east eventually ends up in the atlantic ocean, and all water on the west ends in the pacific. There are great views of Longs peak, mt Meeker, mt Alice, mt Copeland, Ouzel peak and more. Literally mountains all around you, and in any direction you can see no signs of civilization whatsoever.
Ironically I was able to get three bars on my phone and talked briefly to my sister and katie to let them both know I was doing ok. I hung out at the top for a little, ate some food, and drank some water, then started back down. This time I just went directly down the talus in front of me to Isolation lake. I decided that it couldn't be any harder than the way I came up and it was more direct. It took me about an hour of butt dragging and crab walking to get back down. I stopped and pumped water at Isolation lake. That cold alpine water sure tastes good.
I was able to get back to Bluebird lake in a reasonable amount of time, and heading downhill definitely feels better than going up at that altitude. No heavy breathing or anything. But again it does take some time to climb down over (loose at times) talus.
When I was just a bit past Bluebird lake, I was able to start smelling the smoke from the forest fire. I guess the wind patterns were blowing it north and west to fill up the whole valley I was in. I could not see the bottom. The whole way down the smoke was constant.
I ran out of water shortly before Ouzel falls, and stopped there to fill up one last time. It is funny that taking the trail down it feels like you are going forever before you finally reach the trail head again. But I did eventually, getting back to the car around 630 pm, making my 17ish mile, 5000ish foot gain hike about 10 hours and 45 minutes long. Not too bad.
I saw three people the whole day. Talk about isolation.

updayte.

I have been working on a self given writing project recently. Everything seems to be flowing pretty naturally, the only problems i have been having are really outside interferences, mainly work. I wanted to get home tonight and write for two hours, but of course by the time i got settled it was already nearing 1 am and now i am feeling way too tired to really get much done.
but so far, this is the longest thing i have ever written, now on my 21st page of single spaced 12 pt typeface and i feel as though i am still introducing the story in some way. so much of it is autobiographical it is very easy to write. i have been aiming for 2000 words a day and generally falling short; 1500 seems like a more reasonable total but today i doubt i even hit 1000. right now i am at 11600 words.
I keep thinking lately about ideas and dreams and what separates those who act on them and succeed vs those who don't. i think after my cancer experience, my long term dreams became short term dreams- mostly seeing tomorrow and being contented with it. i am for the most part and that seems to be a source of frustration for katie who just doesn't understand.
a lot of people have good ideas but don't act on them. even bad ideas with good marketing bring success. but the important thing is trying.
an example that has been on my mind alot lately after watching curb your enthusiasm is larry david. he and seinfeld went to nbc and pitched an idea for a tv show about nothing (later mirrored in the show). of course nbc could have thought they were nuts, but someone took a chance on the show and the rest is history. we are left with one of the most beloved and revolutionary tv shows of all time that permeated the consciousness of america. i doubt a day goes by when i don't see a reference to seinfeld somewhere.
anyway, just some thoughts.
coming up this week is the sixth anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. i am marking the occasion with a planned hike and summit of my first 13er with a friend from work. next week is my 30th birthday. i am either dreading or looking forward to it, but it is hard to say which.

A month.

With my sisters departure today, a month of family visits has come and gone. I had a great time with all of you!! Some of my favorite things were seeing Mt. Evans with mom and dad, Estes Park with Mary and Dean, and adventures in RMNP with Jane and also Vanessa.
I like when family comes to visit because I get to do some of the touristy things that I might not normally do.
Anyway, I think all of our visitors had a good time, with Mary telling Katie that it was the best vacation she ever took, and Jane calling it a life changing experience. It was also changing for me as I think it has solidified some thoughts kicking around in my mind and I also discovered that I really enjoy hiking, an activity I thought was pointless before.
In fact I have planned a hike this week to go to Bluebird lake, which is another mile and a half beyond the lake that Jane and I hiked to. I am going to buy a water filter so I can refill up there from a stream and it should be alot of fun!

RIP Liberty.

It breaks my heart to write this, but one of my friends who had cancer passed away this week. Her name is Liberty Rebekah Dagenais. She was 29 years old.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer a bit before my own diagnosis (she was already in and done treatment by the time I started mine), and with both of us being younger people, we often talked about the things we were going through. Unfortunately, she never got better.
Her life ended with terminal cancer in her brain, liver, and bones. She lost the use of her legs due to it. I can't imagine the strength of a person to still want to get up every day and not be able to walk, let alone be in what I am sure was tremendous pain. She knew she was going to die, but still went around with a smile.
In short, it was one amazing person that the world lost this week. We will miss you Libby.

A nice day.

The weather here has been all Colorado lately. Hot all day long, with scattered strong storms every evening as the cool air comes down off the mountains.
Yesterday was nice for me. It was around 100 degrees, so I decided to skip the gym which is still very hot despite the AC and go for a ride on my motorcycle. Fortunately the weather cooperated and I was able to make my commute to work about 3 times as long.
I rode to Lyons and took rt 7 from there. I recently started reading Twist of the Wrist 2 by Keith Code as some continuing education for motorcycling, something that I think is important in general and specifically since I am soon to get a more powerful bike. Alot of the book contradicts what they taught us in the msf basic riders class, but it all makes sense!
Yesterday was really the first day I was able to practice some of his ideas and suggestions and I feel as though I am a much better rider already, though I have yet to finish the book. Normally I would spend my time going up switching between fourth and fifth gear, but yesterday I was able to ride it all in fifth until I caught up to some traffic. I feel more confident and better in turns. Unfortunately I did find myself wishing I had the power of my new bike to be able to pass the traffic I caught, but soon enough.
From there I took 72 south to Nederland, and then 119 down Boulder Canyon to Boulder. I caught up to some Harley riders and found their cornering horrible. I would start in a turn maybe 50 feet behind the guy and end up right on his ass. It was kind of scary to see him braking in a turn, which is a big nono as it can cause skidding.
One of Mr. Codes theories is that alot of accidents are caused by rider fear- am I going too fast, is the bike tracking correctly, sliding, etc. A common reaction is to then tense up which can turn fear into actual problems and crashes. His advice is to relax and allow the bike to do what it is designed to do.
There was only once that I felt I might have been going too fast and freaked out a little- felt my heart race briefly, tensed up, tightened up on the grips. I had to tell myself to relax and put into practice the lessons that I read. And it worked of course.
It was a nice ride. Up in the mountains the temps were in the 70's rather than 100's. The only bad part is that I got stuck behind someone the whole way down Boulder Canyon. It is hard to pass because the road is so twisty, I don't have the power to accelerate that rapidly, and he kept braking though every turn, contrary to what you want to do on a motorcycle. So I would have to keep my distance before entering a turn.
A nice day in Colorado!

Time.

Time goes by so quickly. It seems like May just started and now it is gone. I keep meaning to write but I guess I don't really have all that much to say anyway.
May was strange weather wise. We were still pretty cold and getting snow and winter storm watches mid way through the month. Then the heat turned on and it has been pretty warm since. That is good for riding my motorcycle but bad for pretty much anything else.
This winter was strange. I have heard several people say it was the worst in recent memory. I think we ended up with somewhere around 140 inches of snow. The thing that was really bad was the cold. Last winter we also got a fair amount of pretty warm days, but not this year. It was March until the snow in our yard that had fallen since December fully melted. This really put a damper on outdoor activities.
I still have really yet to ride my bike this year. The idea of mountain biking sounds fun but it will be hot and I know it is going to hurt. I don't really feel motivated to ride at all. As far as climbing that is totally different.
I want to climb all the time! I guess this also accounts for my lack of riding motivation. I have been doing some exercises at the gym and I am feeling alot stronger after only a month or so. I feel like I am climbing harder and better. The Spot just got a new wall put in which is pretty cool and was definitely needed. I have been climbing 4-5 days a week, and doing weights on two of those days.
We have been outside a few times, with a trip to Boulder canyon last week and to Estes park/RMNP this week. Boulder canyon was ok. Estes park was kind of not fun. Every problem we tried felt super hard and that is saying something with how strong I have been feeling lately. So we basically hiked for 4 hours with heavy crash pads on our backs. Oh well. It is still fun to be out in the 'wilderness'. It is nice to take a rest and hear nothing besides the wind through the trees and maybe a bird or two.
I always find myself imagining what it must've been like 100 years ago or more when we are up there. Imagine the views without roads or houses or power lines. Must've looked pretty amazing because it is still beautiful now.
I took Gunner to the park twice today. I had nothing to do and he loves it and it also tires him out pretty good. I also feel like I have wasted a day off kind of. I sat inside most of the day and played video games. It's my choice to do so, though I now kind of feel bad for making that choice. It is a different story when I am brewing and essentially need to be around all day to monitor that.
Oh well... a tough cry to rally around...

Catching up.

Sorry I haven't written in a month. Katie kept saying that she was going to update and I kept waiting for her to do so, but she never did! So here I am.
Work has been going ok. April was busy here and there. This weekend should be crazy with both CU's graduation and mothers day happening at the same time. I am preparing myself mentally to be busy!
The weather has been kind of up and down lately. A few nice days here and there, but we have had accumulative snow (in may!) and rain and generally cooler days when compared to what temperatures we should have.
We've been climbing in the gym some, and I have started doing some weights and various exercise to help improve myself. I have been feeling pretty strong for the most part.
Two weeks ago we had a pretty warm day so we decided to get up to RMNP for a climbing day. It was alot of fun! Definitely cooler there than here, so much so that in the shade it was cold, but tshirts sufficed when in the sun. I really love it up there. I think it would be awesome to have a cabin somewhere up in the woods. Though I guess that is a pipe dream as we don't even own a house.
Anyway, the things that felt just out of reach last time we were there felt pretty easy this time, though I still did not finish the line I have been working on. So I guess that is a good sign that I am getting stronger.
In fact, I climbed in the garage the other day and sent two of my long time projects, both on my first tries of the day. So that is a good sign as well.
Katie's new job seems to be going very well. They are giving her a title and she will be salary, which will be good since she won't have to worry about being laid off or having severely reduced hours in the fall. She will be the service manager at the north shop and inventory control manager for both shops once the second location opens. That is good to hear. She should be getting the official offer from them at some point in the next week, so hopefully they are good to her. She is worth it.
I have given away the last of my malt extract beers. Though Katie and my coworkers both seemed to like all of them, I was never really 100% happy (or even 75% happy) with how they turned out. I think I have been getting much better results with all grain recipes. Some of my coworkers have even offered to buy beer from me. I keep responding to that with the obvious legality issues. One of them suggested that I look into getting a liquor license, which I did today, and it looks as though that will be way too expensive for me. Plus I imagine that I would have to undergo some sort of inspection and since my "brewery" is both on non commercial property, and really has no physical set up, I am sure that wouldn't go over well.
However I have been thinking of a possibility where people could donate money to grain purchases and be rewarded for their donation with a share of that or subsequent batches. Sort of a brewing coop in which I would be happy to do all the work since I like to do so. I am still not sure about the legality of this, but at the same time if I am dealing with friends or people I know directly, I don't think there would be much trouble.
We have been getting Gunner out the the dog park at least once a week for the past few weeks. It is great, because he obviously enjoys it and it really tires him out. It's pretty funny because he has little to no interest in the other dogs and people there, unlike most of the other dogs at the park. All he wants to do is play fetch. I am not sure how he got so good at it, but he will bring the ball right back to you every time and drop it at your feet. I remember working with and trying to train Calvin to do so and it never quite worked out. He would bring the ball back, but then run away from you so you would chase him.