Christmas in Hudson

Well, this has been several weeks, but I thought I would add this anyways. I have added the few photos that I took when I was back in Ohio for Christmas to http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/tags/christmas for all to enjoy.

Aside from 5 days being way too short and it being terrific to see friends and family again, one thing of note I wanted to write down was my flight back to Cincinnati, which ultimately let Tacoma and I back to Boulder. It was a surprisingly clear day for Cleveland (especially Cleveland in December), and I had a window seat. I don't know what is was that caused this, but I seriously felt like I had a first class view through the foggy ruins of my past. Maybe I was already missing the friends and family I had just visited, or maybe just my usual sentimental and nostalgic self. Regardless, first off, as we took off I could see downtown Cleveland, including Jacob's Field (I refuse to call it Progressive Field... that's ridiculous) and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was a green and snow-less view through the Cuyahoga Valley except the Boston Mills & Brandywine ski resorts, which actually looked open despite what could only be miserable conditions. The plane followed I-71 south, and it was fun to see the farms and rolling central Ohio hills from above. I always enjoyed this drive to and from Miami, and it was just as fun this time. Speaking of Miami, as we approached, Cincinnati, I began to recognize that we were following directly above 128 and 275. I can only guess that we flew over Dayton and headed directly south, but familiar sights such as Mount Rumpke and King's Island came into view exactly as my mind expected. As we landed and then took off again from CVG, the smokestacks on the Ohio River were memorable. The Florence Y'all water tower was also there for the viewing as we followed 71/75 to its split. Ironically, just after the 71/75 split, they sky clouded up right where my memory of the area would have been cloudy or blank. I continued to think about the past for at least 2 hours on the plane to Denver, and wondered if for me the grass always seems greener looking at the place I just came from... maybe I just have selective amnesia. As we approached DIA I got giddy to be back in Colorado, and know it's just a matter of time before I feel that way about here. It's true that it doesn't feel quite like home yet (still making friends, getting used to new surroundings, and getting adjusted with work, finding a dentist, etc) but I can't wait until it fully does. I think my nostalgia has something to do with how fondly I recall time spent with family and feeling home as far back as I can remember anything. When I don't feel like I'm home I miss it quite a bit. I've also realized that home is really a mix of location and people ("home is where the heart is" is just too goofy so I refuse to use that). I never really understood why people think highly of certain places but feel like I could do the same in just about anywhere (notice I didn't say everywhere) with the right people. I'm not suggesting in the least that I want to leave Boulder, but I guess the familiarity of place can help make it feel like much more than it seems to an outsider.

And speaking of looking back over my shoulder... 2007 is a wrap! I think its good to look back (in case you hadn't noticed from the past 5 minutes of reading), as long as it's not too often, so I'll do that now in order to assess and digest the events of 2007. If there's one thing 2007 showed me, it's that you really cannot predict the future, but nevertheless, I have some thoughts and some goals that I want to be able to look back on in 2008 and assess my progress towards.

1. God is good, and answers prayers... maybe when you least expect them too. I probably would never have believed you if you told me 12 months ago that I'd be living in Boulder, a teenage dream of mine. Speaking of, though, I need to dig into the Old Testament more this year since I've never read it in its entirety.
   
2. I've attended the info session about the CU MBA program, and am still unsure of where that stands. I'll keep you posted. I guess the next step would be the GMAT.
   
3. I can't believe the opportunities I've been given to ride my bike, climb/hike mountains, ski, snowshoe, bouldering, whitewater raft, hike, fish, etc. and want the hits to keep coming in this department. I think the Basic Snow class I'm taking in May will help me get comfortable enough to take on Skywalker Couloir in June '09. Here I come, snow climbing :) The class will be a reason for buying an ice axe but more importantly a stepping stone towards Mt. Rainier (2009?) and eventually Denali (before I'm 30)!!* I also want to continue to progress as a skier since I have become quite the downhill junkie, be it on two wheels or two skis. Hopefully I'll get some outdoor climbing in this summer and wake my climbing harness from hibernation. As far as 14ers go, here is a tentative list of 14ers I hope to summit.
1. Elbert (snow)
2. Massive &
   
3. Holy Cross (3 day weekend?)
4. Evans
5. Snowmass (probably long weekend)
6. LaPlata sw ridge &
   
7. Missouri (3 day weekend?)

I'll need a few more to get to 15 total from 6 at present, but I don't really care which :)

4. I am going to be the Best Man in my brother's wedding. That will surely be a wonderful time, and I'm looking forward to May. He'll be graduating college and getting married in the same month, so it'll be quite the year for him too.
5. Continuing to make a grow friendships to help Boulder feel like home will be very important this year.
   

So little time, so much to do... time to be looking forward I guess. Welcome 2008; be good to me.

* other multi-year goals:

1. summiting Grand Teton
2. more than a weekend in the Moab area, including riding hut to hut from Telluride
3. Hiking the John Muir Trail all the way from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney (meanwhile getting another state highpoint and the lower 48 highpoint) in one outing
   

ski lesson

I'm not a very good skier, but I'm working on it. This weekend I took a lesson ("Perfecting Parallel") at Winter Park. In addition to the parallel info, I also learned a critical foundation that I was missing. That foundation is the concept of using your skeleton instead of your leg muscles. Hopefully the use of stick figures will help elaborate.

Bad form:
As you can see above, the old me stood with my calf pressed against the boot, heel/ankle at a right angle, perpendicular to the slope or even worse depending on the steepness [1]. My thighs were doing the work of keeping me in an aggressive position yet still upright [2] and I was sticking my butt out [3] as my instructor said. My line of vision [4] was essentially parallel to the slope, which is correct. The worst thing about this is my center of mass was more towards my heel than toes... leaving the tips of the skis to take on a mind of their own.

Good form:
As you can see above, the new me stands with my shin pressed against the boot, heel/ankle at a sharp angle [1]. My calves and skeleton are doing the work of keeping me in an aggressive position yet still upright [2] and I am not sticking my butt out [3], rather upright instead. My line of vision [4] is the same (essentially parallel to the slope, which is correct). The best thing about this is my center of mass is more towards my toes than heel... giving me control over the tips of the skis.

This is the opposite of riding a mountain bike downhill, where you tend to sit back in the saddle as steepness increases, but feels much better on skis. My first ski trip this year wore out my thighs, but felt great after this Saturday. Maybe this will help out somebody else too... I know if I come home with sore thighs again I just need to re-familiarize myself with these million dollar drawings.

I got Visual Studio 2008 for free... sort of

It's now official. The mirror mirror on the wall (err... in my head, that is) has spoken, and decreed Microsoft's marketing team to be the most craptastic of all. Maybe the Borg has eaten its own brain. Maybe they've all taken up Ballmer's meth habit. [Exhibit A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc, or maybe try the remix.] Either way, last night I went to the VS2008 "InstallFest" thinking that I would get media to "install" VS2008 Professional. That turned out to be a logical but poor assumption. Instead, I got a t-shirt (if I had a garden it would make a terrific weeding jersey) and a "trial edition" CD with a "special code" to go to www.vs2008offer.com and order my free copy... which apparently won't arrive for 6-8 weeks! Are you guys hand-writing each address and licking the stamps? Let's just think about this. They're that ridiculous (... but as long as the stock price goes up and Windows remains ubiquitous, who cares, right?). For me, one magical day around Valentine's Day, my copy will arrive. Wow! By that time I might have completely forgotten VS2008 was even on its way. Not only that, but I drove 45 minutes to collect a CD of bits that ANYONE CAN DOWNLOAD at http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7771657. 45 minutes each way for a t-shirt and a "special code" to boot. This is tantamount to Oscar Meyer announcing a dinner party where they'll unveil new hot dogs which they've already made available in samples at grocery stores... and then surprising all who showed up with those same bite-size samples and a "free 20 pack" coupon not to be used before February. In fairness, I haven't installed the trial edition yet, but I can imagine it's basically a beta (not the finished product, and probably buggy). Sweet! I was shocked that VS2008 was announced for release in 2007 instead of July 08, and give MSFT credit for not pulling another Vista (only 2 years late and with most of the good features dropped!) but isn't the "trial edition" bunk (that everyone knows is basically a way to find bugs before releasing the actual product) a little anti-climactic? And who came up with the SEO domain name idea? What's with

• visualstudio2008.defyallchallenges.com
• www.vs2008offer.com
• I especially enjoy http://vsdemo.defyallchallenges.com/thisisnotdefault.aspx. Maybe the whole "name a default page 'thisisnotdefault'" joke is lost on me, but that's funny like a midlife crisis and frankly looks pathetic.
  

Do you not still own www.microsoft.com? This leaves me no choice but to, with total sincerity, write the next few lines to the board of the Borg, from a real live stockholder of MSFT:

Dear Borg,
I understand that you want to make it seem like you have righted the ship by releasing a product ahead of schedule rather than behind schedule. The press releases might make it sound like you have redeemed yourselves, and that's very nice, but if I were you I wouldn't try to pull your face out of the mud by doing something just as mud-worthy. It seems to me that you have made yourself look silly by throwing a party for a demo. Forgive me for being naive, but next time I see a "look how great this will be... soon" marketing pitch coming, I think I'll just stay home and pay for the damn thing when it's ready to go to market. I really like c# and the .Net framework as a whole, but this is exactly why Apple is kicking your ass right now. Alienating those who encourage the sales of Windows is only going to make things worse. Please don't repeat this behavior.
-Brett

I really do think .Net is a better platform than Java, and Sun is to blame for that (well, let's give Microsoft credit here too), but seriously, everybody who wears a suit to work in One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA is a moron.

REI supporting Vital Ground

Buying something from REI online? Now you can do that and help protect grizzly habitat by going to REI.com from Vital Ground's link... no extra cost! Go to http://www.vitalground.org/main.php and look for...

Shop REI through this special link or logo and 7% of your purchase total will be donated to Vital Ground!

High Five REI!

where are the leaders of my generation?

26

By the time Ben Franklin was my age he had written all his Silence Dogood letters, moved to Philadelphia, been to London and back, and started The Pennsylvania Gazette. By the time Alexander Graham Bell was my age he was well on his way to inventing the telephone, which he patented at the age of 29. By the time Elvis was my age, he was a Hollywood superstar, was 5 years beyond the Ed Sullivan show, and singlehandedly invented rock 'n' roll as far as the general public knew. By the time Bob Dylan was my age he had released a handful of albums that are still widely regarded as some of the most influential in 50 years. By the time John Lennon was my age the Beatles had released everything prior to Sgt. Pepper's, thereby permanently changing the course of musical history and redefining celebrity. By the time Bill Gates was my age he had dropped out of Harvard, Microsoft was 5 years old, and MS-DOS was well on it's way with IBM as a customer. By the time Michael Jackson was my age, he had already abandoned the Jackson 5 and released Thriller (the greatest selling album of all time) which laid out the template for almost all pop music released in a decade.

I wonder what positive influence my generation (Generation Y; the generation of entitlement, MTV and Internet) has had on the world around it so far. What ideas, inventions, art or music, etc have we as a group contributed to move humanity a step forward? Are we as a group so entitled to everything that we ultimately contribute nothing? And what about myself specifically? Maybe I'm a few years impatient. I guess the one person that comes to mind is Mark Zuckerberg (23 yrs), creator of facebook.com. Other than him, I'm having a hard time beyond David Heinemeier Hansson (28 yrs), creator of the Rails framework. The jury is of still out on the magnitude of Rails' importance, but its adoption has proven a great deal of merit so far... it sure as hell pales in comparison to Revolver, the telephone or MS-DOS though. I know there is genius in my generation, so where is it? Are we to be represented by Brittany Spears? God help us.

A call to follow in Mowgli's footsteps

“There is more in the Jungle now than Jungle Law, Baloo.” The old bear said nothing, but he thought many things.^[1]

Check out the statistics presented by Chuck Schwartz in a Jackson Hole Star Tribune article about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear population from this year. [This story is also available here with comments.]

• 25 "known and probable" grizzly deaths have occurred in the GYE this year against a population of ~571. If that mortality rate were applied to the USA, 12 million people would die. That's most of the NYC metro area (more than the New York City, White Plains NY and Wayne, NJ combined).
  
• 94% of those deaths were caused by humans.
• Of the female deaths older than 2 yrs, (i.e. sexually mature or within a few years of sexual maturity) 44% were caused by hunting "incidents" so they probably were defending either a food source or cubs and got shot in defense.

  This seems to be a common theme, as seen in a 10/26 Great Falls Tribune article where a hunter killed a sow with a cub near an elk carcass in self defense. Although obvious, it's worth quoting; "Survival of adult females is particularly critical to the recovery of grizzly bears" says Chris Servheen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (grizzly bear recovery coordinator). Note that when a female with a cub is killed, the cub is often also counted as a mortality due to their almost zero survival rate. Also note that in this NW Montana population, totally separate from the GYE population, 23 grizzlies have been killed this year.

The biggest obstacle to restoring grizzly bear populations is to minimize human/bear interaction. This is stated clear as day at http://www.grizzlybear.org/bearbook/grizzly_or_brown_bear.htm:

Although tigers, wolves, and mountain lions may have the ability to kill brown bears (especially cubs) their only real enemy is man. And men are such effective killers of bears that even though an area may have everything else that brown bears need, if it is easily accessible to people, brown bears will probably not use it. The exception to this is in areas where bears are totally protected such as National Parks.

You can see by the map below, from The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST), that the mother grizzlies of the GYE do not wander beyond federal lands were human activity is limited and habitat/food sources/etc is protected (compared to, the city limits of Jackson, WY, let's say).


It seems from these articles and data, the best way to minimize human/bear encounters is to reduce hunting in grizzly territory. I know that some people would mind this, but I think it comes down to making utilitarian decisions and acting as good stewards of the land. [A heavy dose of Aldo Leopold's land ethic would go a long way in this regard.] Although it's been said that sometimes the bear wins, the bear never really wins because if a bear kills a hunter it is usually trapped and killed too.

We are at a time right now when we have the opportunity to fix something that was broken. We came into the west and we fragmented the habitat through roads and human development and various other things. We have the tools, we have the partnerships in place, and we have the knowledge to fix this.^[2]

Reducing roads in National Forests would also be a way to limit human reach in wild areas. I also wouldn't be opposed to this alternative, even though it would make it harder for me to access wild areas I'd like to enjoy. That's a price I'd pay if it meant grizzlies would be able to search wider for food in lean years and wander further for mates to increase genetic diversity and co-mingle disparate populations.

In a bit of good news (have to end on a good note, right?) grizzlies have recently been discovered in an area where they had previously been considered extinct for 60 years and rumored to be seen in the last decade. [I'm currently reading Rick Bass' THE LOST GRIZZLIES, A Search for Survivors in the Wilderness of Colorado and it seems it will be a while before that population is confirmed.] Last month, as reported in the Missoulian, a hunter (surprised?) killed "a large grizzly bear in a roadless area of north-central Idaho." Note the word roadless in that quote, and the fact that evidence often comes in the form of a dead body. This kind of news re-emphasizes the need for efforts such as Vital Ground and Yukon to Yellowstone to piece together connected roadless (read: lacking humans) areas where grizzly populations can safely thrive undisturbed. It would be nice if one day there was a San Juans to Yukon initiative, and the rumors of San Juan grizzly populations become true... I can hope, right?

In my opinion the only way to get grizzlies back in the San Juans and other previous home ranges is to "let in the jungle" just like Mowgli by removing hunters and roads. Some people may call this irrational or extreme, but I think we can give back a bit. I say rape and pillage Manhattan forever -- no bear will ever live there again -- but give back what could be used again by the original inhabitant when we don't necessarily need it. Colorado is working to reestablish a lynx population in the San Juans, and may attempt wolf reintroduction. I don't know if anyone would attempt to reintroduce Grizzlies, so I think their best shot is to let them wander in on their own.

--
[1] Letting in the Jungle (click title to read) from The Second Jungle Book, first published 1895, by Rudyard Kipling. This story is highly worth the read, and definitely NOT in the Disney cartoon movie due to the violence against man handed down by the animals. It's probably my favorite in the entire Jungle Book collection though.

[2] Chris Servheen, quoted at http://www.focuswest.org/predators/intro_preds.cfm

divine intervention?

This could also be called, "looking back from point B to see how I got here from point A" but whatever. Anyways, some people wonder if there is a God. Some believe in a God and wonder if God has any effect or guides us with or without our knowing. I'd like to reflect a bit on the past and consider whether the following is divine intervention or simply a long chain of cause/effect... this goes back as far as 10 years, but focuses mainly on the major life changes in the past few years. I'll try to keep this brief, but include the pertinent (read: "can this really all be the result of chance?") details. The only other thing I'll say is that I couldn't make that up if I tried, and all the people mentioned below will vouch for its accuracy.

1. While in high school my father accepts an internal promotion at his job which leads to my family moving from Kentucky to Ohio... or rather, back to Ohio after 7 years away from the Heart of it All. I move away from friends and/or bad influences, and regain an interest in doing well in school.
   
2. When it comes time to visit colleges, I am led to consider Miami University in Oxford, OH because of the number of other students from my high school that go to Miami. I am nearly 100% certain Miami would not have been on my list if we had not moved to Ohio. [The out of state tuition alone might have been enough to bump it off the list. The out of state tuition eliminated CU in Boulder.] Literally within 30 minutes of arriving in Oxford for the first time, after having visited several other schools (including CU and CSU in Colorado), I recognize Oxford as my new home. I don't even apply to CU or CSU but know well that Colorado is a place I want to live "some time down the road" in my life.
   
3. While at Miami, I meet someone who becomes my girlfriend, which lasts for about 5 years. We continue to date after Miami. She applies to several graduate schools and ultimately decides on UT in Austin. Prior to moving to Austin, I knew nothing about Austin, had never been there, and had no desire to ever live in Texas. Austin turned out to be one of the best things that's ever happened to me.
4. While job hunting for Austin, I contact an Austin professional user group message board and the email is directed to Christoph. Christoph doesn't work for the company I ultimately end up working for, but contracts there. With his suggestions, I find a job in Austin and move there. While at my job in Austin, Christoph is a great influence who helps my career growth. I discover it is the same Christoph from the professional user group. While at one of the user group meetings I meet Scott, who knows some folks in Boulder. Christoph later moves to Dallas to work for Microsoft.
   
5. While in Austin at U. Texas, my girlfriend interviews with several oil companies in the fall of her first year of grad school. After disappointment and lack of interest she decides not to even sign up or attend interviews with oil companies the next fall for full time employment.
6. In the spring of my first year in Austin my sister visits from Washington DC during her spring break. She enjoys the visit so much that she decides to move to Austin. A strange series of events at her school force her job to be cut in DC... this helps make the decision. Her profession is in high demand in Austin and she finds a job easily. She is still in Austin and has no plans to leave. [Coincidentally, during that same first visit, the NCAA March Madness tournament takes place, and the UK Wildcats are in the Austin bracket. UK wins their first 2 games and head to Austin. She and I get to attend the games. We watch UK win a game and Duke lose in person... both are lifelong dreams. I can say without a doubt she and I would not have been at the games if I didn't live in Austin and she didn't have spring break on that specific week.]
7. During what becomes my final summer in Austin, my employer decides to change software platforms and sends me to training. The only available training, given time constraints, is a week-long event in Denver. The trip reminds me of what I had either forgotten or suppressed regarding my desire to live in Colorado.
   
8. The following fall out of seemingly nowhere my girlfriend gets an email from the Dean's assistant asking why she hasn't signed up for an interview with [oil company A] because they are very interested in speaking with her and disappointed she hasn't agreed to meet them. Somewhat begrudgingly, she signs up for an interview. The interview goes well and [oil company A] invites her to Houston. She sees something she likes in them, and is offered a position. It turns out to be a good match, and so she moves to Houston. If it were up to her, based on the previous fall, I find it almost impossible to believe she'd be working where she is now.
   
9. Her moving to Houston is a next step leading to our separation. I find myself in Austin thinking about Boulder. Maybe my ex-girlfriend had done all she was supposed to in my life at that time, and I had done all I was supposed to in Austin for the time being. Regardless, I begin a job search that leads me to make a choice between a job in Boulder and one in south Denver. Even though I feel the position in south Denver would have been a better fit, I am hesitant, feel a draw to Boulder, and accept the position in Boulder. During my visit to Colorado for interviews, a friend from Miami who had just completed his master's degree from CU helps me shop for an apartment in Boulder. The first apartment we look at is where I now live. Shortly after my visit he moves to Los Angeles. Maybe he had done all he was supposed to do in Colorado for the time being. Even somewhat more coincidental is the fact that during my initial research of companies in Boulder I begin an online application for [company x] but do not complete it. I make a mental note to do so, and revisit the website several times to do so, but for some reason do not. I now work for [company x].
10. Before moving to Boulder, I search via the web for a new church home. After less than an hour, I find a church that seems to fit the bill based on weekly sermons/messages hosted as mp3's online. Once in Boulder, I visit and find that church to be a great place for me to worship, grow, etc.
    
11. The night before my last day of work in Austin I find an abandoned cat when parking at my sister's apartment. All of his belongings are in a bag next to him, and he is in a carrier without food or water. I decide after a while that he has been abandoned, and bring him inside. He was extremely underweight, and I believe would have died if left out alone overnight. I decide to bring him to Boulder with me. My apartment complex is very welcoming of cats, so there is no problem with him joining me. He's been a great companion and hopefully will be for years to come.
12. Before moving to Boulder I find out Ryan, a friend from Miami U, is also considering moving to Colorado. He finds and accepts a job in Denver without ever setting foot in Colorado. We move to our new homes within a week of each other and explore the various activities Colorado offers. It's been great having someone with similar interests immediately available to discover the area with. We both agree this summer would not have been as enjoyable or productive (ie we wouldn't have been able to do as much simply because things such as climbing 14ers by nature require a hiking buddy) if only one of us had moved here.
    
13. The first job in Boulder simply didn't work out. I had a feeling it wouldn't but took it anyway. It served its purpose by landing me in Boulder. Out of seemingly nowhere, I get an email from a friend of Scott (who I met at the Austin user group). Scott's friend submitted my resume (not knowing that I had already found work in Boulder and lived in Boulder) to a friend who works down the street from her job... it's the same company I began an application for months ago [company x]. I interview with [company x] and am offered a job. I don't know that I would have been offered an interview or a job without having been already living in Boulder.
    

I now work a 5 minute bike ride away from my apartment and attend a solid church nearby. I had to spend almost no effort to find any of the 3 (job, apartment or church). Not only that, but I live in a place I wanted to be right for me for college but eventually discovered it simply wasn't time... patience pays dividends.

Maybe I'm giving too much credit where credit is not due. Maybe I'm superstitious. Maybe I'm reading too much into things I don't understand and can't control. Or maybe there's somebody guiding my steps and giving me the wherewithal to notice and be thankful for that guidance.

ready or not

This morning in Breckenridge:

school spirit

Miami among top public universities: U.S. News & World Report.

Miami University is ranked 27th among the top public universities in the nation, according to the just-released U.S. News & World Report college rankings. In addition, Miami placed 67th in the overall (public and private) national rankings.

I'm happy to hear my tuition was not.... all for not. In all seriousness, I'm glad to see the ol' alma mater still doing well. Soon enough I'll get back to MU, and maybe even find myself enrolled in a Big 12 university here in Boulder just as soon.

ps it's great to have fall again. Austin had a quasi-fall that started around Thanksgiving, but this is the real thing again, and it's been nice to have a few crisp morning to ride into work on. I know I could be cursing the snow in April (overnight lows are already mid-30s in Summit county!), but I have officially re-remembered that Fall is my favorite season...

on giving, purchasing, and snow

Tonight I did two things that I thought I would share here.

1.
I watched 20/20. I normally don't do that, but this particular episode was about charitable giving. They started off pointing out the fact that Salvation Army collected more in front of a Wal-Mart in a small North Dakota town (a more conservative blue-collar town with less money) than in front of Macy's in San Fransisco (a liberal city with a lot of money). Apparently it was a surprise to report that wealthy liberals (aka San Fransisco at large) might, based on their political stance, hope for a better dispersement of wealth but fail to actually step up and help disperse their funds. [Note that this is a gross stereotyping and does not cover 100% of those who might define themselves as either liberal or conservative. Also note that Wal-Mart and Macy's are two different buying environments, and it might have had something to do with the fact that people walking in to Wal-Mart are psychologically "in a different place" than those preparing for Macy's... or something like that. At any rate, it could be cited as not very scientific, but made a point nonetheless. p.s. I was in San Fransisco last August, and there are homeless people there too.] I think this may stem from the fact that a liberal perspective inherently assumes placing the responsibility on the government rather than the citizen. I'm not going to get into liberal vs conservative here (or try not to, since I don't vote based on whether someone's proclaimed mascot is an elephant or jackass, and encourage against voting down party lines when nobody truly subscribes entirely to one party or another...) but this segues nicely into another important point I thought worth re-emphasizing: you cannot count on the government to do anything other than govern. The example cited was New York's Central Park. Apparently there's a non-profit which has raised Central Park from a scar to a highlight of the city. I applaud them and wish others would realize you can't just sit around on your leather couch and hope mighty Uncle Sam will kiss the boo-boo and make it feel better. Organizations protecting wilderness areas that should be Wilderness Areas also highlight this. So do Katrina volunteers. Both hippies and Jesus also prove this point, and I aspire to be like both. [I've thought recently about posting something on here about the similarity between "real" hippies and Jesus but have yet to actually do so... maybe this will force the issue and produce a defense of how I can possibly pray to God in thanks for my organic vegan lunch without some kind of vortex melting my frontal lobe.] I thought this was fairly pertinent since this month's focus at church has been "making an impact" and how to effectively do so. I could share more about that if anybody reading would like to hear more. Enough on this; closing comments -

• Ted Turner is a freaking idiot.
  
• There was one moron billionaire who claimed he "couldn't find enough good charities to invest in... otherwise [he'd] invest more." What hypocrisy! You're an ass. Bill Gates obviously has not had this problem. Hey buddy, give it to me and I'll write a check right now to Vital Ground to buy up what's for sale in Montana for PERMANENT wildlife habitat. (They happen to be holding a matching gift challenge right now, so your money would go twice as far!) ... or Compassion International to sponsor children throughout the Third World. If you don't want to let me spend it for you, why not hold a contest for all your employees. Americans love a good "reality" contest. You could take your favorite employee suggestions and "invest" in those charities as you say. While you're at it, you should also give a reward to the winner. Jerk.
• Apparently there is scientific proof that your brain likes giving more than receiving. I think that's pretty accurate. It feels like Christmas morning every time I get a translated letter in the mail from Ketha in southeast India making me realize what $30 means to him compared to what it means to me.

The only other thing I'd like to point out about giving which was not related to 20/20 is that C.S. Lewis states in Mere Christianity, "I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare."

2.
Secondly (and yes I do appreciate the juxtaposition here...) I bought a new bike this week. I ended up with a 2008 Trek Fuel EX 8. I took it up to the Switzerland Trail for a pre-Vail ride tonight. I'm still getting used to my clipless pedals, which I've never ridden before, but all in all feel ready for the ski lift. Here's hoping I can get myself unclipped if I need to bail prior to smashing my face into a tree tomorrow. Tonight it was just before dusk, and although I didn't get to ride for long, the setting was perfect. Seriously, I don't know what it is, but I feel at home on a bike. That statement goes back to before I went to Woodward (who now have a camp at Copper Mtn) for BMX or rode trails in Hueston Woods at Miami U. I haven't ridden in a while. For some reason I didn't ride much in Austin. That might be because I have yet to get into road riding (will I if I didn't in the kingdom of Lance?). Anyways, it's good to have a full suspension bike now that I'm surrounded by more technical (not to mention containing-black-bears-and-mountain-lions) terrain. Tonight I had to stop to admire the silence, Longs Peak, and the bright pink clouds above a purple Continental Divide backdrop with the moon coming up before the sun is completely down... next time I'll take my camera. Happy times in the Boulder hills! By the way, I'll still ride my oldie-but-goldie Trek to work every day... I don't plan on letting the newbie gather moss though.

Finally, and totally unrelated, last night it snowed in Summit County. In August. Pardon me while I take a minute to enjoy that thought. ... Ok, so what am I going to do tomorrow? Take my new bike up to Vail (a few minutes west of Summit County) and ride down the ski resort mountains before it really snows hard.

Longs Peak

14,255 ft Longs Peak was the 6th and final 14er of the summer for Ryan and I (note I said "summer" and not "year"). Back in May when I first looked at Longs this year I honestly would never have guessed I would summit it in 2007. It's an intimidating giant among giants that you can easily see from DIA (Denver airport), almost anywhere within RMNP, and other 14ers two hours away such as Mt. Bierstadt. It attracts (or creates) most of the bad weather within sight of RMNP, and is the only 14er in the Rockies north of I-70 until you get to Alaska and the Yukon (Mt. Rainier in the Cascades is the only 14er north of Longs in the lower 48). What all that means is I'm pretty happy that I made it up and back on the first try, and am surprised I was able to do so within 4 months of moving to Colorado.

Our adventure began with the alarm going off at 2:15am Saturday morning. After a bit of disbelief, we headed out and made it to the Longs Peak Ranger Station trailhead (9,405 ft) at 4:00 am. There were already at least 75 cars parked when we got there. We hiked the first two hours in the dark with our headlamps. While we were below the treeline the air was extremely warm, and I wouldn't have been surprised if you told me it was 75 degrees. Once above the treeline it was probably below 50 with the windchill. We could see clouds around Mt Lady Washington, and I thought for sure we'd end up turning back due to weather. The sunrise was a beautiful sight. Just after the sun came up we hiked around Mt Lady Washington (13,281') and Storm Peak (13,326'). Despite pulling my quasi-frequent "heave whatever you got" 15 minutes into the hike, I found the first 6 miles of the 7.5 mile journey the easiest/most gradual of all the 14er ascents so far. [I was really pissed at my body for the el-puke-o but have since discovered this is a side effect of Rolaids, which I had taken to help with the Mexican pizza from a few hours earlier, so now I don't feel so lame.] After those first 6 miles, however, fate turned and presented the most challenging mile and a half I have ever climb/hike/crawled. To be specific, the first 3500 ft over 6 miles took us 3 hours and the last 1255 ft over 1.5 mi took us 2.5 hours.

The first obstacle in the Keyhole route is getting across The Boulder field (at 13,000 ft) to the Keyhole. The boulder field looks like this (from above, in the Keyhole itself):
Once across the boulder field and through the Keyhole, you're faced with "the Ledges" then "the Trough" to "the Narrows" and finally "the Homestretch" to the summit. The names are all very appropriate. Here's the Trough from above, for example:
In the above photo you can see Glacier Gorge (a view just shy of the Maroon Bells and Tetons in my opinion) with Mills and Black lakes below. This is he inverted view of the hike Alissa and I made to Mills lake where we saw elk. Here's the backside of the "Colorado quarter" picture, with 13,497 ft Pagoda Mtn, 13,579 Chiefs Head Pk and 13,310 Mt. Alice in view (viewed best by clicking on the image, then All Sizes > Original on flickr):
I thought for sure I was at the summit when I came around the final corner and saw the Homestretch. It looks really technical, but actually isn't that bad as long as you put a bit of thought into hand and feet placement.
We made it to the summit in 5.5 hours, which is apparently average.
We spent 30 minutes on the summit (until 10am), bringing our duration above 13,000 ft to 3 hours before we even started down. The hike up was definitely only half the battle. This came into play for Ryan more than me, but suffice it to say 5 hours above 13,000 feet starts to affect your mental capacity, lung capacity, and just about any other capacity you may have. Examples:

• My breathing got to the point where when I took a deep breath I sounded like an asthmatic whether I breathed through nose or mouth... it was kind of like an empty wheezing, like you can almost hear the air you're breathing in is thin. [update 2009-07-05: apparently this is called Rales, and was just a minor case]
• I kept talking about how we were going to take 150,000 steps over the 15 miles round trip because we were averaging 10,000 steps / mile. Apparently I thought "2 feet per step" for 5,280 ft meant ~10,000 steps / mi instead of ~2500 steps / mi.
  

When we made it back to the Keyhole we could see rain and lightning within reasonable distance. We tried our best to get down as fast as possible, but that still included a couple of extended stops to catch breath and rest sore legs. We made it back to the parking lot at 3:15pm, no more than 5 minutes before a significant downpour. It took us 5:15 to get back to the Jeep, bringing our total to 11:15 including the summit. I was glad to see the hike below the treeline in the day. It's a beautiful mature pine forest with a creek (called Alpine Brook) running along the path for most of it. The camp sight named "Goblin's forest" seemed very fitting, and the screeching elk was also a bit eerie.

I don't take back what I said in May about Huron being hard, but this is now easily the most challenging day I have ever done. Not to be over-dramatic, but whatever used to be #1 on the "most physically and mentally draining day of my life" list is now #2. Two days later my thighs are still sore and my calves are flexed. I felt Pikes Peak in my bones with the jarring descent, but I feel Longs in my totally drained muscles. [I have no desire to ever run a marathon, but imagine I have a bit of an idea of what that feels like after this 15 mile day, and am pretty confident I could walk a full marathon in decent time.] When I got home, I ate a large dinner and fell asleep unintentionally on the couch watching a strange movie about an endurance runner named Forrest Gump. After waking up tired and confused, I cleaned up dinner and proceeded to sleep for another 10 hours before getting up for church on Sunday.

Unlike the other 14ers I've done so far, Longs seemed to be more about the route than the view from the top. It's very strange seeing so much land above treeline - it really doesn't look like other peaks. All in all, I feel lucky for the good weather, am very proud yet humbled, and would like to thank Longs Peak for giving up its prize before the weather finally broke. As usual, the pictures don't do justice, but you can see all photos from this hike at http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157601541063519/.

For some extra information about Longs, visit the RMNP "climbing Longs" page or Roger Wendell's 14ers page, where he adds this bit of color to the conversation:

According to the July 31, 2005 Denver Post (Sunday, front page story by Steve Lipsher) Longs Peak is Colorado's second deadliest 14er (right after Maroon Bells) with 55 documented fatalities since Carrie Welton died of exposure near the Keyhole in 1884. Longs Peak was named after Army Major Stephen Long who made the first recorded American sighting of the peak in the 1820s. Colorado River explorer John Wesley Powell, in 1868, was the first to climb the peak. Over 25,000 people attempt the 15 mile round-trip climb each summer with about 10,000 reaching the summit. Average time for the round-trip ascent is about 12 hours with Chris Reveley having completed it in two hours and four minutes in 1979!

Two 14ers, ski resorts, and Miami alum

On August 4th, Ryan and I left his apartment at 6:15 to pick up Joe (one of Ryan's co-workers) and head to 14,267' ft Torrey's Peak. Torrey's was our 5th 14er of the summer, and is just a half mile north of Grays Peak, which we were already familiar with. We started from the same trailhead we used for Grays Peak, so there were no surprises except the weather. I decided to wear shorts this time since I figured it was August and late enough in the year to at least be 60 degrees on the summit. I was wrong. This was probably the worst weather we have hiked a 14er in so far, which I believe helped keep the crowd to 'tolerable', but I knew I was going to pay for deciding on shorts.

The hike past the Grays/Torreys saddle is probably the steepest finish we've done so far, and the actual summit is extremely small (like Huron was) with some significant exposure not far from it. Despite the constant shivering while we sat and admired the view, it was one of the more rewarding for me. Here is Joe, Ryan and I (right to left) on Torrey's Peak.

Notice the clouds in the background. When this picture was taken it was probably 40 degrees and windy with low visibility. Here are some other examples of looking across or down on the cloud cover:

(Looking towards Grays)
When we got back down to the saddle between Grays and Torreys we decided to go ahead to Grays since it would only add about 30 minutes to our adventure. Ryan and I had already hiked Grays earlier this summer, but it was fun to do both in one day! We didn't even take a picture on Grays since we were still fogged in... but it was at least 10 degrees warmer on Grays with the wind slowing down.

All in all, I started out somewhat poorly, but kept pace with Ryan (he hikes at 11000 ft faster than I walk normally at 6000 ft) about as well as can be expected and feel that I put forth a pretty solid effort. My lungs and heart certainly appreciated the workout.

After we made it down to the Jeep we took Loveland Pass past A-Basin to Keystone for the Bluegrass and Beer festival. I had never been over Loveland Pass or seen either A-Basin or Keystone, so the ride there was fun enough for me. The festival was also really fun (and easily 40 degrees warmer than the summit of Torreys). I think next year we'll try to get a campsight and make a 2 day effort out of the festival! We ate dinner in the Salt Creek restaurant in Breckenridge. Note to ex-Texans: this is without a doubt the closest to Central Texas BBQ you'll get without being within Austin city limits. I will be going back after a long day of skiing! Salt Creek also has a huge wine selection, so it's a perfect date dinner location (assuming you have a significant other... I suppose I need to work on that one).

The next afternoon Ryan and I joined the Colorado chapter of the Miami Alumni Association for lunch to send off Denver area freshman to Oxford, Ohio for the fall. I have to say this made me quite sentimental. I have great memories from Miami and definitely want to get back to see the ol' Alma Mater soon. It was nice to swap stories with others who, even if the experience was quite different, at least recognized the draw of Miami, could talk about locations and had a solid context around Miami conversations. I'm looking forward to the CU vs Miami football game in a few weeks! [I can't believe college football is just around the corner, and I'm drooling right now just thinking about it. I'll have a new Ohio State watching bar to attend, and have season tickets to the CU Buffaloes home games, so this should be an interesting year. I sure don't want to wish away the rest of the summer, but LETS GO BUCKS!!!]

CUBS WIN! fly fishing & Perseid sky show in RMNP

This was quite a weekend (which ones aren't?).

Friday night I caught the Rockies host the Cubs in Coors Field... which almost felt the other way around given the crowd. I had no idea there were so many Chicago transplants in Denver, and would have believed you if you clubbed me over the head and told me I was in Wrigley instead. The home team actually was out-rooted for. To put this into perspective, in the 7th inning stretch, the phrase "Root, root, root for the CUBBIES" ala 3+ sheets-to-the-wind Harry Caray (... we miss you Harry!) was much more clearly heard than either "Root, root, root for the Rockies" or "Root, root, root for the home team" - a feat that I have never observe at any other professional sporting event (but would love to in Ann Arbor one glorious November Saturday... I'm not holding my breath though).

Saturday afternoon was split between bike shopping (more on this later when the good news finally comes in and I pick one...) and fly fishing in Estes Park. We didn't catch anything, but Ryan made a capable and patient guide. We waded in this time, which cooled us off and presented a new approach to me. After fishing we ate at The Wapiti Pub & Restaurant which I will be going back to. The food and atmosphere were great, and the bar has more than 50 beers to choose from. If there is any advice to give, it is simply DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE "Big Daddy Fire Burger!" The jalapeños are fine but those Habaneros aren't messing around. I recommend getting the salsa on the side. A little known secret is that the salsa is actually Dave's Insanity.

After dinner we headed up Trail Ridge Road to get a first class view of the Perseid Meteor Shower. According to a NASA article, this was going to be a great year for viewing. NASA was right. Ryan and I drove to above 12000 ft and then hiked up to 12300 for the show. We stayed there for just over 2 hours (in the windy 47 degrees...) and saw 66 meteors between 9:30 and 11:30. My camera ran out of batteries halfway through my first 15 second exposure, but this should suffice:

Some were faint but others lit up the sky with a huge smoke tail. Perhaps this was the most fitting hour all summer to use the phrase, "Far Out!" which I'm reminded of because it was a John Denver favorite, and the Perseids were John's inspiration to write Rocky Mountain High. [It's the summer of my 26th year, not 27th, but I have no doubt the lasting impression is comparable]

Today brought a poignant church message, lunch with folks I discovered I live close to and attend church with, and finally more bike shopping (I'm currently comparing / choosing between the 2007 Specialized Enduro SL Comp, the 2007 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite, and the 2008 Trek Fuel EX 8). I have to admit it was a bit hard (but necessary) to take in the message of preventing the good things (college football, music, my new mountain bike...) from taking the place of the ultimate things (the eternal things or that which we will take with us after death) as a "selfish-with-my-resources-because-I-don't-have-to-provide-for-anyone-else single 20-something" in a mountain playground. It's good to remember the simple and probably overused or misconstrued "In the world but not of it, and in it to redeem it" phrase. May my Bible be/become/remain my most prized possession, no matter which bike I buy this week.

Alissa's 6 day Coloradaganza

My first visitor always seems to be Alissa in my new home towns (...well, at least she's 2 for 2 with Austin and Boulder, if you can call that "always"). Here's a recap of her visit.

1. Martes 24th Julio - Flew in late and went to bed early. It rained.
   
2. Mittwoch 25th Juli - I went to work for my last day. Afterwards we went to an Italian place in the Pearl Street mall that left a bit to be desired. We did, however, catch some kind of weird Celtic dancing during our meal from some very Boulder Boulderites. I think it was very appropriate she saw them. Dinner was followed up by a smashing Harry Potter film. It rained.
   
3. Jeudi 26th Juillet - Spent the day in Boulder, including a driving tour, lunch on the West End Tavern rooftop, a walk along the Pearl Street mall, a hike in the Flatirons, and a visit to REI. We also met Ryan for a late dinner/happy hour (seriously, the Highlands Ranch C.B Potts does happy hour from 9 - 12!). It rained.
4. Friday 28th July - Vail! Oh, how I love thee Vail. (Too bad condos are $1300 a square foot... unbe-freaking-lievable but not a joke. Here's proof.) My front yard (year-round) if I win the lottery: We got rained on, but she bought a rain jacket and I replaced my lost sunglasses. We had lunch at Vendetta's Italian Restaurant. The strawberry-chicken-currant-raspberry and habanero dressing-etc salad was really great (yet unexpected at an Italian restaurant) but gave me incredible heartburn (did not see that coming even with the habanero in the dressing... thank you Vail Sports for carrying Tums... I didn't see that coming either). I also learned that downhill season (bikes, not skis) in Vail lasts until September 3rd. Here I come before Labor Day! It rained a lot.
5. Zaterdag 29th Juli - Rafting with AVA on Clear Creek outside of Idaho Springs! (Pictures coming soon.) Steve-O from West Virginia was our guide. The creek was running really high and fast from all the rain. Ryan get ejected into the water during Beaver II but took it like a pro. One guy in the boat behind us also got tossed. A girl in a third raft fell out and allegedly shattered her kneecap. (I hope she's ok. The ambulance came fairly quick so I assume she was taken care of pretty well.) We then had lunch at the Tommyknocker Brewery. I almost forgot my brand new sunglasses. (The busboy was nice enough not to take them.) After lunch we went up Mt. Evans. Visibility was about 9 feet, so that was a bit of a buzzkill, but we didn't drive off a cliff so we called it a half-success. It rained.
   
6. Domingo 30th Julio - Went to church then headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park. The clouds were pretty cool as we descended into Estes Park. We hiked up Glacier Gorge to Mills Lake and saw elk enjoying the lake (fresh bear scat too). Here's a view like the Colorado quarter photo with Longs Peak on the left. We camped at Glacier Basin and the view of the Continental Divide was great. Peaks right to left below are Flattop, Hallett, Otis, Taylor, and Storm (tallest because closest but not on divide). It was pretty hard to start the campfire. It rained a bit.
   
7. Montag 31st Juli - Drove up Trail Ridge Road but saw no elk. On our way down we saw a coyote hunting prairie dogs near Sheep Lakes. We also stopped by the Lawn Lake flood alluvial fan. It didn't rain.

All in all it was a great (yet wet) adventure. Who else is up for a visit?

Pikes Peak

On Saturday the 14th Ryan and I completed our 4th 14er. We climbed the ever popular Pikes Peak, which was the most challenging so far. We went up the northwest slope / Crags Campground route, which starts from 10,100 feet and climbs to 14,110 ft over 5.25 miles. The trailhead is extremely easy to climb and follow except for the area around 13,200 ft. The photos in the route description help out there. The trail starts out rather gently and then cranks up the difficulty from the .5 mile to the 2.5 mile mark. You gain most of the 4000 ft in those 2 miles, but past there you find a welcomed flat (valley?) area that lasts for almost 2 miles. I actually jogged parts of that flat stretch (partly to catch up to Ryan but mostly to push my body and see if I could jog at 13,000 ft), which the church leadership group (of ~75 kids!) called the "sound of music" part of the hike. I really enjoyed seeing the orange-red sandstone rocks compared to the other mountains of this summer.

It was fairly cloudy and 38 degrees at the top, so we didn't stay long. It might have also had something to do with the fact that there were cars and people everywhere. [I definitely know I am a solitude snob... but SERIOUSLY, it was a zoo up there.] Note that aside from the church group mentioned above, the trail to the top was relatively quiet, so I would imagine this would be a serene hike on a weekday. Ryan and I both made good time and felt really good (but exhausted) after the 11 miles roundtrip. We actually did so well that we both ended up pawning most of our water and PowerAde on members of the church group struggling to get to the top as we passed them on our way down... which brings me to my next point.

[lecture start]
Leaders of large groups should NEVER assume their group members are capable of knowing what they need to climb a mountain or are acclimated and able to climb a mountain after getting off the plane from St. Louis the day before. No-no's:

• We passed a girl less than a mile into the hike complaining that she felt like crap and couldn't make it much further. Instead of listening to her, her fellow hikers basically told her she was fine and pushed her on. I assume she made it ok, but that doesn't mean she should have continued. She could have easily had altitude sickness and passed out 2 miles from the road.
  
• On our way down we passed kids who were out of water with 1,000 ft of elevation still to gain. I gave away a liter of PowerAde and a lot of water. Ryan gave away at least that. I don't know who thought a 20 oz bottle of water would suffice, but that's just dumb. Look at how many times the word "water" is used at http://www.wikihow.com/Climb-a-14er.
• It was cloudy, and there was no way the stragglers were going to make it to the top by noon. I doubt the whole group was done by 3pm.
  

Kudos to the kids who made it up, but un-kudos to the leaders for not properly assessing the group prior to sending them up the hill.
[lecture end]

But I digress... here is our summit photo -

Now we're halfway (3 of 6) done with the Front Range's 14ers! 49 more to go in all :)

We stopped by Garden of the Gods but decided that would need to devote another day to that park. When we made it back to Denver we cleaned up and headed to the Black Angus to devour beef and potatoes. Afterwards I pondered how many hiking miles my Vasque Sundowner boots have carried me now that they're 10 years young. I think I decided a good bare-minimum estimate is 300 miles (at least 50 miles this summer, 50 miles last summer in the Smokies, 30 miles (approx ?) in the Olympics and Rainier area in Washington, at least 100 miles on various MUOAC trips at Miami, etc). Woohoo! Those boots are the best gear purchase I've made so far, with my Mountain Hardwear Windstopper Jacket coming in a somewhat close second. I have only had 1 blister in all those miles. I guess it's true - Whatever you do, take care of your shoes (Phish Cavern reference anyone?).

my cat climbs mountains too

I have to admit that I have up to this point *hiked* and not *climbed* mountains, it's still more common so say you have climbed a mountain rather than hiked to the summit. Anyways, I'll get to climbing soon enough... perhaps it would also be more accurate then to say that Tacoma *jumps* his mountains since that seems to be his preferred method. Whatever the correct term, here's proof of his desire to get at close to the sun as possible just like me:

He jumps from the stereo (not the stacked speaker) to get on top of the kitchen cabinets. I wish I could jump with no running start and accurately land on a platform four times my height (assuming he is 9 inches tall and the cabinets are 36 inches tall). That would make me able to land on my feet roughly 22 feet above where I jumped standing flat from. Maybe I can find something at Whole Foods to help me get there...

Bear Peak and Bighorn in Guanella Pass [catching up]

On May 19 Ryan and I decided to hike to the highest point in Boulder to help us get acclimated to elevations we were hoping to exceed by climbing some 14ers. The highest point in Boulder is Bear Peak, at 8,461 ft above where the ocean stops and the terra firma starts. It's the tallest point on the left side of the *very* attractive photo below, taken several miles east of Boulder:

We started in the early afternoon from the NCAR parking lot. I wish we would have read this (see Astertiki for full description) before our journey began:

Fern Canyon is a very steep climb and as such is much shorter. The climb is goes up 2100 vertical feet in 1.4 miles. It goes almost straight up Fern Canyon and then straight up the a ridge to get to the peak.

Another account of this hike can be found at http://www.thedenverchannel.com/discovercolorado/13404382/detail.html. Having not read either of the above and simply looking at a map with a slight concern that it was already mid-afternoon, we decided to take the shortest route to the top. I'll cut right to the chase and tell you the middle section of this hike is probably the steepest hiking I've ever done... as in steep steps carved out of the rock to gain at least a foot of elevation with each step.

The trail starts with a very mild ascent and then dips down through a quaint valley to cross Bear Creek. The trail then heads up moderately towards Fern Canyon. When we got to the Fern Canyon trail split most of the other people around us decided the afternoon rain was not going to hold off and advised us to turn around. We made the correct assumption that the lightning was far enough away (and moving further away), so we pressed on. That was when the fun began. If you do decide to follow this trail and you're winded before you get to Fern Canyon, you should either turn around or make sure you have more water than you probably assumed you needed. I kept thinking I could see the top of Bear Peak only to find out that we had another switchback and hillside to get around. You're almost home when you can see Boulder to the east and Flatirons 1 and 2 below. Beyond that point, the trees slowly thin out until you're scrambling to reach the tallest rock. Here are our summit photos:


In both of these pics, we're looking north towards Longs Peak (the highest point in the background, northernmost 14er in the Rockies, to be climbed next summer, etc) and the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park. Bear Peak offers a great view of Denver (and probably Pikes Peak on a clear day) to the southest, the Indian Peak area to the west, and the Continental Divide and Front Range to the north-northwest... not to mention Boulder and the Flatirons below to the east.It took about 3 hours (I think... it's been a while now) from start to finish, so this takes up most of a free afternoon but I highly recommend it to those with strong knees!

[
update: This hike is one of 4 hikes mentioned in the current (Sept 07) issue of Backpacker magazine for being particularly "green" due to the fact that you can take a bus to the trailhead. I just got this in the mail today (it's like a Christmas present every time I get the new Backpacker) and the whole issue is about the effects of climate change. Here is the description of this hike from the magazine:

You'll skirt the base of the Flatirons, the massive slabs that serve as the backdrop to the city of Boulder, to reach one of the best views in the Front Range on this 6 mile out-and-back. Although the trail is extremely steep in places, well-placed steps, switchbacks, and a stunning 360-degree view from the summit of Bear Peak make it all worthwhile. From the NCAR parking lot, follow the trail as it drops down the north edge of a mesa. Continue west across a minor saddle, then descend and turn left onto the Mesa Trail to parallel the base of the Flatirons toward Bear Canyon. Wind through ponderosa pine, then join an old road just past the mouth of Bear Canyon. You'll cross a field, then switchback up to join the Fern Canyon Trail on the right. Your quads may rebel as you climb several steep sections up a ridge, but by the time you take in the view from the top, it'll all be forgotten.

]

The next day we headed up to Guanella Pass, where the trail for Mt. Bierstadt starts from. The road is dirt almost immediately (once you find it... it's at the southwest corner of town a few blocks from the main square) when you get above Georgetown. It was only open towards the pass for 8 miles, but we did make it far enough to see several Bighorn that still had their winter coats (compare the white to a "normal" summer coat of brown). They had come down to the road to lick the snow salt from the road. Here are a few photos:


All in all, one of the first weekends in town and plenty of adventure.

Grays Peak

Yesterday Ryan and I completed our 3rd official 14er; Gray's Peak. Gray's Peak is the 9th highest mountain in Colorado at 14,270 feet, and is the highest point on the Continental Divide in the US.

We drove from Ryan's in south Denver and started hiking at about 8:15 (or 8:30?). We did the standard route, a YDS class 1, which is the easiest route we have attempted so far (proven by the two guys that actually jogged the entire way from I-70... sherpa training or masochists?). The trail starts around 11,200 ft and is 3.5 miles from the summit. There seemed to be three distinct sections, so I would divide the hike into thirds mentally. The first third is surprisingly flat and required very few stops to catch breath (mind the elevation though). The second third (above Steven's Gulch from about 12,800 ft to 13,400 ft) is steeper and (not that it's a race, but nobody likes a traffic jam) provides the chance to pass groups of 6, the elderly, or those in jeans and tennis shoes. The final third is switchbacks that allow you to keep a good pace and get to the summit without putting forth a tremendous effort.

At the rock tower around 13,400, a mountain goat walked right across the trail in front of me. I was surprised to see how much of its winter coat was still on (it is July, right?), and how much shorter the summer coat was.

At that point I also had to turn around to the North and take a few photos of Steven's Gulch below. It was very green and beautifully carved. In the photo below you can see the trail crossing from center to lower left. The second photo below is Torrey's Peak, Gray's neighbor to the northwest.

Beyond this point, the remaining 900 feet of elevation gain are the third section I referenced above. From the summit we could see other 14ers including Mt. Evans and Mt. Bierstadt, Pikes Peak (seen from all our 14ers so far), nearby Torreys Peak, and Mt. of the Holy Cross. In addition to loads of other mountains, we could also see Breckenridge and Keystone ski areas as well as Lake Dillon (upper left in summit photo below).

Mt. Evans (left) and Bierstadt (right) with Sawtooth in between:

Torrey's (look how many people are on the summit as well as the trail!):

This route was probably just as busy as Mt. Bierstadt, but was much cleaner and slightly more difficult to access (the guy in the Toyota Camry that made it to the trailhead would probably agree he should have borrowed his neighbor's high clearance SUV or parked 3 miles down just off I-70).

Once back on the road we headed east to Virgilio's for pizza, which Ryan had heard about. The food was great... I'll be going back there again! We then vegged out for about 3 hours (caught up on Man vs. Wild via DVR) and eventually made our way up to the Rockies game. Dodging lightning (slight exaggeration) as we stood in line to buy tickets (hmm... is this a good idea?), we left the stadium and grabbed a few beers during the rain delay (always a good idea). The game was a good one, and the home team won 6-3. All in all, it was another dreadful Saturday here in Colorado. If this keeps up, I just don't know what I'm going to do with myself... ;)