Trail Thursday Has Gone Missing & My Legs Feel Like Lead.

Trail Thursday has gone missing this week (or well in reality —> I need to take some new adventures to share with you guys). BUT I will definitely have a new Trail Thursday next week because on Saturday we’re heading to Rocky Mountain National Park to go backpacking!!! This will be my first wilderness backpacking experience where we get a permit and had to reserve a site ahead of time. We reserved the site here and will pick up our permit on Saturday at the Vistors Center.

TBT to visiting RMNP last year with Stella. She won’t be joining us for this trip (too much wildlife out there!), but she’ll be happy that she’s staying with Uncle Jeremy and her cousin Waylon (dog) ;)

We’ll be staying at Timber Lake at one of the two Snowbird Sites and will be around 11, 010 feet where we camp! It’s been pretty warm here, so it shouldn’t be as chilly as we were originally thinking when we booked it which is GOOD! We’ll bring lots of layers still and our warmest camping gear. Campfires aren’t allowed at the site which is a bit of bummer, but at least we know there is less of a risk of a wildfire!

I’m hoping my legs feel better than they have earlier this week because they have felt like LEAD. I’m sure it’s got something to do with my crazy hormones and all-nighter last Friday and crazy intense Pilates Jumpboard class on Monday, but I’m really trying to stay optimistic. I’m getting my long run in tomorrow morning before our trip (still trying to decide whether I’m going to do it on the treadmill (to hit my 5 x HMP miles) or do it outside) and undecided whether I’ll get in any miles before or after our trip. It will be around 5 miles of hiking on Saturday and 5 miles of hiking on Sunday (which is quite a bit) so I may just do an easy 3 each day to shake out my legs.

Felt like I was running an 8:00 min/mile. ha.

Also on an unrelated note- I booked my annual Dentist cleaning ON HALLOWEEN. This is the second year in a row that I’ve had my cleaning scheduled on October 31st…I’m thinking this is a very unpopular date for visiting the dentist!

SOURCE

Ever gone backpacking in a National Park?

Dentist —> do you enjoy going or meh not so much?

Help me decide… should I do ANY runs this weekend or do a few short easy miles or take it off?!?!

Travel Thursday- Pike's Peak

Happy Friday-eve! This week has both flown by and also slightly gone slow....Our kittens are still waking JUST ME (not Alex...I think his snoring scares them away) up at 2am and proceed to try to bite my face. Really hoping they'll get over this stage quickly because it's not so great when they try to pierce your nose with their teeth (but also they need to stay this cute & cuddly AS LONG AS POSSIBLE). 

Anyone ever been to Pike's Peak before? It's a 14,000' mountain and located in Colorado Springs. It's a great travel destination for those that are visiting because the views at the top (which you can drive to) are incredible. I took my Dad there a few years ago and we drove to the top (via Pike's Peak Highway) and walked around the gift shop for a bit. It was late June and there was STILL SNOW at the top (still people skiing off cliffs as well...). You can also take the Pike's Peak Cog Railway (located in Broadmoor), which I think would be really interesting. You can also hike up it, but it's a 13.5 strenuous hike to the summit.

Not wanting to hike it, but still looking for a challenge? You can also RUN up it during the Pike's Peak Marathon (or half-marathon). I've considered signing up for this race before (they have amazing swag), but it definitely would be a challenging course. The marathon consists of running UP 13 miles to the top and then running DOWN 13 miles...yikes!

After driving up the mountain, I'm not sure if I could ever see myself running up it. I'd have to be in REALLY good shape! There are so many beautiful views along the way, that it would make the ascent less terrible....

Ever been to Pike's Peak? Favorite part?

Would you ever run up a 14,000' mountain as a half-marathon or marathon?

Mountain Monday- Sarvis Creek

Happy Happy Monday my friends! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. We finally got our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and went out to eat for Chinese food! I also did a 10 mile run around the lake on Sunday (with wind gusts over 20 mph!), which went ok- definitely a bit run-down and sluggish from the chinese food the night before ; )

This trail is one of our favorites because it is less than a 10 minute drive from our house to the trailhead! It's located in Sarvis Creek Wilderness and we normally hike out for roughly 1.5 miles until we hit a fantastic little creek that pools and some spots are deep enough for you to swim in!

You can definitely also use it as a great trail run (I haven't YET). The trail continues on for about 5 miles (one way, I believe) and it's also a great backpacking option (we've always wanted to camp along the creek). 

Ever hiked in the Sarvis Creek Wilderness?

Favorite thing you did this weekend?

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree- Yay or Nay?

Mountain Monday- Mt. Elbert 14,440'

Hello from Maine! I knew you are waiting on the edge of your seats for my Mtn Monday post and I didn't want to let you down! Forgive me for any funky misspellings or odd format views- currently writing this post from the Newark Airport during my 3.5 hour delay (insert eye roll)!  

I wanted to share with you my first 14er that I hiked several years ago (SOLO!) because although it was the highest 14,000 foot mountain in the Rockies, it's also one of the easiest! This hike took me roughly 4.5 hours and I started it around 8am (later than I would recommend)! My skaters had a competition in Vail, so I decided to take advantage of that and drive the 1.5 hour drive from Vail to Leadville!  

The scenery almost the entire hike was stunning (I hiked it in mid-July), but it was definitely pretty crowded!  

There was still snow everywhere on the actual hike and the road out to the trailhead was pretty rocky dirt roads (I drove slow and my civic made it out there just fine).  

I would say that in-shape older children could do this hike and I'd recommend trying to score one of the campsites along the road that leads to trailhead (so you can get an early start). Also if you can swing to do it during the week, when there are less crowds, I would!! It's a great beginner 14er (it still is very challenging) and make sure to give yourself 5-6 hours to complete the full  7.6 mile round trip . 

not my dog but look how cute?!?!

Happy Hiking!​

Have you ever hiked a 14er? Have a favorite?​

Any must-do hikes for Fall that you would recommend?​

Favorite way to pass time in an airport?​

Mountain Monday- Flat Top Mountain & Hooper Lake

Happy Monday! Yesterday it was just Stella and I (Alex was working at an outdoor show in Telluride since Thursday) and we had a craving to drive up to the mountains to go for a hike and check out all the Fall colors, so we headed up to the Flat Tops Wilderness (about 30 minutes away). It's gotten SUPER chilly over the past few days and dips into the low 30's at night. We also got our first snowfall in the higher elevations (above 10,000') on Friday and Saturday! This hike did bring us up above 10,000' and we did get to see some snow! Stella was really excited and loves snow. I don't think she'd do too well if we moved to the beach....oh well. I guess we'll save that for another life!

This hike brings you to either up to the top of Flat Top Mountain or to Hooper/ Kenner Lakes and over the saddle of Flat Top Mountain. Our goal was to get to the lakes, but we only made it to the first one (Hooper) before deciding that it was getting a bit late and the clouds were not looking too happy (so we turned around after that). You gain over 1,500' of elevation over the 2.5 miles to the lake and it was definitely tough! We met a few hikers along the way, including two gentlemen who said they lost their dog up there last weekend and said that he is wearing a collar if we find him. It always makes me really sad when I hear of someone loosing an animal (especially in the wilderness) because I could never imagine how terrible that must be! We never saw his dog, but I kept thinking of him the entire hike (and also kept Stella on a leash because well... just in case).

We came across a few ponds on our hike (which Stella loves to wade in) and finally made it up to the saddle and the views were incredible. It really is so beautiful out there and we came across many snow spots! There was even a snow ridgeline on the top of one of the mountains that I think is still from last winter (it must never melt). We also came across two backpackers who said that they got caught in a pretty bad snowstorm Friday evening and even had some snow showers this morning! 

After we took in the views (around 2 miles in), we headed down the ridgeline (on the other side) in search of the lakes. Unfortunately, there was a sign missing so the trails to get to the two lakes wasn't well marked (another reason why we decided to turn back after finding the first lake). I think that it's much more common to come across trails that are more remote here in the rockies as opposed to hiking trails back in the White Mountains of NH (they're very well marked/traveled). 

We left the lake and stopped at the top of the ridgeline to eat lunch and rest for a bit (around 4 miles in). It began to SNOW, so that was our cue to head down from the higher elevation. When we started to hike back down from the saddle, the trail began to get covered with snow and we couldn't see the footprints well enough to follow the trail and ended up bushwacking a small section! It was really scary and I honestly could see how some hikers can get lost when snowstorms come along on remote trails. Luckily, we saw the trail down below and just took a diagonal path (and honestly maybe a shortcut) to get back on it! Phew! That was pretty intense and shortly thereafter the snow stopped and we hiked back down to the car. 

This hike was SO beautiful and it was just under 6 miles for us roundtrip (but we only went to the first lake and definitely took a shortcut on our way back down). I highly recommend doing this and bring some friends (and a map)! You generally have pretty poor service for most of the hike (until you get to the saddle), so keep that in mind and have a plan b if you do get lost or stuck in a snowstorm. Hopefully the weather will get warmer because I'm not ready to go straight from summer to winter just yet!

Did you do any adventures this weekend?

Any fun runs or races that you did?!

Last hiking trip- good or bad experience? Have you ever gotten lost?