Getting coloRADo!
John Muir famously said, “The mountains are calling, I must go.” We often heed his advice, which is clearly evident with our recent trip to the Colorado mountains for a week of nonstop adventuring. We were able to spend some time with friends in Denver and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, before heading up to Breckenridge for a week with Amity’s side of the family. From celebrating the 4th of July, to summiting the highest elevated peak in our lives, this trip left us completely fulfilled with mountain adventures, family time and completely wiped out!
Mile: 50,257
Quote of the Blog: “Because in the end, you wont remember the time you spend mowing your lawn or working in the office. Climb that goddamn mountain!” - Jack Kerouac
Song of the Blog: “Send Me On My Way” - Rusted Root
Our journey from Fort Smith to Breckenridge is a little over 950 miles, so we wanted to break it up a little. We made our first push to Kansas City to stay at the Early household for a night. We knew they were taking off early the next morning, so we figured it would be a good idea to get an early start with them too. After pulling into their house around midnight, being up at the crack of dawn was a lot easier than you would think. Knowing that there is adventuring in the Rocky Mountains ahead of us is a solid motivator. We planned to get to Denver and stay with Amy and Will for the night, before hiking with them the next day at Rocky Mountain National Park.
We always love our time with Will & Amy! They know how to make us forget we were in the car all day, and make us feel right at home every time we come through. We always kept our door open for Amy when she was doing Travel Physical Therapy, so we are more than grateful that she has done the same for us! We spent the night getting some dumplings at Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings. It was DELICIOUS! Amity has a slight allergy to just about every Asian dish (due to her sensitivity to peanuts, sesame and soy), but she was a total trooper and also enjoyed the food! After dinner we went to a quiet basement bar for a couple night cap drinks. We had not closed down a bar in a long time, but tonight we would. Does it still count, if the bar closed at 10pm anyways? We still counted it! On our walk home we scored some ice cream from Little Man Ice Cream, which usually has a line running a block and a half long. Since it was late night ice cream, there was no line! After having too much sugar and cream for our own goods, we all hit the crash button and called it a night.
We got up bright and early the next day, as we had made the plan to go hike from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, which would take us up past Dream Lake, Nymph Lake, Bear Lake and Alberta Falls. The trail requires having a Bear Lake trailhead pass, which Amy & Will just happened to have! The pass comes with a timestamp to control the amount of people going in at one single time. We ran late! We got to the first entry into Rocky Mountain National Park and the Park Ranger told us that she was going to be cool and let us in, even though we were late, but then went on to say that there was not going to be a chance that we got through the second entry into the Bear Lake area of the park. We quickly made every excuse we could, and came up with an alternative plan if we got denied. When we got up to the second ranger, he scanned our ticket. We all held our breath. The scanner went off with a gut wrenching denial buzzing sound. The Park Ranger looked at the time stamp, and then back at Will. He handed Will our parking ticket and said, “have a great day!” WE MADE IT! Thank god we did not have to tell him the excuses for being late either! Next up on our adventure was finding a parking spot. This was much harder than we expected it to be. I think it took us around an hour to get a spot. This process became pretty cut throat, and we were right there with the best of them. Happy and ready, we got on our shuttle and headed up to the trailhead to start our hike.
The trail constantly had us looking around at the scenery. We started by quickly ascending up to Alberta Falls. We climbed around the falls area before pushing on with the hike. As we moved away from the falls, we found that most did not go past the falls, and those that did were typically hiking the other direction. This made for a nice and quiet hike with not a lot of traffic. As we ascended up more from the waterfall, we started to gain some real alpine views. This is what we spent hours in the car for! Being pressed up the vast Rocky Mountains is a happy place of ours! Amity periodically picked Juniper Berries to smash them in her fingers and smell their rich piney scent. This is a hiking must in her world!
We hiked along amazing alpine trails, passed Nymph and Dream Lakes, back down around Bear Lake. It was a beautiful hike, and we were really excited to have not gotten our butts kicked with the elevation change! After a quick wait at the shuttle stop, we were quickly back at our car and headed out of the park. We were talking about how we had not seen any animals today, when we pulled around a corner and there was a heard of Elk. In my mind, Rocky Mountain National Park and Elk go together like peas and carrots. They are a majestic animal, and we were very happy to see them.
We had made the plan to meet back up at a pizza spot in a small town called Nederland, Colorado. The pizza joint was called, Crosscut Pizza & Taphouse. The pizza was wood fired and so good! Amy picked this spot, as it was on the way for both of us to our next location. They were headed back to Denver, and we were headed up to Breckenridge. We know we will see them soon again, and we are so grateful for all the adventures we have been able to share with each other! Here’s to next time!
The drive from Nederland to Breckenridge was only a couple hours. We were on a winding mountain road for a while, before hitting i70 and shooting up to Summit County. The last time we were here was when we had left Montana and stopped at Loveland Ski Area for a day of skiing. Although we have explored other areas of Summit County, we both haven’t been to Breckenridge before. This is something we are very excited for! Most of the crew had already got to the rental by the time we showed up. Andy and his kids had spent the previous day in Colorado Spring, and Julie & Jeff had spent the night further east outside of Denver. Asa was still on his way with Kelsey and the baby. It was nice to get things unpacked and settle in for the night.
Our first day in Breckenridge we spent some time exploring around a farmer’s market and craft show that was going on in town. It was great to be back in a mountain town, we miss Whitefish and this gave us all the vibes! While on our adventure, we stopped by the famous Breckenridge Troll for a quick photo. Before heading down into the market. After checking things out for a while, I broke away from the group with our nephew Baylor for some mountain biking. Our rental had a couple youth sized bikes, so I hopped on one of them and we went off for some ripping. All in all, we ended up biking around 9 miles down a path, along some single track next to a river and way away from the town of Breckenridge. We found that their bus would take bikers and give them a free ride back up. We were able to get a ride to not more than a half mile away from our rental! It was great to go shred with him! He is a go getter and loves to be out on his bike! We wrapped up the afternoon with some training runs, as we are still adjusting our bodies to the elevation. We have some lofty hiking goals this week, and we wanted to make sure we were acclimating properly.
We had planned to spend our second day there up at the Breckenridge Ski Resort area exploring their activities and hiking, but weather was rainy. This pushed us down into town for alternative adventures. Our nephew Atticus had been talking about fishing since we had arrived, so we took him down to the Blue River, which runs straight through town. Amity’s step-dad, Jeff, joined us. He recently had hip surgery. We were able to find a spot on the river where he could access the water and test out some fly fishing. It was really fun to get Atticus and Jeff on the river and doing some fishing! Unfortunately, fishing doesn’t guarantee catching. We got skunked, but had a great time doing it!
The place we stayed in was close enough to town that walking was not too bad, but the return walk was all up-hill, which kind of sucked. This allowed us to access town whenever we wanted to. This was nice to fill in afternoon gaps and give us some time to explore around the town of Breckenridge. One of the coolest things I found was a Bonsai Tree that was made out of stone and crystals. The tree’s trunk was stone and its pine needles were made of amethyst crystals. Pretty rad! We explored many coffee shops, ice cream parlors and the occasional pub for a frosty drink. That night we had dinner at a spot called, Downstairs at Eric’s. This was a cool pizza joint that was attached to an arcade. All of the flashing lights and entertainment kept the kids busy; especially Baby Segar!
The next morning the weather was much more in our favor to explore the ski resort. Amity and I made our way up to the resort along with her mom, Julie, and Jeff. Andy and the kids had already made their way up to the hill and were already participating in all the fun activities up there. To get up to the resort, you have to ride a gondola to the village from town. This was fun to have Julie in. She is not a big fan, but was a total trooper getting up there to enjoy the day with us! We lucked out that the Early crew was in the village finishing up some mini golf when we got up there. We learned at this time that Baylor had gone up to do some downhill mountain biking by himself! We waited around in the village area to watch him come down and finish his adventure down. Really awesome to see come out of Kansas City and for him to be brave enough to just jump right into some downhill biking! We parted ways with them all and headed up the chair lift for a scenic ride and to do some hiking up in the upper bowls. We realized it has been a long time since we rode a chairlift together. Amity skipped last winter and stayed in Phoenix while I went skiing. Maybe next year she will be back! Nonetheless, we had to do our obligatory “chairlift selfie”, which I personally love doing! At the top of the chair we found a trail called, Horseshoe Loop Trail. We ended up walking along some beautiful bowls and out to the top of Freedom Superchair. We found some snow there and made a little 4th of July snowman, which we appropriately named Sam (Frosty’s lesser known Uncle). One of the week’s plans was to do some high elevation hiking, so we had purchased an oxygen tank to help if we found the elevation getting to us. We wanted to test it out on this hike, so we found a t-bar in which the trail underneath it went directly up the mountain side. We figured some serious vertical gain quickly was a good way to test this stuff out. Overall, we found two things. First off, this hike decision was a total butt kicker. Secondly, those oxygen tanks do help you recover faster when hiking above 11,000’ of elevation.
We had wanted to get up to a building we had seen below the bowls, and through grit and determination we made it. We came to find out it was a ski patrol shack, which turned out to be the perfect place to have some lunch and stretch a little bit. Just before leaving, I figured this would be an ideal spot to spread some of my dad’s ashes. Ski patrolling in Colorado was what made him who he was. So, this was a perfect spot. The hike down from the shack was straight down! Luckily, we found a trail that got us off of a gnarly service road and back to the top of the chairlift. There was a small lodge at the top of the chair, which was a perfect spot for a bathroom break and to grab a beer for the chair ride down. As I was talking to the bartender, he informed me that we were not supposed to take beers on the chair, but would pretend he didn’t hear me. I laughed inside while thanking him, because I could tell this guy has had dozens of chairlift beers in his life. Such is the life of a resort worker. HA! When we got back down to the village, we were able to reconnect with the Early crew and Amity’s Mom/Step-dad. Unfortunately, we did not get to catch Asa, Kelsey and Segar up there. It would have been great to see little Baby Segar at his first ski area! We all headed back down into town to do some more exploring around the town. Julie, Jeff, Amity and I found the Breckenridge Tap House. This was a great spot with a nice patio to enjoy the sunny weather on. We eventually retreated back to our rental house for dinner, hot tubbing and rest.
Wednesday morning we planned to hike up to Mohawk Lake. Andy’s friend had suggested it, and it was a good one! We had Andy, one of our nephews, Baylor, our nieces, Finely and Briely, and Briely’s friend Malia with us. Luckily, I downloaded the trail because, it was not a clearly marked trail, and we ended up zig zagging around it for quite some time going up. Along the way we ran into a Mountain Goat who didn’t seem to care we were there. It kept walking up to us, so we had to quickly push past it to give it some space. He did take the time to pose for some photos for us! We also found an old mining cabin in which you could tell people were still using for overnight shelter when they needed it. Pretty rad to go inside! This hike had just about everything; waterfalls, multiple lakes, wildlife and views for days! When we got up to Upper Mohawk Lake, it was a beautiful sight! When you walk up to it, the lake reveals itself at eye level as you crest the last few feet of the hike. It perfectly placed along a massive bowl in the mountainside. I tried my hand in some fishing, but only got a few fish to chase my lures before it was time to head back down. Everyone crushed it on this hike!!! We were so proud of the kids!
We were had gotten such an early start on our hike, that we had the rest of the day to goof off around town. Which included more ice cream! My favorite spot was Higgles Ice Cream, because they made my waffle cone right in front of me. I want to go back! Our last activity for the day was to go pick up Amity’s packet for the Breckenridge Independence Day 10k. I initially had planned to sit this one out, as my hip-flexor was not happy with me. When we showed up to the event space, I totally got FOMO and signed up! Guess it’s an early to bed kind of night so that we can run in the morning.
Mornings are a lot colder in the Rockies than they are in Fort Smith, Arkansas!!! But the lack of humidity is very well received! For the run we had Andy, Briely, Malea and Baylor joining us. They are all elite runners, so we will most likely be chasing them. The run’s route gained nearly 1000’ of vertical elevation over 3 miles. What an ass kicker!!! It then wrapped down some banking single track bike trails; which was really fun to run down. We all hit the start with our own paces. The young ones went full on out of the start, while the adults eased into it. I would never see Briley, as she is FAST! Andy would pass me on the run, and give me a solid motivational slap on the butt. Baylor and Malia were not far behind me at the end. Amity kept things a lot more chill than the rest of us, but remember chill was still 10k with 1000’ of vertical gain in it. All of us did way better than expected! Again, congrats to everyone for kicking butt with us! This was only the start of the day, and IT’S THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!
We headed back to the house and got ready for the day. Amity and I had been really excited about some outfits we had found at a Walmart in Arkansas. She was rocking in her overalls, and I was showing off some All-American pride with my jorts and PRB cowboy hat! We all made our way down to Main Street for the Breckenridge 4th of July Parade. It was one of the better parades I have been to. Some of the funnier things we saw were Uncle Sam’s on stilts, I saw a float that had a kid on it playing Mortal Kombat on it, a couple family reunions that had randomly entered and many more American themed shenanigans. They do not allow fireworks in Summit County, so this is why this parade goes all out. Everyone had a great time! Atticus stole the show with his strong outfit and 100% American festiveness! Following the parade we ran into a couple of Amity’s friends, Kinsey & Morgan, whom we knew were also going to be in town. Everyone was in passing and transition, so we didn’t get to hang out much, but we made some plans to meet up later in the week for drinks and catch up more. As we explored around town and popped into random bars for drinks, we watched a fire truck extended out it’s ladder and start spraying out water along Main Street for everyone to run around and play in. I have never seen something like this, and it was AWESOME! We wrapped up the 4th of July celebrations with some BBQ’ing at the rental house, and some prepping for the next day’s challenge.
One of the things we had set out to do on this trip was to hike up to the top of a 14,000’ mountain peak. This sized mountain peak is a designation for peaks of significant altitude in the United States. For hikers in Colorado, it is one of the holy grails of accomplishments. Just outside of Breckenridge is Quandary Peak. The United States Geological Society has measured the summit at 14,271’ above. The only bright side to this hike is that we only have to hike a total of just over 6 miles to get to the top. From there, we will have to do over 3,000 vertical feet up in 3 miles. On top of that, we are now pushing into high alpine hiking, with very low oxygen levels at the top. Today we will have Andy, Briely and Malia joining us.
Luckily, we were able to get a couple extra minutes of sleep, as the trailhead was only a quick 30 min drive from our rental. We scored a parking pass, which also made our morning that much easier. The trail started out winding through some pine forests, before pushing up above timberline. At this point we really started to gain elevation. The crew started to spread out, and the true challenge presented itself. A consistent staircase of rocks for multiple miles up, and the constant feeling that we were completely exhausted. It was a funny feeling that the low oxygen generated. We would feel tired, but once we stopped and recovered for a minute we were back to 100%. Only to be wiped out a few hundred yards further up. One of the major motivators was the constant supply of amazing views! Getting up on to the ridgeline we were instantly treated with prime Colorado alpine vistas. Soon after that, we were greeted by our first Mountain Goat family of the day. We all recollected at this point for a quick break, before starting to push for the final ascent.
Every step towards the top brought us closer to our goal and higher above the valleys. The ridge line pushed more and more vertical as we got close to the top. A false summit sat at about 14,000’ elevation, which led to a small snowfield just before the top. We collected as a group to finish the final push together. It was truly a special moment to crest over that last bit and get to the peak of the mountain. We were grateful, excited and worn out finally making it to the top of Quandary Peak. Other groups were at the top celebrating the same feat. THE VIEWS!!! We could see for endless miles in every direction. At one point I pulled out a map and found the direction to Mount Crested Butte. I was able to see it and point out my birthplace to the crew. We took a bunch of pictures, had lunch and took some time to soak in the warmer than expected conditions. Amity and I stepped aside from the group to take a moment to spread some of my dad, Jack, and doggy, Stella’s, ashes. There is a truly RAD story about the Radness getting to the top of a 14’er in Colorado and the dogs showing up, so them being up here together makes feel so happy and fulfilled!
What seemed like the longest 3 miles up, turned into a daunting 3 miles down. This 100% required some tedious walking, some trekking poles and patience. All Amity could think about was all of the alpine injuries she has seen come into the clinics she has worked at. We didn’t want to be those people! We took our time and enjoyed every moment of the hike down. We knew these views would be going away soon, and we wanted to take them in before they did. Craggy downhill staircases turned into a dirt path and eventually hit timberline again. We would get some much needed sun relief at this point. We also knew that we were so close to being done. Andy and the girls had smoked us on the way down. They were waiting for us at the car when we got to the parking lot. We all packed in, celebrated a big accomplishment and a job well done! We headed down into town for Coffee and Ice Cream!!! We ended up at a spot we had found a couple times called, The Crown Breckenridge. So good! We also stopped into a shop we had found that continued a bunch of great gear about Quandary Peak we wanted to pick up to have as memoires. Amity and I found some great hats here, along with some awesome Quandary Peak gear for our memories. We connected with the rest of the crew that afternoon for some lunch and some drinks. It is great to see the little man, Segar, loving his first time up in the mountains! We can’t wait for the opportunity to show him Montana someday. We were happy to be done with all the adventuring, and to take some time to just soak in the bliss of being in a mountain town for one last night.
After dinner, we ended up meeting up with Kinsey and Morgan at a spot called Molly Jacks. I am always so happy for Amity to be able to catch up with friends that she has not seen in a long time. The last time we saw both of them was at our wedding. It was purely ironic that they were here this weekend too. For them, this meetup was meant to happen! Thank you so much ladies for meeting up with us, this was a great way to cap of an amazing trip!
As much as it felt like we had just arrived, we had packed so much into this trip to Colorado, that we were excited to have a little down time before our next big adventures. All we had to do was make a 13 hour drive back to Fort Smith, Arkansas. No big deal. We got this…. Thank you to the entire crew for making this trip1 We all know it was missing one really important person. Autumn was there in spirit and would have been proud of all of our accomplishments this week! Way to LIVE RAD & TRAVEL crew!!!