Until next year, Brandon Flowers. Until next year.
Xoxo,
Aaron Nagel
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Killers at Red Rocks, Round 3
We went up to Red Rocks to see the Killers last night. Needless to say, they were phenomenal. We had good seats, in the middle of row 20.
Until next year, Brandon Flowers. Until next year.
Xoxo,
Aaron Nagel
Until next year, Brandon Flowers. Until next year.
Xoxo,
Aaron Nagel
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Conundrum: hot, wet and naked
We spent the holiday weekend making a trip to the coveted Conundrum Hot Springs. We wanted to see if the rumors we heard were true. Was there really a naturally occuring hot springs sitting at 11,000 feet just miles from Aspen? Was the average temperature really 104 degrees, despite the fact that snow surrounds the pools nine months out of the year? Did hippies really bare all while enjoying a relaxing soak?
Well, my friends, the rumors are true.
We left work early on Friday and drove to Aspen via Glenwood Springs. The drive itself was breathtaking - the changing leaves on the aspens, highlighted by the canyon walls near Glenwood were beautiful. Upon arriving in Aspen, we grabbed some food, then headed about eight miles out of town to the trailhead.
When we arrived, it was about 6:30 pm, and the sun was beginning to set. We had planned on setting up our tent and sleeping at the trailhead, and heading up the trail at sunrise. However, after being greeted near the trailhead by this creature, we decided to spend the night in the Audi.
Mind you, there is not much room in an A4 for two people, much less two people plus a dog crammed in the backseat. Combining that with the fact that we knew there were bears nearby made for a sleepless night. We crawled out of the car around 5:30 am, stretched out our cramped bodies and started the hike up. Here's a shot of Aaron a bit after leaving the trailhead, and one of Leroy early on in the hike.
The first part of the nine mile trek was in and out of large aspens, and weaving over Conundrum Creek. The whole trail was beautiful. I'm not sure if I'd want to do this hike any other time of year.
We were above the treeline for most of the second half of the hike. There were three large river crossings, each with a makeshift bridge, like the one shown here.
Normally these wouldn't be intimidating, but we were both a bit nervous, being that the 35 pound packs on our backs could throw off our balance quite easily. We stopped by a small pond on our way up to get some food and take in the scenery.
There was also a weird creek crossing we passed through. The first shot is a close up of me going over it, and the second is the same creek from a few miles away. Again, normally it wouldn't have been a big deal to cross it, but we were trying to stay dry and maintain our balance.
The last few miles were pretty steep, so we had to take quite a few breaks. Additionally, we were warm and tired. We finally arrived around 2 pm. There were about 30 campsites near us, with only one or two other tents actually visable. They were well-spaced. We were about a 15 minute hike down from the actual hot springs, with our site being surrounded by tall trees for privacy. We finished setting up our tent about five minutes before it started to downpour. We crawled in our sleeping bags and took a two hour nap while the rain continued. Upon waking from our nap, we decided to check out the hot springs.
Unsure of what to expect, we made our way up the steep, muddy hike to the springs to find about 30 others enjoying the pools. One was big enough for only a couple of people, probably six, with a bit cooler temps. The other, which was our choice pool, fit many more people, and avereged a temperature of 104 degrees. We made small talk with other visitors, thinking 'eye contact, eye contact' while we visited. We met a lot of interesting people; the most interesting was a European man in his 60s and a Hawaian man in his early 70s. Both kept themselves busy by positioning their nude bodies at just the right height above the water to give everyone a full view of themselves, while clipping their toenails into the water we were soaking in at the same time. I obviously don't have testicals, but I can imagine that it would take great skill to keep them dangling at just the perfect height for such an extended period of time.
Anyways, we walked back to our tent, made dinner and went to bed.
We awoke Sunday morning to beautiful views that we'd missed Saturday due to overcast skies. Conundrum Hot Springs sits in a valley at an elevation of 11,200 feet, in the middle of six 14ers. We had amazing views.
We spent about an hour in the larger pool before packing up and heading down to the trailhead. We didn't bring our camera to the pool, not wanting to take pictures of others who had chosen to go in nude. The older gentlemen from the previous day, however, didn't seem worried about that.
The hike down took only about four hours. We were hit by rain, but the hike was still beautiful.
We spent Sunday night in the national forest somewhere outside of Aspen, in the middle of the mountains. It sits at the top of our list of great camping spots. Monday morning we drove over Independence Pass back to reality.
Well, my friends, the rumors are true.
We left work early on Friday and drove to Aspen via Glenwood Springs. The drive itself was breathtaking - the changing leaves on the aspens, highlighted by the canyon walls near Glenwood were beautiful. Upon arriving in Aspen, we grabbed some food, then headed about eight miles out of town to the trailhead.
When we arrived, it was about 6:30 pm, and the sun was beginning to set. We had planned on setting up our tent and sleeping at the trailhead, and heading up the trail at sunrise. However, after being greeted near the trailhead by this creature, we decided to spend the night in the Audi.
Mind you, there is not much room in an A4 for two people, much less two people plus a dog crammed in the backseat. Combining that with the fact that we knew there were bears nearby made for a sleepless night. We crawled out of the car around 5:30 am, stretched out our cramped bodies and started the hike up. Here's a shot of Aaron a bit after leaving the trailhead, and one of Leroy early on in the hike.
The first part of the nine mile trek was in and out of large aspens, and weaving over Conundrum Creek. The whole trail was beautiful. I'm not sure if I'd want to do this hike any other time of year.
We were above the treeline for most of the second half of the hike. There were three large river crossings, each with a makeshift bridge, like the one shown here.
Normally these wouldn't be intimidating, but we were both a bit nervous, being that the 35 pound packs on our backs could throw off our balance quite easily. We stopped by a small pond on our way up to get some food and take in the scenery.
There was also a weird creek crossing we passed through. The first shot is a close up of me going over it, and the second is the same creek from a few miles away. Again, normally it wouldn't have been a big deal to cross it, but we were trying to stay dry and maintain our balance.
The last few miles were pretty steep, so we had to take quite a few breaks. Additionally, we were warm and tired. We finally arrived around 2 pm. There were about 30 campsites near us, with only one or two other tents actually visable. They were well-spaced. We were about a 15 minute hike down from the actual hot springs, with our site being surrounded by tall trees for privacy. We finished setting up our tent about five minutes before it started to downpour. We crawled in our sleeping bags and took a two hour nap while the rain continued. Upon waking from our nap, we decided to check out the hot springs.
Unsure of what to expect, we made our way up the steep, muddy hike to the springs to find about 30 others enjoying the pools. One was big enough for only a couple of people, probably six, with a bit cooler temps. The other, which was our choice pool, fit many more people, and avereged a temperature of 104 degrees. We made small talk with other visitors, thinking 'eye contact, eye contact' while we visited. We met a lot of interesting people; the most interesting was a European man in his 60s and a Hawaian man in his early 70s. Both kept themselves busy by positioning their nude bodies at just the right height above the water to give everyone a full view of themselves, while clipping their toenails into the water we were soaking in at the same time. I obviously don't have testicals, but I can imagine that it would take great skill to keep them dangling at just the perfect height for such an extended period of time.
Anyways, we walked back to our tent, made dinner and went to bed.
We awoke Sunday morning to beautiful views that we'd missed Saturday due to overcast skies. Conundrum Hot Springs sits in a valley at an elevation of 11,200 feet, in the middle of six 14ers. We had amazing views.
We spent about an hour in the larger pool before packing up and heading down to the trailhead. We didn't bring our camera to the pool, not wanting to take pictures of others who had chosen to go in nude. The older gentlemen from the previous day, however, didn't seem worried about that.
The hike down took only about four hours. We were hit by rain, but the hike was still beautiful.
We spent Sunday night in the national forest somewhere outside of Aspen, in the middle of the mountains. It sits at the top of our list of great camping spots. Monday morning we drove over Independence Pass back to reality.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Four 14ers...booya!
We're finally done with wedding planning! Hooray! This freed our weekend to head up Alma. We camped at Kite Lake Friday night, at an elevation a little over 12,000 feet. We planned on hiking four 14ers Saturday, including Democrat, Lincoln, Bross and Cameron. Because of the cold weather, we spent Friday night crammed into our tent playing cards, out of the snow. When camping at 12,000 feet, you have to be resourceful, not wasteful. This principle was demonstrated when Rob spilled a small amount of PBR on the tent floor, and proceeded to slurp it up.
Before I delve into too many details, let me explain the weather predicament we were in. When we left Denver on Friday, it was 85 degrees, without a cloud in the sky. Upon arriving at Kite Lake, the sky was cloudy and the winds picked up. It began snowing around 9 or 10, and by 9 Saturday morning, we were in a full-on blizzard. However, because we had such beautiful weather back at home, I failed to pack properly. I left hats, mittens, long underwear, winter coats, basically all our essential Colorado camping gear, at home. Needless to say, Aaron was not impressed. Because of my lack of planning, we summited Democrat, the first of the four, wearing socks for mittens.
By the time we summited Lincoln, the snow had stopped, but the wind was tremendous.
We hit up Cameron next, where the wind was still blowing strong.
Bross was last, with a huge summit, probably the size of a football field.
There was a small waterfall at the end of our hike.
It was about a 7 hour trip. We drove home when we were done to get out of the snow, and back to the 80 degree weather. Whew!
Before I delve into too many details, let me explain the weather predicament we were in. When we left Denver on Friday, it was 85 degrees, without a cloud in the sky. Upon arriving at Kite Lake, the sky was cloudy and the winds picked up. It began snowing around 9 or 10, and by 9 Saturday morning, we were in a full-on blizzard. However, because we had such beautiful weather back at home, I failed to pack properly. I left hats, mittens, long underwear, winter coats, basically all our essential Colorado camping gear, at home. Needless to say, Aaron was not impressed. Because of my lack of planning, we summited Democrat, the first of the four, wearing socks for mittens.
By the time we summited Lincoln, the snow had stopped, but the wind was tremendous.
We hit up Cameron next, where the wind was still blowing strong.
Bross was last, with a huge summit, probably the size of a football field.
There was a small waterfall at the end of our hike.
It was about a 7 hour trip. We drove home when we were done to get out of the snow, and back to the 80 degree weather. Whew!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Announcing...Mr. and Mrs. Nagel!
We got married! The day was perfect, the weather was perfect, and my bride was perfect.
No trips planned to the mountains coming up. We're busy bickering now that we're married.
No trips planned to the mountains coming up. We're busy bickering now that we're married.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Red, White and Blue in Desolation Canyon
We took an amazing trip to Desolation Canyon over the Fourth this year. There were six boats, 27 people, and 93 miles of open water. It was an 8 hour drive to the put in, so we passed the time eating healthy food.
Only six groups are allowed to depart each day, so we were lucky to get a permit on a holiday weekend. Here's a shot of our group just after taking off.
We traveled about 27 miles our first day on the river. During the first day, the canyon walls were shorter and wider than they'd be any other day. It was beautiful - 90 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. After putting in, we saw only one other person the rest of the day.
We spent the first night on a beach.
Everyone was very tired from being in the sun all day, so we crashed our tents before the sun had fully set. We woke up the next morning with a goal of going another 20 miles. We spent the day relaxing, letting the wind and flow of the river push us down.
We spent the night on another beach, not quite as sandy as the beach from the first night. The best part about permitted trips is the lack of people - because the number of groups were so limited, we had so many breathtaking camp spots to choose from.
We took off the next morning, planning on going only 15 miles. A few guys in our group had done this trip a few years back, and knew of a good camp spot. We were the first boat to arrive. To pass the time, we took on another couple in a good ol' fashioned game of The Newlyweds. We won!
Once everyone else arrived, we emptied our boats and created a slip-n-slide.
We sat around the beach the rest of the night, playing cards and putting on shows with glowsticks to celebrate the Fourth.
We woke up the next morning and went on a small hike towards the back of the canyon. It was totally desolate, just us, the rocks and a couple hundred lizards.
It was a bit steep in some areas, especially when we'd come to the edge of a canyon layer.
When we got back to camp with everyone else, we all went on a hike. It was only about two miles, but it seemed like forever. Being in the middle of the desert with limited water supply and 100+ degree weather made it a long day. When we reached the canyon walls, we saw ancient petroglyphs.
On our hike back to camp, we found a freshwater stream and were all able to bathe. It was our one bath of the week.
We continued our celebration of the Fourth when we got back to camp by throwing a mustache party. Although space is limited on a week-long rafting trip, items such as mustaches, pineapple cups and cocktail umbrellas are essential.
After another late night, we were up early the next morning and continued on. The further in we were, the deeper the canyon walls.
We spent the remaining nights on two different beaches. Thankfully the wind was going with up for most of the trip, so we were able to let it flow with us.
We were gone for a full seven days, and were on the river for five nights, with one night spent at the put in. I didn't know if I could last that long without a shower, but I made it! All in all, it was an eye-opening trip for both of us. Very few people today can say they've gone that long away from civilization. It was refreshing to know that we were hundreds of miles away from anything for most of our trip, and encouraging to know we made it as long as we did. A majority of the week was a float trip, but we did go over a class four rapid on the fourth day. All the big rafts made it through without a loss, but a ducky, which was manned by one guy, flipped and he swam. He made it out just fine, thankfully. It was an amazing weekend, and we hope we'll be able to take the same stretch of water in the future.
Only six groups are allowed to depart each day, so we were lucky to get a permit on a holiday weekend. Here's a shot of our group just after taking off.
We traveled about 27 miles our first day on the river. During the first day, the canyon walls were shorter and wider than they'd be any other day. It was beautiful - 90 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. After putting in, we saw only one other person the rest of the day.
We spent the first night on a beach.
Everyone was very tired from being in the sun all day, so we crashed our tents before the sun had fully set. We woke up the next morning with a goal of going another 20 miles. We spent the day relaxing, letting the wind and flow of the river push us down.
We spent the night on another beach, not quite as sandy as the beach from the first night. The best part about permitted trips is the lack of people - because the number of groups were so limited, we had so many breathtaking camp spots to choose from.
We took off the next morning, planning on going only 15 miles. A few guys in our group had done this trip a few years back, and knew of a good camp spot. We were the first boat to arrive. To pass the time, we took on another couple in a good ol' fashioned game of The Newlyweds. We won!
Once everyone else arrived, we emptied our boats and created a slip-n-slide.
We sat around the beach the rest of the night, playing cards and putting on shows with glowsticks to celebrate the Fourth.
We woke up the next morning and went on a small hike towards the back of the canyon. It was totally desolate, just us, the rocks and a couple hundred lizards.
It was a bit steep in some areas, especially when we'd come to the edge of a canyon layer.
When we got back to camp with everyone else, we all went on a hike. It was only about two miles, but it seemed like forever. Being in the middle of the desert with limited water supply and 100+ degree weather made it a long day. When we reached the canyon walls, we saw ancient petroglyphs.
On our hike back to camp, we found a freshwater stream and were all able to bathe. It was our one bath of the week.
We continued our celebration of the Fourth when we got back to camp by throwing a mustache party. Although space is limited on a week-long rafting trip, items such as mustaches, pineapple cups and cocktail umbrellas are essential.
After another late night, we were up early the next morning and continued on. The further in we were, the deeper the canyon walls.
We spent the remaining nights on two different beaches. Thankfully the wind was going with up for most of the trip, so we were able to let it flow with us.
We were gone for a full seven days, and were on the river for five nights, with one night spent at the put in. I didn't know if I could last that long without a shower, but I made it! All in all, it was an eye-opening trip for both of us. Very few people today can say they've gone that long away from civilization. It was refreshing to know that we were hundreds of miles away from anything for most of our trip, and encouraging to know we made it as long as we did. A majority of the week was a float trip, but we did go over a class four rapid on the fourth day. All the big rafts made it through without a loss, but a ducky, which was manned by one guy, flipped and he swam. He made it out just fine, thankfully. It was an amazing weekend, and we hope we'll be able to take the same stretch of water in the future.
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