Mile High, Round Two

For our birthdays and anniversary, Dan and Diana gave us tickets to Mile High Music Festival. We were super excited about the line up; it was hard to pick which shows to see. We had gone two years ago, too, but this one was MUCH more mellow than in '08. (It's a bit difficult to get on Aaron's shoulders and squeeze our way to the front of each show with such a large belly).



We saw a lot of great shows. Phoenix, Keane, Slightly Stoopid, Tim Reynolds, Nas and Damian Marley, Matt Morris, Weezer and Train were a few of the shows we saw throughout the day. Here's a shot of the TR3 show.



Jack Johnson performed Friday night, but the highlight of the weekend was definitely DMB. They were phenomenal, as always.





Thanks to Dan and Diana for an awesome weekend!

Mount Massive

The first weekend in August, Aaron, T-Dog, Paul and Kelly set out to hike Mount Massive. It's the second largest 14er in Colorado. The distance matches it's name, mounting up to a 14 mile climb. Aaron started Friday night off with accomplishing a goal of his; he slept in his hammock! Oddly enough, Aaron slept better than T-Dog and Kelly (who slept in the truck), and Paul (who slept in the tent). I think he's on to something.





Aaron was a ways ahead of the others, and got a few shots of them heading up.





Aaron waited for T-Dog to summit; they were about five hours in when they reached the top.





It was a long day for all, and they were happy to have had the beautiful weather they did!

Mount Huron

We headed up to Leadville for a weekend in July. We were unable to find a spot at a campground, so we headed into the National Forest and found a much more beautiful spot, which we had to ourselves. Aaron set up camp while I read, then we relaxed around the fire until Rob and Jenna arrived.



Saturday morning, Aaron and Leroy headed up to hike Mount Huron. He took some beautiful shots along the way.





He summited in about four hours, which was much faster than anticipated.





While Aaron was out, Rob did some training for the Leadville 100 by running over Hope Pass, while Jenna and I hung around the campsite. When both Aaron and Rob returned, they iced their sore legs by sitting in Clear Creek.



That afternoon Aaron successfully hung and test drove our hammock for the first time. He has plans of sleeping in it on future trips; we'll see how that pans out.



Sunday morning we drove back to reality.

Red, White and Blue Up the Wazoo

It's been a while since we last posted. We have a lot to update on...

We celebrated the Fourth by taking our maiden voyage through Brown's Canyon. For those who are unfamiliar, Brown's is the most rafted section of whitewater in the US. Needless to say, it was quite busy that weekend. We left Denver Friday morning; Aaron happily drove us to Buena Vista, where we hung out at the whitewater park for a few hours.



Saturday morning we headed to our put in. Because Amy and I were unable to raft through Brown's with the little ones on the way, the group agreed to put in higher so we could raft for the first part. Here's a shot of our boat going through the Milk Run.



Amy and I got out where we stopped for lunch. Before leaving everyone else, we were able to get a group shot. I think we were successful in being the most patriotic group on the Arkansas that day.



According to some rafting books we have, and locals near the Arkansas, Zume Flume is the most well known rapid in the US. It's also the most technical. Nonetheless, everyone decided it would be best to put all 12 people and two dogs into one boat to go through the rapid. (Mind you, these boats are meant for 3 people). They somehow made it through without a flip.



We then hiked back up to go through again in our own boats. Here's some pictures of Aaron and Brent going through Zume Flume.







To continue with tradition, we drove into Salida that night to watch the fireworks. So sums up our celebration of the Nation!

Memorial Day madness, Utah style

This past weekend we went on our first rafting trip of the season, marking the official start of summer! We packed the CRV to the brim, full of rafting gear, firewood and beer. We drove to the Colorado/Utah border, and put in for a three day trip. The wind was incredibly strong. Here's a shot of us - I'm trying to stay warm while Aaron's trying to avoid an eddy.



We camped about 17 miles in. The camping was perfect; we had the beach to ourselves and were nestled in a quiet canyon.



Here is our attempt at making pancakes on the beach, in the desert with just a flame and frying pan. They actually turned out pretty good.



We took a hike on day two, and ended up in the back of a secluded canyon. The guys attempted to hike towards the top, but the heat proved to be a bit strong and the walls a bit steep.



On day three we floated on down to the ranger station. Most of the people in our group emptied their boats, then headed on down through Westwater Canyon. Being pregnant, I was not one of those people. Bummer. Westwater is known for its class V rapids and technical challenges. A few in our crew have flipped in this section on previous trips, but we're happy to report that was not the case this weekend. Aaron was able to sneak in a few shots while braving the high waters.



All in all, it was a successful weekend on the water. Here's a parting shot of Aaron enjoying the view.



Until next time,
Jen

Two 14ers in the Middle of Winter

I've wanted to try climbing a 14er in the middle of winter and in January 2010, we had our chance. With a low snow season and a two week snow drought, I decided we should head up Greys and Torres, two 14ers not too far from Denver. We got up early, got our gear and Leroy Brown loaded and started the drive. We were the only ones at the trail head before dawn. It was a tough drive up to the trail head with the snow. We waited a bit for the sun to come out and then we headed out. It was a cold, but beautiful morning.



We had logged onto a report about the two 14ers the day before and someone posted information on an avalanche that had just occurred. About 45 minute into the hike, we came across it, as it covered our trail. It was not a big avalanche, thankfully.


Although it started out beautiful, it turned cold very quickly. But we did start out the day with ssmiles on our faces.




Everything from here on out, you will have to take our word for. It got so cold, both our cameras stopped working.

As we continued up the mountain, the wind started to pick up and the snow started to fall. About a 1/3 of the way up, we had to put on our snowshoes and pull out our climbing polls. We had gotten some mountaineering shoes from T-Dog and Kate that winter and we definitely needed them. Leroy Brown was stuggling up the icy mountainside. As we climbed higher the wind blew harder, much harder. About 2/3 of the way up, Jenny decided she could go no more. It was too cold and she was too tired. She turned back with Leroy, and I continued up. Another couple wasn't too far behind us. They had a similar situation happen - he continued up and his girlfriend headed back down.

As myself and this unspoken young college kid continued on, the wind at times was blowing over 60 mph with gusts even higher (my best guess, but I've never been in wind that strong, even in ND). I could hardly see, but I knew I had to get to the top. It felt like it took forever, but I eventually made it to the top of Greys mountain and the college kid wasn't too far behind. We chatted for about 30 seconds before it got too cold to stand around.

I had a small ridge to cross to make it over to Torres. It wasn't far, maybe 1/2 a mile. I was getting pretty delerious at this point with very little food and water. The ridge was pretty flat and not to hard to navigate. It took me about an hour to get over to Torres and back to the top of Grey's peak.

It was a relief to start heading down. I was so cold and I couldn't feel my feet. Fortunately, I had dressed really warm and my upper body was doing well, just my toes were in rough shape. It took me about half the time to get down the mountain as it took me to get up the mountain.

I finally made it back to the car to find Jenny in tears. She said she was about to call search and rescue. She didn't have much faith in me getting back okay, I guess.

It was a phenomenal climb and I can't wait to do it again. I lost feeling in my toes on my right foot for about 2 months, but that eventually came back (which I was assured would happen during a trip to the doctor a few weeks after).

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