Back from Denver

And we picked the absolute worst times to hike. On the 2nd day hike, well, more trailbreaking through knee deep snow. We were hiking on Mt. Democrat, and got up to about 13,600 ft. before about 40 mph winds had us turn around. We were probably 45 minutes below the summit but it was on an exposed ridge and we didn't feel like risking it. Might have been longer as well if we had to break tough trail all the way.







Then we went to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.....450 breweries with over 2100 beers entered! The hall was absolutely crazy, and fun times! Good way for a final fun weekend before our flight out on Thursday!

4 days too late....

Well, apparently last week on Thursday here in Breckenridge is was 70 and sunny. However, today, it's 25 and snowing. Jason and I decided to hike anyway, and we did, trying to do the Gray's and Torrey peak double (starting about 11,200, finishing about 14,300 ft), but we ran into knee deep snow about 13,300 ft, and the trail turned out to be closed about 1/4 mile further up anyway. We will be hiking tomorrow, but we aren't quite sure where right now....

Luckily, there is good pizza and beer here! :)

Breckenridge!

Well, Jason and I are in Breckenridge for some pre-trip acclimitization, and though it was 70 here on Saturday, it's now 32 and snowy! And of course, Jason wore shorts and sandals on the plane.....but we are hiking a 14,000'er tomorrow, so hopefully the weather gets a little better!

T-minus 2 weeks!

Wow, I can't believe it's under 2 weeks to the trip! I've been doing a bunch of hiking this summer and climbing stairs, and I haven't totally lost the gut, but it'll just keep me warm on the mountain :)

Here's some pics from the summer hikes:

Red Pass Hike:

Granite Mtn Hike (hardest one I did this summer!):