Biking in Boulder

Living in Boulder is fantastic--I'm trying to embrace as many Boulder-ite things as possible.  One of these things...biking instead of driving.  You know, being all green and shit.

I've been attempting to bike around town now for a little over a month, and let's be honest, I still feel like I have no clue what I'm doing.  It's probably a miracle I haven't been killed yet.  I have a zillion questions, still, about bike-etiquette, and while I've picked up on a few things (mainly by observation and process of elimination) I'm still pretty clueless.  Why yes, I am 29 and supposed to be a grown-up.  Don't judge me.

1)  Can you get a ticket for running a red light on a bike?  What about a DUI?  I feel like I should get SOME points for being at least a little responsible...at least I'd just kill myself on a bike, not someone else.  Points for trying?

2)  Do I pretend I'm a car or a person?  I definitely see people doing both of these things, so I just go with whatever works better for me at that point in time...

3)  Are hand signals really necessary?  Sometimes I think I might crash and die w/out 2 hands on my handlebars at all times, so you know...safety first?

4)  I got a bell for my bike, but found I don't need to use it because my brakes squeak SO LOUD all I have to do is tap them and everyone within a 0.25 mile radius knows I'm there.

5)  a.  What is the probability of my front wheel falling off while I'm trying to ride my bike?  I saw this happen to some dude and it's got me totally freaked out.

     b.  What's the probability of a homeless person tackling me on the bike trail as I'm going by and stealing my bike?  This is what I think about when biking, alone, at night.  

6)  If I can barely make it up a paved hill in Boulder, does that mean I'm just not cut out for actual mountain biking?  Like, don't even try?

 

7)  How much harder is it to pull one of those bike-trailer things?  I want to buy one and put Tucker in it, but let's be honest, he's kind of a chunk, and we've already established the fact I strugglefest up even small, paved hills.

8)  How on earth do I bike wearing a dress without accidentally showing off whatever panties I decided to wear that day?  I've seen other women biking in dresses...I just don't think I'm that graceful.

9)  Is it normal to take longer to lock your bike up than it takes to actually bike somewhere?  I thought I'd get faster with practice but I'm pretty good at dropping things and basically looking like a complete idiot.

Finishing the Colorado Trail

The last 74 miles were quite an experience!  Monika headed back to Indiana and I finished by myself. I drove my car to Durango so that it would be there when I was done, and took the train back up to Silverton.  Riding the train was super fun!  Definitely a cool experience.

It took me 4.5 days to do 74 miles.  The first night I camped completely by myself--there was no one else around.  This was also my first time camping totally alone!  In the past I've always had a friend nearby, or at least had Tucker with me.  

The view was pretty nice :)

Day 2 was a high-mileage day; I finished Segment 25 and camped about 6 miles into Segment 26, for about 18 miles total.  Some day hikers said they saw a herd of about 200 elk, but I didn't find them before stopping to camp for the night.  I did here coyotes, several times throughout the night!  

  

I saw lots of wildlife!  The usual marmot/pika, and also a ptarmigan family!  I almost stepped on the babies, they were camped out right in the middle of the trail.

Later that day, I rounded a corner and startled a moose.  I think he scared me as much as I scared him!  I just saw his butt as he bolted away from the trail.  

The black flies were HORRIBLE!  I hid in my tent for awhile to avoid them.  

Day 3 finished Segment 26 and got into Segment 27.  This includes the longest stretch of the CT without a reliable source of water; so my pack was extra heavy!  4 liters of water weighs a LOT.  I did a lot of miles (for me) again this day, camping on the Scenic Overlook in Segment 27.  It was gorgeous!

I was able to follow a sketchy, mosquito infested puddle to find a small spring off the trail, so after rationing water all day while hiking, I didn't have to worry about dry camping and running out of water.  

Day 4 was the most scenic, in my opinion!  The weather was sketchy--there were dark clouds and T storms following me all day.  Lightning is one of the biggest safety risks on the trail, and I got lucky to get over the ridge before the storms.

Sketchy clouds!!

Hiking up to/past this viewpoint was gorgeous :)

This day was my 1 month trail anniversary!

About lunchtime, I got to Taylor Lake.  It was beautiful!  I wanted to stay and camp here, but it was only 1 pm--way too early to stop.

I hiked about 7 miles into Segment 28, the last segment, and set up camp with 3 other people who were just starting their hike NOBO from Durango.  One of the guys had a boxer!  She looked like a cross between Tucker and Cinder--so cute.  I fed her all my leftover summer sausage and she was my new best friend.  

I didn't sleep well that night--the next campsite was a mile basically straight uphill, and by the time I reached this one I knew I was maxed out for the day.  However I found a deer carcass about 0.1 miles away from where I set up my tent.  I think I saw my first bear-poop (I believe it's called "scat"), as it was definitely not any kind of poo I'd seen before on the trail!  (And we saw a LOT of animal poo).

I gambled and took my chances--with 4 adults and a dog, at a VERY "well used" campsite, I thought it would be OK.  All night I kept waking up, waiting for a bear/mountain lion/coyote to eat me.  I survived the night without being eaten, though.

The next morning, I got an early start.  The trail was pretty narrow, winding through an old-growth forest.  It was basically straight up on one side of the trail and straight down on the other.  Not the best landscape for viewing wildlife--you couldn't see too far through the growth to either side of the trail.  I rounded a corner and heard a loud crashing noise up above me, maybe 100 feet off the trail.  After spending over a month in the woods, I knew this wasn't a small animal noise.  I froze and listened, then heard the noise again.  I really hate to turn around and do "bonus miles" so I banged my trekking poles together and hiked on...fast.  About 15 minutes later, I came upon 2 guys hiking that I'd met about ten days prior.  They informed me that the couple hiking right ahead of them had just treed a bear cub.  Pretty sure the animal I heard was either mama or the baby!  Yikes.  Close call, glad it wasn't me...

I finished the trail by 1 pm--14 miles in 6 hours!  I was very motivated (beer and cheeseburger awaited my finish).  

I hiked a total of 309.3 miles of the 484 mile Colorado Trail.  I plan to go back, at some point, and hike some of the segments that I skipped due to snow and scheduling.  I'd really love to hike a segment with a llama, on horseback, and via mountain bike.  I think it would be cool to experience the trail in as many was as possible!  

It was a fantastic experience--I met kind, dedicated, friendly people.  I saw amazing scenery, plant, and animal life.  I have a deep respect for thru-hikers.  There is something deeply satisfying about knowing you can fit everything you need to survive in a 25 lb backpack (Ok, 30 lb...I carried WAY too much food).  I lost 9 lbs, despite eating as many calories as I wanted to!  I'm in the best shape of my life right now.  

I learned a lot about myself, what's important to me, and what I want out of life.  This pretty much sums it up:

"I've climbed mountains, crossed a hundred streams, and walked through fields of wildflowers...yet my favorite view of this world is still from the back of a horse."

Segments 22-24

I took a few extra days off after Salida because not having anywhere lined up to live was stressing me out.  After 2 days in Boulder, I found a nice townhouse I'll be moving into on July 22nd.  I'm going back to a roommate-situation (which will be weird after living by myself for 7+ years), but it seems like we will get along well, and she has a very cool dog!  I'm excited that Tucker will have a friend.

We got a TON of awesome views of this red mountain along the way...I have like 200 pictures of it!

Monika and I finished Segments 22-24 (about 55 miles) in 3.5 days--these were the most scenic views yet, by far!  We also saw the most wildlife--lots of deer, moose, a herd of elk on a ridge, marmots, and of course birds/chipmunks/etc.

2 bull moose grazing by a pond in Segment 23!

We climbed up about 4,000 feet over the course of 4-ish miles.  This was super intense!  I'm still dealing with all kinds of foot problems, so I tried my old hiking boots for this segment...that was a mistake.  They were definitely a size too small and destroyed my feet.  They hurt so bad by the end of the day (we did about 17 miles) that I felt like I was going to throw up.  Monika had to go find us a campsite while I guarded our packs because it hurt too much to move.

The next day was a little better, and so was the day after that.  I really want to finish the trail, so I'm going to--but thru-hiking and this kind of mileage is definitely hard!  

Gorgeous campsites help make it worthwhile!  Although it got below freezing this night--I woke up to ice on my tent.  

I love all the different wildflowers on the trail!

After the amazing views in Segment 24, the high point in Segment 23 was a bit anti-climatic.  But still cool :)

By far, the #1 thing I miss on the trail is CHAIRS!!!  I was super excited to find this awesome log to sit on at our campsite.  Sometimes, after hiking >15 miles...the little things make all the difference!

Segment 24.  I did some bonus miles because I was paying more attention to picture-taking than following the trail.

Can't beat these morning views!

Unfortunately this mileage was a bit much for Roxy and she let us know she was done afterwards.  Monika headed back to Indiana yesterday.  I'm in Durango today, trying to figure out where I will leave my car and how to get back to Silverton to continue my hike.  I've got 74 miles left and while I'm apprehensive about finishing solo, the idea of quitting is out of the question.  I'll suck it up and hopefully not get eaten by any bears.  I'm hoping to catch up to a few other thru-hikers we've met along the way (or make new friends!) so I don't have to camp alone.  We will see!  So far most everyone we've met on the trail has been super friendly, it's been fun meeting new people.

Hopefully the next post will be from Durango....after I've finished the last 4 segments!

Summer Log

June 15: Last day of work! Drive to Indiana; pack
June 16: Drive to Sterling, CO.  Camp w/ Monika @ North Sterling State Park
June 17: Drive to Boulder, look at apartments, climbing in Boulder Canyon w/ Rob, camp in nat'l forest land N of Boulder (civic wouldn't make it up here)
June 18: Climb w/ Rob & friends in Golden, shuttle cars, drop Monika at CT alternate start, camp at Roxborough State Park
June 19: Start CT!!  Segment 1--16.8 miles
June 20: Segment 2--11.5 miles, 2.1 miles of Segment 3.  Golf ball size hail.
June 21: Segment 3--12.2 miles, Segment 4--4.6 miles
June 22: Segment 4--12 miles, Segment 5--4.6 miles.  Severe T Storm w/ hail.
June 23: Segment 5 (10 miles)
June 24: Zero Day, Breckenridge
June 25: Segment 7--12.8 miles
June 26: Nero Day, Frisco (new shoes for me//Roxy limping)
June 27: Segment 9--12.6 miles
June 28: Summit Mt Elbert--8 miles
June 29: Zero Day, Leadville
June 30: Shuttle cars, Segment 12--8.1 miles
July 1: Rest of Segment 12--10.4 miles, Segment 13--2.5 miles
July 2: Segment 13--17.5 miles.  Downpoured, showed @ Mt Princeton Hot Springs.
July 3: Segment 14--12.2 miles
July 4: Segment 14--8.2 miles.  Evening in Salida, fireworks!
July 5: Zero day, whitewater rafting!
July 6: Segment 15--12.5 miles
July 7: Zero day, Boulder--apartment hunting
July 8: Zero day, Boulder--apartment hunting.  Drive to Blue Mesa canyon and camp w/ Monika
July 9: Shuttle cars, camp at Little Molas lake
July 10: Segment 24--15 miles
July 11: Segment 24-- 5.2 miles, Segment 23--10 miles
July 12: Segment 23-- 5.9 miles, Segment 22-- 8.5 miles
July 13: Segment 22-9 miles
July 14: Zero day--Silverton.  Monika leaves to go back to Indiana
July 15: Zero day, shuttle car, prep for last section
July 16: Take train from Durango to Silverton.  Shuttle from the hostel in Silverton to trailhead.  Hike in ...8 miles? to camp.  Segment 26
July 17:  Full day--Finish Segment 26, start Segment 27
July 18:  Full day--Segment 27
July 19: Full day--Finish Segment 27, start Segment 28. Camp at mile 7.1
July 20: Last day on the trail!  14.4 miles; Done by 1 pm
July 21: Drive to Boulder
July 22:  Move to Boulder!

2017:
July 3:  Segment 10--7 miles
July 4:  Segment 10--6.1 miles
July 15: Segment 6--9.3 miles (mile marker 19.7 to mile marker 29)
July 16: Segment 6--4 miles (mile 29 to 32.9)
July 22: Segment 11--
July 23: Segment 11--

Climbing mountains builds character...and calf muscles!

I've hiked about 140 miles of the almost-500 mile Colorado Trail so far.  We've met some awesome people along the way!


It's fun to camp with a group!

The trail has been quite an experience--I definitely didn't expect to have so many problems with my feet!  After switching to new shoes, the heel pain went away....but the shoelaces on the new trail runners are bruising the tops of my feet now.  So, I've been sticking to lower-mile days and not pushing too hard.

I'm getting some super-awesome tan lines....

I've gotten REAL good at matching ;)

I've seen millions of moose-turlings, but no moose :(  Sadly, the biggest mammal I've seen so far is a deer.  Hopefully I'll get to see some cooler animals soon!  I'm becoming an expert in identifying animal poo, though....based on my Google search results, Google must think I'm some kind of animal-poo-identification-wizard.

This was our campsite about a mile into Segment 9.  I heard a mountain lion screaming, twice.  It was terrifying and I refused to leave my tent until the sun came up.  Glad I didn't see it too!

I'm wrapping up a really fun "nero" and "zero" day in Salida.  We finished the last 8 miles of Segment 14 yesterday and got into town around 2pm.  Had dinner at an awesome pizza/brewery, and then watched some great small-town fireworks.  Today, I went on a whitewater rafting trip (it was more like a floating trip, only a few Class 2 rapids, but was still very fun!)  The weather was perfect.I want to come back and float down the river in a tube (with beer, of course).  Salida is my favorite town so far--the people are so friendly, it's a beautiful mountain town, and the scenery is amazing!

The scenery is still gorgeous!  Multiple long ascents (ex: 5 miles up a mountain) have given me lots of ideas...I've decided to try and experience the Colorado Trail in as many ways as possible.  As in, cheating, and not hiking the whole thing on foot :)  My latest and greatest idea is to rent a pack llama!  I've been chatting with a few people on Facebook to get a group together.  You can't rent just ONE llama...they are herd animals.  This won't be an efficient way of doing the trail, but it sure sounds fun!  Llamas only go about 6-9 miles per day and apparently when they decide they are done, you are also done.  Doesn't sound like arguing with a llama gets you very far.  

Misty morning in Segment 12

One thing I've realized on this trip is that thru-hiking is not "my thing."  It's been fun, don't get me wrong--but I don't foresee myself planning a PCT or CDT trip any time soon.  I'll definitely still go on backpacking trips, but I just haven't gotten into the high mileage days that you need to do to be successful at thru-hiking. 

My typical day:

Miles 0-6ish:  This is wonderful!  Everything is beautiful!  I love backpacking!

Miles 6-10ish: Something hurts!  Am I there yet?  How was that not a mile yet?  This guide must be wrong....Am I lost?  

Anything over 10 miles:  I hate my life.  Why am I doing this?  I want a cheeseburger.

The biggest pro to backpacking though--I can eat WHATEVER I want and still lose weight.  Nothing burns calories like lugging a 25 lb pack up and down mountains :)  I estimate I've lost 5 lbs so far, and gained muscle.

I'm going to keep going for sure--there is so much to see and do!  But I'm putting more of an emphasis on experiencing more than just hiking.  For example, I skipped Segment 10 and we hiked Mt Elbert instead.  It's the tallest mountain in Colorado.  That 4 mile climb up and back down was WAY harder than hiking one of the segments!

Highest mountain in Colorado, 2nd highest in the US!  I wanted to quit and turn around so many times, it was the most strenuous 4 miles I've ever done.  I'm glad the weather stayed good and we made it to the top, though!  The view was totally worth it.

Living out of cars is hard....requires a lot of organization!

Colorado is gorgeous!

The Chalk Cliffs, by Mt Princeton Hot Springs

The Colorado Trail--so far

Well, we are a week in to our hike and it's definitely been an experience.  Day 1/Segment 1 was rough!  "Everything hurts and I'm dying" was a very accurate description!  The scenery on Segment 2 overshadowed the dying part, and made for a better day.  A thunderstorm followed us all day, and we stopped early to set up tents ... good thing, because we experienced golf ball sized hail and a 6 hour long thunderstorm!  (pics at end of blog)
Segment 3 was less scenic and my feet were killing me.  Segment 4 started good, but we got stuck in a nasty thunderstorm and got hailed on (um, ouch!) Thankfully we both had rain pants, which make a big difference in attempting to stay warm.  After hiding under a tree for awhile and shivering, we had to decide between hypothermia and getting struck by lightning.  We made a run for it over the pass and made it, but it was scary!  We hiked father just to try to stay warm and let stuff dry out, but everything got soaked.  Camping that night was rough, it stormed again after we set up tents, am pretty sure we went to sleep at 730 pm. 
The next morning we only had to do 10 miles to get back to Kenosha pass, where we left one of the cars.  The scenery was the best yet, and we were paranoid about storms, so we hiked fast.
Our zero day in Breckenridge was less relaxing than I thought, as we spent most of the day running errands like showering, going to the grocery store, and laundry.  We finally finished repacking everything around 7,and I got to soak in the hot tub and hang out by the fire.  The hostel was AMAZING!  So gorgeous.  I chatted with a bunch of cool people and got my extrovert-socialization-fix. 
We hiked out starting Segment 7 yesterday morning.  My pack was so heavy with our food resupply and extra layer of clothing! The first 9 miles were basically all uphill.  It was definitely the toughest climb so far, and despite a 0 day, my feet were not recovered.  We had to cross a lot of snow, our first time encountering it on the trail.  It was intimidating-one slip and you'd easily slide 300-500 feet almost straight down to tree line.  I lost the trail after one snow pass and had to go up a steep incline to find it again. Once I made it to the ridge, the wind gusts prompted me to keep moving fast-as we learned previously, storms pop up quickly and we were well above tree line with no shelter.  My legs got super sunburnt too!  I'm rocking some super cool tan lines now, Ha Ha. 
My feet didn't fare so well and I decided to take another 0 day to try and let things heal.  Both my heels are covered in blisters.  One of today's goals is to get new shoes-my trail running shoes must not fit right.  Roxy,  Monika's dog, was also limping today, so we've re evaluated our thru hiking plans.  I'll keep going and Monika will meet me at trailheads to camp.  Roxy recently had a tumor removed and while she's eager to hike, it's probably more than she can handle and Monika has decided (smartly) to play it safe and not push her.
The snow in Segment 8 is supposed to be worse than 7, so I'm skipping 8 and going on to 9. Falling off a mountain is not on my list of things to do! 
Colorado is gorgeous :)

Colorado!

It's Saturday night, I'm taking advantage of free WiFi at Whole Foods to write one last entry before we start the trail tomorrow :)  Waking up in the mountains is amazing, I keep wondering if this is real life?  I've been planning for so long, actually being here is surreal.

My last day of work was Wednesday and I arrives in Colorado on Thursday night.  I was really hoping to figure out a living arrangement for this fall before leaving for the trail, but people on Craigslist are flaky and that didn't happen.  Hopefully it will all work out once we're done hiking.  So far things have worked out very well.

A HUGE thank you to all of my amazing friends who have housed me over the last 2.5 months! I am forever grateful.  (Lindsey, Jenn,  Tiffany, and Rob! You all are awesome!)

I'll have my phone off  (usually no cell service) unless we are in towns for the day (about once every 5 days).  The sun rises much earlier than I'm used to, so we'll be hiking early to take advantage of cooler temperatures.  Its been in the 90s all week, but at least there is no humidity!

I got to do a little climbing before leaving for the hike...this terrified me but I didn't die and it was fun :)

I will post again when we're in Breckenridge!