Three 14ers in two days!!!

What a wonderful Christmas vacation we had, in the not-so-distant Georgetown!
Our goal was to stay someplace close-ish, where we could have access to some 14ers. Turns out that Georgetown is a great place for 14er proximity.
What wasn't so great was the lodging and food...but the beautiful weather and great conditions on the mountains more than made up for it!

We got on the trail for Mt. Bierstadt at about 8:45am, the day after Christmas, and after fussing with snowshoes vs. crampons we were at the official trailhead by roughly 10am. Note, in the winter you have to hike almost two miles more each way to reach the trailhead, due to the road being unplowed.



Hal on the way to the trailhead for Mt. Bierstadt

We were able to route-find in snowshoes from trail marker to trail marker until we reached the base of the mountain. Then we switched to crampons (micro spikes), which were amazing. We highly recommend this brand: Kahtoola Microspikes.
About an hour later we were negotiating the final pile of rocks, then gained the summit. Mt. Bierstadt stands at 14,060 ft.  The wind was blowing at the top, making for a quick lunch. The descent was a blast and took about half the amount of time as the ascent. It seems easier to descend in the winter and snow than in the loose rock of the summer...


The summit of Bierstadt!

We finally arrived back at the truck 6 1/2 hours and 10.25 miles later. I must admit that I think doing these 14ers in the winter adds about double the effort as climbing them in the summer! I was exhausted by the time we were done and happy to see the end.

 

 

The one redeeming factor of the hotel was the functioning hot tub! As long as we didn't look too closely at the water we were sitting in, all was well...
Soaking in a tub after any long, hard activity is probably one of the best recovery tools we've found-that, and/or an ice bath.

Looking at the weather forecast, we decided that it would be in our best interest to climb Grays Peak and Torreys Peak the very next day, prompting an early bedtime.
We started an hour earlier and had a three mile trek on a frozen road to reach the Grays/Torreys trailhead. That added at least an hour each way to our overall time. It's definitely key to remember to add hours to your trip time when attempting these peaks in the winter.

The trail leading to the base of the two peaks was much different than the previous day-we were hiking up a valley, with another huge shoulder of a mountain to our right, and the two 14ers in front. One of my favorite things about doing all these 14ers is that each one has been completely different in terms of scenery, ascent, and views. Even when they are close together, they feel miles apart!

This climb was more dangerous in regard to avalanches-we went right through two areas that had slid within the past week. We exercised caution and reached the base of Grays and swapped snowshoes for microspikes. The trail switchbacked to the summit of Grays, at 14,270 ft. The weather was so excellent and warm that we were able to sit and eat lunch and even ditch our heavy jackets. The sky was so clear that we could see all the way north to Long's Peak and all the way south to Pike's Peak! On such a calm, crystal day you really do feel as if you're on top of the world. And seeing everything blanketed in a layer of snow was unparalleled. We highly recommend doing any of these trails in the winter, even if you don't want to go to the summit.

Summit of Grays Peak

After lunch it was a quick descent to the saddle connecting the two peaks and then right up the side of Torreys. The trail pretty much went straight up, and I was feeling the effects of the altitude and the combined days of hiking. Hal had to encourage me to the top, which was fortunately only about 5 minutes away! Snap a quick photo on top of Torreys, 14,267 ft., to commemorate our 15th 14er, and then back down the mountain. I perked up after drinking some sugar water and loved gliding/sliding/running down the snowy slope. Eight hours and 14 miles later we reached the truck. Repeat hot tub soak and early bed time. Wake up the next day feeling a strange combination of elation/depression. Elated to have had such good weather and such a great time being up so high, depressed that we weren't doing any more...

Summit of Torreys Peak, our 15th 14er!

Fortunately there are a total of about 54 official 14ers in Colorado (this number varies depending on whom you ask), and we still have 39 to go! Something to look forward to!

If anybody has any questions about trail conditions, trailheads, etc. please post in the comments and we'll try to help! Another great resource for the Colorado 14ers is http://www.14ers.com/.

An Introduction to Money and Lifestyle...

Let's talk money and lifestyle.

This blog is about the lives of Kasey and me. In the spirit of our lifestyle and adventures I think it is necessary to explain to you all how to beat the system.

Yeah We said it. We know some of you are in similar situations and we applaud you for standing up against all the bullshit the typical lifestyle offers. In contrast We would like to offer you a way out. Or perhaps an idea or two to take to the fiscal home front to improve your financial freedom or in most cases lack thereof...

We travel, run, ride, climb, and eat lunch at the Costco sample carts on weekday afternoons while the majority of people are working the nine to five gig. We sometimes waste whole days walking to the movie theatre 10 miles away guilt free. We spend time with our families and in most cases travel to see them several times a year. We live our lives planning the next outing or adventure. You could do the same just insert your activities instead of ours. We are constantly having fun and without the worry of not paying our bills, without the thoughts of what we are going to do if we lose our jobs.

THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! If you are interested please read on and subscribe for more details and more stories from the front line.. This works for us and we believe it because we live it.

The point is to live a great life without financial stress. This means working a job you love or maybe just like and not becoming a victim to your belongings versus being a robot at a job you hate because you need to drive a $50,000 vehicle. We like sweet cars too, but not at the risk of having to work for three extra years to own it.

How can you have everything? Well, we will start with the biggest expense and narrow the money spending down from there, one post at a time. A mortgage... We might as well right? 30 years sound about right? Five percent isn't that bad? Do yourself a favor and spend the next half hour with a mortgage calculator and write down exactly the amount of cash you're giving away and post it on your fridge. You will be disgusted and want to fix it. If not, no big deal. If your stomach turns and you realize you've got to change this then great. It is doable! WOO HOO!

Hope to catch you on the next post, where I will discuss how to live within your means...

A Christmas Wish...

Our Christmas wish is health and happiness for all.

As athletes, we are constantly pushing our bodies, demanding the utmost, and taking our health both to the limit and for granted.
Having been sick off and on for two months this winter, I've come to re-appreciate my health. Waking up in the morning and feeling great is something we are lucky to have. Aches and pains associated solely with exercise are a blessing compared to the daily suffering of so many.
So I'm trying hard to be thankful for our good health every day.

And because we are healthy, we can do the things that make us happy. Like living active, meaningful lives. Being able to go anywhere and do anything. So I think that health and happiness go hand in hand. In our experience, the people we meet who are healthy tend to also be happy, and vice versa. Getting out and enjoying life and the strength of your own body is an amazing thing. Something to be happy about every day!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, and may 2014 be a year full of health, happiness, and peace!

~Kasey (& Hal)~

Answers to a question from a reader regarding "Mentally Managing Pain and Fatigue"

Hi folks,

Kasey got an email from a friend who finds that dealing with pain and fatigue (mentally) can be somewhat difficult as a newer athlete.

Let me start by saying... everything in the endurance world is difficult. In the beginning, training and building up endurance in one's particular event or plural events is fun and exciting. Therefore requiring less motivation because we see huge gains on a regular basis. This is usually enough to keep us pumped. As we get faster or extend our "time in the saddle" most of us find that we get bored or wonder why we are doing this at all. We will all have different reasons for doing stupid things, i.e. running 120 miles through the dessert. But at the end of the day the only thing that matters is why YOU do it. Could be vanity...in my case weighing 130 lbs. and looking like skeletor has recently become a top priority. Or, you could find solitude, peace of mind, mental clarity and self challenge.

I decided to answer this question from my perspective because I am a dude. Kasey will most likely chime in and have a completely different perspective which will most likely be easier to understand if you have the other chromosome.

Pushing your body requires motivation we know, but different events may lead to having different motivators. For example, during a two and half hour mountain bike race I know that the end will come fairly quickly and the reward is getting to the finish before anyone else, period, simple. Most of us, though, will get there after the guy who had a little more motivation or experience or was just plain lucky that day. I am motivated in these short races to inflict suffering onto others even if someone else is doing that same thing to me. At the same time, I am testing my mind, my training and deciding what else I can do to be faster. Every race is a different experience. Sometimes you feel great and other times become a feat of just enduring a slow slog to get to the finish. Those races and events are generally the most rewarding. It is then you learn to prioritize your life and learn about yourself.

The longer the event is the more one needs to be willing to escape. To get the full benefits of a huge effort we must learn to enjoy the entire compliment of the punishment and benefits of such. In any event a time will come when you cannot possibly go another step or pedal. When the thought of continuing brings up bile and disgust. The time to go to your place of escape becomes essential.

You're thinking I have said two different things here? I did and they are both right. The need for the individual to love the pain of a 100 mile run on an ankle that has been killing you since mile four becomes so aggravating that you decide to bag the last 20 miles. The thought of running that much further sends signals to your brain that tell you to stop right here and right now. This is the crucial time. Do you pack it in? Or tell yourself that your ankle should hurt because you're putting 20 years of running/activity into 20 hours and it is most likely a normal problem for such an activity. This is the time when I generally sing songs, mostly only one line that I can remember over and over again like a crazy man.  This is when some people (me) can become emotional and can make good or bad decisions because the chemicals released in such times of distress can change your outlook on your mission at hand. The goal here is to stick to the plan and unless something is really, really off, usually this is not the time to reconsider. You're most likely going to be OK. I know it doesn't feel like it but you will need to trust me. I have felt this way a couple of times before. A little secret...If you're feeling bad so are the other guys. Your suffering and misery is not worse than anyone else's! Most people will try to cover up the "weakness" by acting like nothing is wrong. I highly recommend this tactic because it works. Even if you are only fooling yourself, even better huh?

The goal is to embrace the pain then gently let it go. There will always be something to stop you. Find reasons to keep going. Reasons can be as simple as pride, stubbornness, or stupidity. In the end the reward is the same. YOU DID IT! through all the trying to talk yourself out of it. You still made the distance you set forth to accomplish. YAY YOU! Sometimes the payoff is immediate and sometimes you will notice at work four weeks later when confronted with a so called "problem" that it is now easier to manage after putting yourself through the ringer in the real world.

The rewards for adventure are endless. I have hallucinated, cried, puked, pooed, diahreahed, fallen asleep while walking, starved, drank foamy, muddy water, fallen off a cliff into a waterfall, drank a strange local drink that made me numb, seen some of the most beautiful landscape, villagers, kids that have never seen white people, chiefs of tribes sat on my back to give me massage and enjoyed company from people all over the world in just one adventure.  I highly recommend any adventure that takes you from the comfort of your home to help you see things you couldn't on your own. This could be as simple as a walk in the dark.

Thanks for reading!

Let's try a blog...

Dearest Family, Friends, and (hopefully) Followers,

We have decided to enter the world of blogging. It seemed like we needed more space than Facebook allowed to tell the stories of all our adventures, so we'll try this.
We will be writing about our trips, hikes, bike rides, camping, adventures, travels, training, daily life, and anything else we feel might be pertinent to share. Hopefully we can convince you that it's simple and fun to "Live Big by Living Small..."
We hope you enjoy reading and we greatly appreciate your comments and feedback!
Check back often to catch up on what we've been up to...

~Kasey & Hal~