Up and Around and Back Again! [NM & CO]

32 days. 32 crazy days full of adventure, of pushing limits, of exploring new places, of living life to the fullest. 32 days alongside my mister with no expectations other than to get in there. Our summer was cut in half because of grad school commitments, but we made up for that once we were able to hit the road.

We finished up a course in the History and Philosophy of Education on June 26 and were on the road by 9AM on the 27th. There was no holding us back. We had places to be (well, not really, but the idea of taking seven days to make it to Nebraska as opposed to one was too much to ask for) and sights that we wanted to see on our way there.

Our road trip began with a visit to Aztec Ruins National Monument in northern New Mexico. We learned that these ruins are neither of the Aztec persuasion, nor are they considered ruins by the Puebloan people or the Navajo who later inhabited the area. Rather, they are a home to the spirits of those who once lived there. Shortly thereafter we crossed the state line and said good-bye to New Mexico and hello to colorful Colorado.

Aztec Ruins National Monument

We buzzed through Durango and picked up a couple of things at the visitor center (and checked to make sure we weren't going to encounter any road closures due to fire) before heading north to Silverton. The sights were amazing - forests and water seem to be in abundance as soon as you leave New Mexico and we soaked it in. 

At one mountain pass we couldn't take it any longer and climbed out of the car to enjoy an overlook. That overlook led us to a trail, which led us to an exploration of trails leading up Engineer Mountain, through wildflowers taller than Chris, and eventually into afternoon thunderstorms. Having spent plenty of time in storms, we decided to turn around when we saw our first bolt of lightning in the distance and got in some trail running on our way back to the car.

Tarah Running

Chris Running (This one is especially great if you zoom in!)

We made it off of the mountain safely and then drove into Silverton. We wandered around town and checked out the train depot before heading into the national forest for some free camping. We ended day one of 32 with cans of beans and some bread followed by a sunset hike up to a high meadow lake. We crossed over rivers, found ourselves embraced in a warm red light that covered the mountain after the sun went down, and eventually found our way back to our trusty tent.

Red-tinted Skies in Colorado

The next morning we worked our way north on the million dollar highway between Silverton and Ouray. It was incredible (especially at 7AM when hardly anyone was on the road). We stopped at a small pullout before Ouray and were blessed with the sight of a majestic waterfall that we didn't even know that we had crossed over. A little further down the road we pulled over for good to try our hand at high altitude hiking on the Bear Creek National Scenic Trail.

Rim Hiking on Bear Creek Trail

Rock Hopping on Bear Creek Trail

We picked our way through shale fields as we made a quick ascent, and then we kept right on climbing. I pushed as hard as I could and still my feet did not want to leave the ground. As we wound our way along cliffside trails we were granted more views of the previously mentioned waterfall, the river that it came from, and the mountain streams that fed into that river. We passed old mining camps, rock hopped across some streams, encountered a porcupine eating lunch, and continued climbing until we lost the trail about a mile before coming out at Engineer Pass. Feeling exhausted, I did not have the energy to search for the trail and so we turned around and made our way down. Each step was remarkably easier than the previous and it felt like a weight was being lifted off of my shoulders (or lungs, rather). 

Grizzly Bear Mine (Bear Creek Trail)

After returning to the car we drove through Ouray and made our way further north to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We drove around the canyon rim and admired the beauty of nature. We paid for a night of camping in the park so that we could get an early start on a hike down into the canyon. The next morning we got our early start, but the descent freaked me out a little (okay, a lot), so we turned back and did a more moderate hike on top of the canyon before heading east toward Grand Junction and Colorado National Monument.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

We were unsure of what to expect of Colorado National Monument, but we were pleasantly surprised. From the forests of the Rocky Mountains we found ourselves thrust back into our desert landscape. The red rocks had me in awe, and then I realized that we live amongst the same types of formations. We hiked the old monument road, the serpent trail, which was once one of the curviest roads in the United States. We drove along the park road and observed a canyon that was vastly different from that which we had been at in the morning. Instead of dark striated rock, we had a painted desert of rich reds, golds, and oranges in front of us. Monuments reached for the sky and we roasted under the sun. That night we hiked to the base of one of the monuments and camped out under the stars (and a couple of climbers that had begun their ascent of the monument at dusk). With the exception of some noisy night hikers that came through the trail junction in the middle of the night, we had a peaceful desert sleep.

Our Camp Was Surrounded By Monuments

The following morning we drove east to Boulder where we got some much needed sibling time. We stayed with Sarah and James for a couple of nights and spent our time in town exploring trails, eating good food, and observing the oddities that exist on Pearl Street. We made it to Chataqua Municipal Park where we climbed Green Mountain (a goal of Chris's for the summer trip) and did a little more trail running.

Wildflowers Were Abundant 

Our Colorado visit ended with a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater and Dinosaur Ridge. Both places were incredible for different reasons. We hiked around, took in the sights, and learned a little more about the geological and archeological history of the area. In the early afternoon we had to call our short stay to an end and we drove north into Nebraska where the next phase of our summer adventure took place.

Moab's Red Hot 55K

Last weekend, Tarah and I took advantage of a semi-long weekend (no classes on Monday, but parent/teacher conferences) to head up to Moab for some racing and hiking. We would have preferred to be in sunny Florida or Nicaragua for the weekend, but Moab was still a great escape.

We made the four and a half hour drive on Friday after school and got to our super nice hotel (no really) about 9:00. The race didn't begin until 8:00 the next morning, but I needed to pick up my packet closer to 6:45 so we were up early by most people's standards, but for us it meant sleeping in about an hour later than normal. So after a delicious hot breakfast at the hotel we headed to the trailhead and race start just outside of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

While we were waiting around for the start we met a couple from Colorado and chatted them up for a bit and Tarah ended up hiking with the Maggie in Arches while us guys "raced" (well, Daniel raced to seventh place, I survived). 

The race started and I had again positioned myself way too far back in the pack. As we started our ascent up the the mesa I quickly passed people and settled into a nice pace. The weather was perfect and the course was beautiful. I cruised along the trails at a nice clip until the second aid station at around 13 miles. I hit the half marathon point in a little over 2 hours, shooting for a sub-six finishing time and then my race fell apart.

My shin/IT band/knee hadn't been feeling great leading up to the race, but I had rested and I felt great for the first third of the race, but the last 20+ miles were horrible. Every other step was excruciating, it felt like someone was putting a knife in my knee. On any terrain that was flat or downhill I couldn't manage much more than a hobbling shuffle, however anytime the course went up hill my leg didn't bother me and I could climb like a champ. At the first onset of the pain I tried some yoga breathing to try and alleviate the discomfort and that seemed to help, though it may have just been that I focusing so much on my controlled breathing that I wasn't focussing as much on the pain. I stopped a few times to massage my calf and shin and do some stretching (I'm sure some runners were shocked to come around a corner and see me standing on one foot hugging my leg into my chest), but it was all to no avail.

I contemplated dropping, but I didn't have anything better to do than hike in a truly incredible setting, so I soldiered on. At about a marathon, we hit a rolling section of trail and I yo-yoed with few runners blowing past them on the climbs and getting passed on the descents. Every time someone huffed and puffed past me I wanted to shout "But I'm not even tired, and my legs feel great, I just can't bend my knee." It was really frustrating to be passed by runners that I knew I was better than, but I knew it wasn't meant to be that day. Perhaps February just isn't my month for ultras.

With about a mile to go I finished the final climb of the day and a course marshall, trying to be optimistic, told me it was all downhill to the finish and I cringed. I ended up passing at least one other runner in that section and was meet by Tarah a few hundred feet from the finish line. About seven and half hours after I started I crossed the finish line.

We hung out at the finish for awards, I ate some soup, drank some cola, and talked to Dakota a bit about the race he's directing in the San Juan Mountains. We caught a shuttle to the car, went back to the hotel to clean up a bit, ate delicious pizza and calzones at Eddie McStiff's, and then relaxed in the hot tub with about ten barely supervised kiddos.

The next day I ate a huge breakfast (eggs, gourmet salsa, hash browns, sausage gravy, bacon, sausage, french toast,  and hot chocolate - seriously, when in Moab stay at Aarchway Inn), Tarah ate a good breakfast and we headed to Arches National Park for a little hiking. The area around Gallup is pretty beautiful, but Moab is absolutely gorgeous. We hiked around in Devil's Garden and I decided to do my hiking barefoot, despite the freezing temperatures and snowy/icy trails. Other than a few areas of sharp, crusty ice the walk was great, and the expressions on people's faces and their comments when they thought we were out of earshot were awesome. We ended up taking the primitive trail back from Double O Arch and Tarah got her cardio workout in on some fear-inducing sections. On one particularly sketchy spot that Tarah had thankfully already traversed, I did a semi-controlled fall/slide on the slick rock down to the trail about twenty below. If Tarah had been behind me, we probably would have had to call in a helicopter to get us since we had another super sketchy section behind us. I came out unscathed and we finished our adventure as the trails were starting to fill up.

We're looking forward to getting back to Moab during the first part of our spring break in April before heading to the mountains outside of ABQ for another ultra.

The view at the start

Finishing up

Trailhead and trail guardians

Barefootin' it

Probably the second most famous arch in the park - Landscape Arch

Fair warning

Feeling great going up

At Black Arch overlook

The primitive trail

Heading back to the car

July [a whirlwind of travel, fun and adventure]

August is already here. It's hard to believe that school will be starting soon and that our summer adventures will be coming to a close very, very soon (read two days ago). We took full advantage of July, visiting three National Park sites and six different states. We visited with friends in Nebraska and Wyoming. Went to a rodeo (thanks again Julie and Rob!). Did a little shopping and enjoyed some cool (very cold at times) mountain air.

Here's a peek into our July:

El Morro National Monument, 

Ramah, NM

El Morro is located about an hour south of our new home. We had talked about making a trip out there and then it spontaneously happened one morning after a run. We had almost a full tank of gas, no other plans for the day and a dirt road that seamed to be heading in the right direction ahead of us. We drove past the "WARNING: PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. ROAD NOT MAINTAINED BEYOND THIS POINT" sign and made it to Ramah without incident. Granted, we'll take the paved road in the future, but sometimes the best adventures are unplanned.

This historic landmark was a place of relief for travelers making their way west. From the early Americans to Spanish conquistadors El Morro was the place to stop for a break from the desert sun and a drink of cool water. Passersby marked their presence by carving their names and stories into the smooth stone walls. We happened to talk to a park ranger who actually had ancestors who had carved their names into the rock. We crossed paths on the trail and he happily pointed the names out to us! Just another reason to love our National Park Rangers!

Petrified Forest National Park, 

Apache, AZ

Petrified Forest is another pretty awesome location located an hour away from our lovely new home in Gallup. This time we had to travel west into our lovely neighboring state of Arizona. This adventure was planned with an annual National Parks pass in hand and a longing to be reunited with our tent after too many years without it.

The petrified forest is not a forest (just wanted to point that out - a ranger told us of a disappointed visitor that demanded his money back after a drive through the park because he did not see a forest anywhere nearby). In some ways it is much cooler than a forest. Billions of years ago the earth looked much different. What is now desert in the southwest was once a tropical forest. Then things changed. The earth's plates shifted, mountains formed, and those tropical forests were quickly covered up. After an unknown period of time in the right conditions (pressure, minerals... think about the formation of diamonds) the lovely trees of said forests became stone (or petrified). The National Park protects the remaining bits of petrified wood to the best of its ability. Unfortunately visitors still carry about one ton of this precious material out of the park each year. Instead of leaving it behind for future generations to enjoy they want free souvenirs or to make a profit by tumbling the stone and selling the beautiful end product. 

One of added benefits to visiting Petrified Forest (aside from seeing science at work, taking in the painted desert, and listening to fun ranger talks) was that we were able to camp for free in the back country! The requirements are simple - register and then hike at least a mile away from your designated parking location to a place where you cannot be viewed from the road. No problem! We had a lovely afternoon exploring the parts of the park that most visitors do not see and had a peaceful sunset tucked in a little canyon.

Rocky Mountain National Park, 

Estes Park, CO

Rocky Mountain National Park is a national treasure indeed. It is a place that we have visited twice, yet have not yet had ample time to explore. There are an abundance of hiking trails that are calling our names, yet we have hiked few. In a lot of places that would drive us crazy. However, even from a car this National Park can steal your heart. The landscape is incredible. The animals are amazing. And, while we didn't talk to any of them this time around the park rangers are full of interesting information that makes you excited about learning new things.

This trip we were able to drive along Old Fall River Road with Chris' parents. Along the way we spotted several marmots out sunning themselves (and seemingly posing for photos), some young fawns, gorgeous wild flowers, and determined bicyclists. Once at the top we checked out the views and then headed back into Estes Park for the most important event of the day...

Sarah and James Get Married, 

Estes Park, CO

After our lovely drive through Rocky Mountain National Park we spent the afternoon and evening welcoming James into the Hall family. Sarah and James chose an amazing location on the outskirts of the park and had one of the most beautiful backgrounds that you could imagine. The event was made complete with the mooing of cows in the pasture between the ceremony and the mountains and a coyote catching rabbits (which Sarah saw at the beginning of the ceremony). 

We were so glad to be able to join in the celebration of their marriage and to continue celebrating with them the following Saturday in Ogallala.

The Reception, 

Haythorn Ranch, Arthur, NE

The reception was beautiful and was held at the Haythorn Ranch (which was established in 1884!) in the sand hills of Nebraska. It was an opportunity for friends and family alike to eat delicious home cooked food, dance as much as they wanted, and to enjoy wonderful cake (of course!). 

Henry Doorly Zoo,

Omaha, NE

For us the party continued at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. We are agreed that it is one of the most amazing zoos on earth. With the aquarium, desert dome, rainforest, butterfly garden, swamp, gorilla house, Madagascar center, and sky tram it is more than anyone could ask for. Notice how I didn't mention the big cats, lemurs, and other amazing displays that they also have? That's because everything is so intriguing that you lose track of time and before you know it the day is done and the zoo is closing. (We also didn't get there until lunchtime, but we still wouldn't have had enough time to do it all. Our advice, plan two days!)

We decided to hop on the sky tram on this trip because it would provide a little bit of shade, be a new adventure, and give us a different perspective of the zoo. We were able to spot leopards that were hiding in the shade and out of other visitor's line of vision, flew over the heads of giraffes and ostriches, and had a bird's eye view of the rhinos. It was a real treat! (You should go, really!)

After the zoo we were able to spend the evening with our friends Jeremy and Kim who have just relocated to Omaha. We went out for delicious food and then made some delightful chocolate cherry almond chocolate chunk ice cream. You can have fun ice cream flavors like that with a little elbow grease. It's worth it, I promise!

The next day we continued our journey in eastern Nebraska to meet...

Baby Alice Hall, July 24, 2012

Blair, NE

Our newest niece (and the first Hall niece) was born in the wee hours of July 24. We received a call on our drive to the zoo that Heather was in labor and we awaited news all the day long to see if Alice had joined us in this world. We went to bed that night without a new family member, but had texts awaiting us in the morning when we woke up. 

We were excited to be in the area to meet this precious one since we have missed the births of our last three nieces and weren't sure when we would be able to make it to eastern Nebraska again. We spent a couple of hours cuddling this little beauty before we had to head back west for the next adventure.

Speedgoat 50k,

Snowbird, UT

Our final adventure for the month had us in Utah where Chris ran his first stateside ultra marathon. He chose a doozy of a race, one that the race director himself calls a nightmare. It is also called "a real mountain race" and that it is. I joyfully enjoyed this race from the top of Hidden Peak, watching runners as they pushed off of their knees for added momentum during climbs. 

Chris completed the 50k in about eight and a half hours, but I'll let him tell you more about that when he has time. It was an adventure that is not to be forgotten any time i the near future.

*****

It makes me tired just thinking about our last two weeks in July. That's right. All of the above adventures took place in just two weeks. Talk about getting the biggest bang for your buck!

School starts Monday, so stay tuned for A WHOLE NEW ADVENTURE. This time in teaching!

Unrooted Forests

This past weekend, Henley, another Peace Corps Volunteer, and I headed over to Cerro Chirripó the highest peak in Costa Rica for a little fun run. Like most good adventures this one had plenty of early rising. I got up nice and early on Friday morning to catch the 4:30 bus out of town and then the 5:30 to San José and was able to secure one of the remaining two seats on the 7:30 to San Isidro de General.

Once I got to San Isidro, I walked to the center plaza to hangout and get in touch with Henley. That is where the only negative part of the trip happened. As I was digging the phone out of my bag, I set our camera on the park bench, found the phone, and dealt with the sunscreen that had exploded in my bag. Unfortunately, in dealing with the sunscreen, I forgot about the camera and left it on the park bench and didn't realize it was gone until hours later. (for those of you keeping score at home, that is the second camera lost to adventuring in Costa Rica) I got a hold of Henley and we hungout at a coffee shop where Jake, another volunteer, was wrapping up an interview over Skype. We eventually headed over to the Peruvian resturant for lunch. After good food and great conversation we grabbed some foodstuffs for the hostel, said goodbye to Jake, and hopped on the bus to San Gerardo and the base of Cerro Chirripó.

In the hostel, we chatted about a plethora of things and Henley taught me how to play dominoes. Eventually the hostel filled up with two families from France and a few hikers. We made our dinners, camotes (a type of sweet potato) and garbanzo beans for me and bean burritos for Henley, and got things laid out for our run the next morning.

After a wonderful night's sleep in the cool mountain air, we got up a little after four and prepped for the big adventure. Just after five, I hit start on my watch and began the epic climb from 1520 meters (4986 ft.). At almost a mile above sea level, I was sucking wind pretty hard from the get go. The altitude, steep climbs, windy trails, and muddy conditions made the first couple of kilometers pretty difficult, but eventually we found our grooves (Henley more so than me). We hit the shelter at about fourteen and a half kilometers and 3400 m (11,154 ft.) in just over three hours. Since we weren't planning on staying in the park overnight, we hadn't bothered to register to enter the park, but it so happened that the ranger was out crushing cans, when we ran by, and he stopped us and asked for our tickets. We explained that we didn't have tickets, but would pay the entrance fee. He told us that it was $15 for extranjeros, we told him we were Peace Corps Volunteers and had paid the fee for nationals last time we were in the park, he asked for Costa Rican identification cards, we said that all we had were our Peace Corps IDs and 5mil ($10), thankfully he gave us the rate for nationals and after signing-in and getting a couple of photos taken we were back on the trail.

From the shelter it was another 5.1k (~3 miles) with about 500 meters of climbing. All but the last push, was pretty runable and we caught a couple of parties before getting to the final ascent and passed a couple more before getting to the summit. Henley was a bit ahead of me and I heard him being called Forest and posing for photos as I caught up to him a couple hundred meters from the top. We paused together for more photos with complete strangers and then pushed to the top together. We reached the top of Costa Rica in a little over four hours. We took some photos, chatted with hikers, signed the summit register, and ate some granola bars.

On the way down, we were intercepted by some more Ticos and asked where we were from, but before we could respond, the man who asked the question answered that we were extraterrestres, then he asked if we were training for the Olympics. We told him we were from the U.S. and were just out for a fun day of running. When we got to the next junction in the trail, despite feeling pretty beat and battling pounding heads from the altitude, we decided to climb Cerro Terbi which laid another 265  meters (869 ft.) above the trail head. As we were struggling up the trail, I commented to Henley that I was sure that we were suffering from altitude sickness because our decision to go higher with nasty headaches was definitely irrational. At the top we enjoyed the views, signed the summit register, and then cruised over to the Crestones, the symbol of the park. We stashed our bottles and did a little scrambling. Our aching heads were clear enough for us to not attempt the final high class 4/low class 5 slab to the very top with shaky legs and ungrippy shoes. After soaking up the views and chatting with a Polish woman and a few more Ticos, we made the descent to the shelter.

We paused at the shelter to refill bottles and then started the final fourteen and a half kilometers of our outing. The first section after leaving the shelter is actually a climb, so our descent had to wait a bit longer. We cruised along pretty well for about seven or eight kilometers, then the pounding from descending caught up with us and we slowed to a crawl. Eventually, Henley got his legs back and started moving pretty well. With about five kilometers left I started chanting "the-shu-ffle" over and over again and made myself start shuffling down the trail, I eventually overtook Henley for a bit and then we finished the last three or so kilometers together.

We ran/hiked/walked for eight hours and forty-eight minutes (we spent another hour chilling on summits and taking care of business in the shelter) and covered around 40k (~25 miles) with more than 10,000 ft of climbing (and descending).

Back in the shelter, we ate pan-bon, drank hot beverages, and washed off the grime. After a bit, the French families returned from their adventures and we talked to one of the couples for quite a while. The two men were actually mountain ultra runners and had participated in UTMB and another ultra in the Pyrenees. We eventually went in search of a box of wine to go with our bean burritos, but we came up empty handed. After super delicious burritos (hunger is the best seasoning), we called it an early night since we had another early morning on the horizon.

We got up a little after four and hiked down in the dark to the center of town to catch the 5:15 bus to San Isidro. When we got to San Isidro, we bought bus tickets to San José then headed to Henley's favorite soda where we chowed down on pinto and (platanos) maduros. We then took the 7:30 bus to San José, and I caught the 11:30 to Puerto Viejo.

As great as the running was, it was the moments that we were stopped, chatting with Ticos that I'll always remember. I loved the looks on people's faces when they saw two crazy Gringos (bothers/twins/extraterrestrials?) with beards longer than their shorts running towards them.

I am looking forward to our 50 miler in a couple of weeks and hopefully lots of running/climbing/camping trips in the Southwest.

I'll post photos as soon as Henley sends some my way.

Photos from when Tarah and I visited Chirripó last year.