[at-l] Bunch o' trip reports.... LONG!

[pmags at yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

Another Monday..another series of Colorado trip
reports.. :-)

First, I had another Twilight Hike two Wednesdays ago.
These local hikes start at 6:30 PM and 
involve hiking a local trail in Boulder. A typical
hike is no more than a VERY relaxed two hour trek. On 
Wednesday May 28th hiked to Mallory cave. This cave is
located in the foothills you can see right in town and
is the largest bat breeding cave in the area. Unknown
to me, the entire cave are is blocked off this year!
Usually, it is just the entrance... No matter, we
hiked
the trail, had a great time and found a spot with a
nice overlook over Boulder.

As mentioned previously, the foothills are lush this
year. Green, green and GREEN! Lots of wildflowers.
After the drought and fires of last year, it is a
welcome change. The hike of that Wednesday had a
theme.."Let's celebrate summer!". So I hiked in my
tropical shirt and packed in watermelon and some OJ
and "sparkling wine" (Hey..isn't miramosa a nice
summer drink? :D).  OThers also wore some loud shirts
and packed in some homemade brews and some other
goodies.  

The local hikes are very popular, apparently. We get
back just before sunset, they break up the week, it is
a great way to explore the local Boulder hikes and a
chance to socialize while still enjoying some nice
scenery. I was asked "so..where are we hiking next
week?", Guess I will continue the Wednesday night
hikes for a while. 

Last Wednesday..a hike up Anemone... It drizzled a
bit, but two of us still did it! Not by coincidence I
assume, we both cut our backpacking teeth in New
Hampshire. I guess we are used to hiking in drizzle! A
little drizzle kept most people away. Of course, when
you are used to 300 days of sunshine a year.. :-)

Saturday May31st, I went on a trip I did not organize!
Had a great hike to the Lock in Rocky Mtn National
Park. The snow was still high but it was very doable.
Reminded me of hiking through the High Sierras last
June. We were going to push onto Glass lake, but the
incoming GREY clouds made us think otherwise. Being
above treeline with lightning ain't no fun.  The Loch
itself is a lake in RMNP surrounded by snowcovered
mounains and cliffs. Rather scenic. We also hiked to
Alberta Falls. Very impressive, esp. with all the snow
melt! Alas, forgot I had my camera on "night mode" and
the pic came out blurry...

The pics of these trips can be seen at:
http://gallery.backcountry.net/Co03
(PP 4&5 for the newer stuff)

On a less of  a hiking note.. Momma Mags came into
town that Saturday night. Sunday, we did the
qunitensential tourist thing and drove up Trail Ridge
Road in RMNP. This road is the highest continuiously
paved road in the country (or so the park lit. says)
and tops out at 12200 ft in elevation. A great way to
show the flatlanders some incredible scenery. My Mom
can see why I love it out here. On a decidely non
outdoor related note, my Mom has gone beyond sublety
in her quest to get me married (and give her
grandchildren) :D. True converstations:
"Paul, that building over there..that looks like a
banquet hall..."
"Yes it is Mom. Very popular place..."
"Do they have weddings there?"
AND
"That church in the mountains we saw on the way to the
park. That would be a WONDERFUL plave to have a
wedding!"
AND
"You should see how happy your cousin is right now. He
loves his children!"
The joys of being the oldest of three sons.. :D

She also mentioned how much more I look like my Dad. I
would like to think she meant our similar build or the
way I smile.. but I am afraid she meant my hairline is
starting to resemble his more... ;-)
Yes, having my Mom in Boulder was decidedly
different..  She did enjoy herself and realizes just
how beautiful it is out here.

This past Saturday, traded in my pack for a canoe on a
stretch of the Colorado River. The weather was a bit
sketchy on the way up. Barely missed the six inches of
snow on Vail Pass and it rained all day that night.
But, when I opened the tent and there was LOTS of
sunshine. Yaay!

The weather was cool as we started, but very sunny.
My last time on a canoe was when I was 16 or 17.
Needless to say, I was a bit rusty! Luckily my partner
for the weekend was a bit (and I do a mean a bit! :D)
more experienced than I. We did some whitewater
canoeing on stretches. Though I had been rafting in
Maine, canoeing in whitewater is another ball of wax! 
Luckily the rapids were only class 1&2, so it was not
too bad. In any case, the scenery was wonderful. Red
rocks, green hills and distant snowcapped mountains.

After all this canoeing, we shuttled back to camp.
Consdering this was NOT a guided service, but
completely organized by a friend, amazing how well
everything went. Made it back to camp where we had an
Italian themed potluck. For some reason  was able to
use a family recipe that went well with this theme...

Settled around the campfire, had a nice glass of dry
red wine (of course...), listened to a friend play
some music and again thought to myself how great life
can be...

The second day, more of the same. Except longer, more
rapids and a VERY LONG STRETCH OF FLAT WATER WITH THE
WIND BLOWING AGAINST US!

I very rarely partner up with anyone for an extended
period of time in the wilderness. Even on my thrus,
the partenerships were very loose. Along the lines of
"I'll see you up  ahead for lunch" or "Yeah, let's do
this pass together".  I've only hiked "lock step" with
maybe 3 or 4 people in my life for an extended period
of time. And the one person whom I can consistently
hike with for along period of time is a friend I've
known since first grade.

I say this because on a canoe you can not escape your
partner. There is no hiking ahead to be by yourself
for thirty minutes. You are very dependent on each
other to not tip over, to make progress and have to be
aware of what you are doing at all times. 

Needless to say, this situation brought on some frayed
nerves for the canoe partners on the trip. Many of the
canoe partners were couples, so that brought an added
dimension of er, fun!  Even myself,  gen. a very
patient person, started to get frustrated on the long
stretch of flat/windy water. (I tend to get quiet and
terse when frustrated/angry). The person I canoed with
is a school teacher, when she became frustrated she
would slip into her "angry teacher voice" as she calls
it. (I said "DON'T PADDLE TOO HARD!!!!") But, as with
many things in life, once you have a few minutes to
get away from the frustrating situation, it can be
more funny than anything afterwards.  (Paul, you have
to admit it was rather funny that we were going
backwards even as we paddled forwards.... :D) 

Overall, the scenery was very beautiful. Something
about the water is calming. My favorite part? Canoeing
on the flat (but non-windy!!!) parts just drifting
lazily down the river, looking at the red rocks and
distant mountains above us. The occasional ranch with
some wooden fences and horses grazing added a
decidedly Western feel to the trip. 

Also learned something on the trip. Partnerships in
the outdoors requires a strong does of humor, some
patience a bit of compromise now and then. For a solo
backpacker, it was a good lesson. Always done things
on my own. Doing something with somone is another set
of skills all together. Am I ready to give up
solo-backpacking? Heck no.. But, being outdoors with a
partner can have its own set of rewards.  Shared
memories and all that. Someone to bounce ideas off of
during the quiet streches.  

On this trip, something about the lazy river and the
beautiful scenery brought about some discussions with
my canoe partner that I only have internally in such
situations. 

Pictures to follow later this week...


Mags

ps. there is a nice postscript to this story. After 8
hours total in a car both ways (and two stops for
dinner), two nights in a tent talking for what seemed
all night and caneoing all day together, it was my
longest "first date" ever. :-)

We'll see how the second date goes later this week... 




 

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The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau

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