[at-l] It is Tuesday..it must be trip posting time...

[pmags at yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

The usual drill. Another weekend has come and gone.
Another bunch of time spent in the Colorado mountains.

Yeah...life is tough.

1) Local Hike this past Wednesday: We went to a local
mtn called Anenmone. It was a bit hazy on the hike,
but with the haze and the outline of the distant
peaks, it looked like the Smokies! As usual, because
of the abundant moisture, the local hills were a riot
of wildflowers. Towards the end of the hike, we
briefly hiked the Red Rocks area and scrambled a bit.
Neat little place a grand total of 15 minutes from the
trailhead. After this bit of scrambling, we "hiked"
from the trailhead to nearby downtown Boulder and had
the ultimate in hiker food: Ben and Jerry's ice cream!

Every Wednesday during summer there is "band on the
bricks" playing in front of the old court house. So we
all had a great hike, some great ice cream and
listened to some live music on a warm summer's night.

2) Beginners Backpack to Chicago Lakes
Decided to organize a beginners backpack. There are
many people new (and not so new) to Colorado who want
to backpack but would not want to try it on their own.
So figure I'd head up a trip and introduce people to
the wonders of the backcountry. This trip had so much
interest I had to cap it off! Ended up with 14 people
on the trip. A bit larger than I would have liked, but
the people were all eager and, well, I'm a marshmellow
at times. :-D  The experience ranged from me (known to
hike every now and then. :D) to people who have never
backpacked in their lives. 
The weather was BEAUTIFUL. In brief we hiked 5.5 miles
in to an alpine lake at 11700' with ridges of Mt.
Evans (a 14er) towering above us. The lake had a ledge
that looked over the first Chicago lake and some more
mountains. Spring was just hitting this elevation, and
the alpine flowers were just coming out. 
The people new to backpacking learned a great lesson:
don't pack so darn much! ;-)
Seriously, everyone did well. Think the people who
would never try it on their own realized that bping is
a great thing and I may have made some converts to the
religion. (G).  The best part of the trip was at night
after everyone ate dinner. We all sat on the ledge in
our bags, propped against some rocks and talked.
Looking over the lakes, admiring the stars and having
the kind of conversations that only seem to happen in
a relaxed, backcountry setting...
I also had a great moment by myself. As usual, slept
under the stars. At 5am, I woke up, looked over the
lake and saw an amazing sunrise....

3)Twilight 10k Trail Race
My first official race! And what a race it was. Foggy,
drizzly, cold. Is this Colorado or somewhere in New
Hampshire?!?!!??! It was fun, though.  I missed many
of the views that could normally be seen, but still
enjoyed the setting. Beautiful area with the now
common wildflowers. This race had some brutal uphills,
 but I managed pretty well. I felt so pumped tonight
after finishing. One thing to run by myself, another
to run in a race. Everyone was so supportive on the
race. Nothing like being greeted by clapping and
cheering as the finish line is crossed (along with
some cold drinks and fresh melon!!!). 
I did a respectable 1hr 6 min. As the winner did 44
min, this time put me right in the middle of everyone.
Not too bad for hiker trash. :D I suspect I would have
ran faster on a road race. But trail running is so
much more interesting...
This race was good for me because it gave me a feel
for my abilties. I'll never be a fast runner, but
definitely have the endurance to go the distance, and
at a steady, consistent pace. Works for long distance
hiking...seems to work for long distance running. The
marathon in  September is looking more and more
do-able with each passing day.
  After the race, Josh, Marni and myself went to a
local restaraunt for some yummy Lebanese food. These
two (both NYC marathon completers) have more or less
been mentoring me as I progress in my running. It was
great to have them support me on this first run. They
seemed to enjoy the run themselves too!   (And it
works both ways..they were on my beginners backpacking
trip :D)

Yeah...life is good.

Pics can be seen at:
http://gallery.backcountry.net/Co03?&page=7

Mags



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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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