[at-l] re: Hiking anyone?

[pmags at yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

>>Anyone else have a hiking experience to share?

Nice reports all. Maybe I'll throw mine in...

Normally I try to get in a big trip over a holiday
weekend. Last 4th of July I was in the San Juans.

This year, stayed in Boulder for most of the weekend.

My good friends were married on July 4th, so the
weekend revolved around that. Friday night, met most
of the "New York crew" that my two friends grew up
with. Interesting mixture: relatives, childhood
friends, college roommates and the "Boulder Crew". No
surprise; everyone was a great bunch of people. The
women headed out for "girls' night out"..the men had
their own version. I can not comment on the girls'
night out as I was not there. Nor can I comment on the
boys' night out as I think a few drinks were consumed
here and there and some of the details are somewhat
hazy. :-)  (Have not done this kind of night on the
town in a looooooooong time. How can I buy my friend a
drink and not buy myself one. It is rude, I tell ya!) 
Eventually the guys and gals met up at once place to
bring the evening to a close. 

Woke up Saturday and consumed some STRONG coffee and
went hiking with some of the more adventerous NY folk
up to Chicago Lakes. Same place I went to two weeks
ago or so. It was a great hike to show the NY folks
the Colorado mountains. Again, a good time was had by
all. Beautiful scenery, pleasant weather and great
people.
Everyone met up in Idaho Springs after the hike where
we all gorged on Beau Jo's pizza;
http://www.beaujos.com/menu.html It is as close to
"Colorado Style" pizza as you can get and is actually
pretty good. (What can I say, with my last name and
place of birth, tend to be pizza snob at times! :D) 

Sunday, the wedding. Held at Peace Park near tbe
Boulder Public Library and along Boulder Creek.
Beautiful place for such a special ceremony.  The
ceremony was a mix of the traditional and the "Boulder
spin". (The groom, and most of the guests, wore shorts
and sandals...there was a chupa; the groom crushed 
the glass while wearing a Chaco sandal. You get the
idea!).  The ceremony reflected the values of the
couple: pride in their cultural roots while showing
their love of the outdoors and their new community.

Sauntered over a few blocks to Sherpa's, probably the
best Himalayan/Indian food in town. Owned by Pemba
Sherpa who is an accomplished mountaineer, ultra
runner and a successful restaraunt owner.  And, yes, a
member of the Sherpa clan. 

Present in the restaurant were several Buddhist monks.
 Boulder has a large Buddist community  that includes
a Buddhist college, a spiritual center and a fair
number of people from Nepal, Tibet, etc. Included in
this group was (what I am calling for lack of the
proper term) the Vice Dali Lama. This gentleman
thought it was a blessing he was there on my friends'
wedding day.
He insisted on blessing Marni and Josh, bestowing upon
them a prayer shawl and a "prayer string" (for any
Buddhists out there, forgive my ignorance of the
terminology. I attempted to google the name of this
string worn around the neck, to no avail). Between the
rabbi and the Buddist blessing, my two friends are now
well covered for religiuos blessings. :-)

After the meal we all gave toasts to the happy couple.
Family, childhood friends, college roommates. My
fellow Boulderites drafted me at the last minute to
give a toast to represent the Boulder folks at the
wedding. Do not think I did too badly.... :-)

Later that night we all went to Folsom Field by CU to
see the fireworks to the music of the symphony
orcestra.

A very nice weekend, if a bit different from how I
usually spend my weekends.

Photos from Chicago Lakes at:
http://gallery.backcountry.net/co04?&page=17



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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
http://www.magnanti.com