Colorado: Frisco Hike - August 3

 

I have gotten really behind on documenting our trip to Colorado. We've been so busy trying to make sure we expose Lidia and Sawyer to as much as possible that there hasn't been enough time left in the day to blog. Emily came out on the 4th to stay for a week with us and to take L&S back home. That was yesterday. And as much as I hated to see them go, it will give me a chance now to catch up. I think!  Below, I pick up on a hike we took in Frisco.

 

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Frisco is hosting a 10K race and half-marathon in a few days. Cliff may run the 10K, so he wanted to check out the trails. We began our hike on part of the trail where the race will be held and then veered off through the woods to another trail that paralleled Lake Dillon. Actually, it ran along the shoreline of Lake Dillon. You can not imagine how many hiking trails there are around here. We are hoping to do a different one every day or so, with rest days, for L&S, in between. They really need one tomorrow. Lidia wanted to swim 50 laps, today. Cliff stopped her at 19 laps. Bless her heart, she was so tired, but was trying to meet her goal. She was okay with stopping for the day.

 

Total Miles hiked: 3       Total Time hiking: 1:12 hours

Lidia's swim in the pool: 19 laps

 



 Frisco Marina

 

 I tried to get L&S to wade out to that rock to have their picture made, but they weren't too keen on wading through snowmelt-cold water to get to it or sharing it with the gull. 

 

 

Lidia and Sawyer were more willing to climb out on this piece of

driftwood....they didn't have to get wet.

 

Of course, this trail was not hurting for wildflowers and I couldn't just pass them by. They really are no different than those I've already been photographing, but to me, on different trails they are a different kind of pretty.

 



On another note, Whitney saw a Colorado State Flag painted on a piece of wood that she fell in love with. I don't know how big it was, but it cost $900. Of course, that's not in her budget. I told her I could paint one for her. So, I've been picking up pieces of wood from our hikes. I picked up a piece on our hike, today, that I think will be perfect. However, I wanted to practice on a different piece of wood before painting Whitney's. The weather was perfect on the balcony this afternoon and proved to be a great spot to do a little practice painting.

Hope she likes the prototype. If so, I'll paint the bigger one for her, next week.

I used the watercolors that I brought from home. They worked very well, I think.

Laurie

The 14'er and Take Your Pick....12, 13 or 15 Miles

Cliff, Whitney, Jason and two of their friends hiked Mt. Elbert (elevation 14,433'), Sunday. Their total roundtrip was 8.5 miles. It is the highest peak in Colorado, highest in the Rockies, and second highest in the contiguous United States. I didn't go. So, I can only tell you what they told me. The trail was good...as in well maintained...but, it was steep! Their research online named this climb a Class I (easy). However, this was Whitney and Jason's third 14'er and they said that it was far from easy. The temps up that high was possibly in the 30's or 40's, but they had plenty of sunshine. Descending was harder than hiking up. They felt they did not have complete control of their footsteps. You can imagine trying to walk down a sliding board.....I'm sure it felt much the same except that you had loose rocks to traverse, also.

Their plan, once at the bottom, was to stop in Leadville, CO for lunch. But, Leadville was having some sort of festival and finding a place that wasn't overly crowded wasn't happening. So, they headed back here to Dillon. Good thing I decided to cook dinner early because they came in tired, limping, quiet and HUNGRY! I cooked a huge pot of chicken pilau (pronounced per-lo), string beans, salad, pickles and for dessert....punch bowl cake (strawberry and angel food cake mixed with lots of other goodies). They feasted, then crashed. Ha!

Here are some pictures from their hike:

 

On their way up....hiking through an Aspen grove.

 

Coming through the tree line.

 

Steep and rocky. That's Whitney in the middle

and her friend Suzan in the yellow top.

Jason found some snow or ice or both.

Cliff and Jason, resting.

 

A view on the way up Mt. Elbert.

Another view and probably their destination.

Twin Lakes in the background.

 

They made it! This was Whitney and Jason's third 14'er and Cliff's first.

 

P.S. I have a couple of videos that Cliff took, but for the life of me can't get them to load here. I'll keep trying and post them at a later date, if I can figure it out.

 

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12-mile run route. Dillon to Keystone.

 

I had my long run yesterday. Twelve miles. I was worried. I was having flashbacks of the eight-mile run last week that ended with me hugging the toilet. I wondered if I was truly acclimated or if running that far at an elevation of 9100' was a mistake. But, I had to try. My half-marathon is in two weeks. I started out feeling bad. I was feeling lethargic and my stomach was feeling a little nauseous. For the first one to two miles, I was breathing hard and I started thinking that maybe I should cut this run to ten miles. However, I started warming up and my breathing settled. Now, mind you, this run was an out and back and the out was almost all uphill. The uphill portions were not very steep at all, but enough to take what energy I had right out of me. My legs grew very tired. But, the scenery was gorgeous.

I ran from Dillon to Keystone and back. So, I had the mountains on my right going out and on my left coming back. The path mostly ran beside a river and because of all the rain we have had lately, the river was running extremely fast. The sound of the rushing water was so soothing that I almost didn't mind how tired I was becoming. Again, the oxygen up here is not as plentiful for this low country girl, so I'm sure that was a big part of my lethargy. The run back to Dillon was much easier as it was almost all downhill. It was a gentle descent.....that was surely welcomed and was also good training for my half. It is supposedly all downhill.

Cliff was flanking me on his mountain bike with oranges and Gatorade and some of his special brew that he uses on his bike rides. I can't remember what it's called. Normally, I don't like it, but yesterday it was like manna. I also had my favorite GU gels - Espresso Love.  I am quite ashamed of myself because Cliff was being so good to me and I was in such an ill state that I may have smarted off at him a couple of times. But, thank God, when it comes to him.....love is blind. He overlooks my moods and he even picked up a rock for me out of the river. Bless it!!!

Remember that steep, steep hill I told you about the other day that was at the foot of the condo? Well, yes, I had to climb it at the end of this very tiring run. I'm so sorry, but I just couldn't run another step. I felt like crawling, felt like lying down on the path for awhile, felt like leaning up against the rock wall, felt like crying, felt like lassoing a rope around Cliff's bike and having him pull me up and I felt like I was just not going to make it. But once again, walking very slowly, I couldn't stand up straight, I couldn't talk and I could barely breathe, but I made it!

Now, the distance is not conclusive and this makes me crazy. I am detail oriented and I want my mileage to be exact. My Garmin watch said 12 miles. I had to run around the condo parking lot to make it an even 12. Ha! See, I'm telling you....it has to be dead on. And then, when I checked the Map My Run app on my phone, it said I had been 13.37 miles. OMG! So, I did what any runner would do that has to know for danged sure their exact mileage....I went to Google Earth and measured the path and Google Earth said it was over 15 miles. OK.....now I am truly going crazy. For my peace of mind and to put this thing to a rest, I am calling it 12 miles. Although, for the records, I believe that due to a test Cliff and I did on my Garmin and the Map My Run app a few weeks ago, that the actual mileage is closer to the Map My Run app because of the amount of points it plots on the map. Technical stuff that I know not much of......and to keep my sanity, I chose to go conservative and use the mileage on the Garmin watch.

Here are a few pictures I took while running:

They actually have golf courses up here. It is beyond me! This bridge ran through it.

View from the bridge.

Breathtaking!

And, Cliff took this one. He got up close and personal.

Most likely, this is where he picked up my rock.

So, the adventure continues and I'll post again soon. Stay tuned.

Have a Happy Day,

Laurie

Exercise Marathon Weekend at Lake Lure

The plan was simple. Cliff and I were going to Lake Lure for a bike ride and a swim. Never mind that Lake Lure is mountainous and the water is frigidly cold. I must have been in denial because who in their right mind would attempt to ride 22 miles in the hills of Lake Lure. But, that was the plan indeed. Cliff's plan. And you see, Cliff makes some mighty lofty plans at times.

I was going along for the trip...."sure, sure", I said, "I'll try riding the bike on the fun ride of 22 miles for the cause of Lake Lure". Until we got there......

Lake Lure

Here's the story. Cliff and I left Thursday for the beautiful Lake Lure. He had a scheduled 63-mile bike ride that Saturday through the mountains of Chimney Rock, Lake Lure and surrounding areas. For beginners (that would be me), there was a fun ride of just 22 miles. And then on Sunday, he would swim 4 miles in Lake Lure as a training swim for a 5-miler he has coming up in June. So, he thought it would be a great idea to make it an all exercise weekend.

The only thing is, last Wednesday, I started feeling sick with some sinus issues. The pollen this year has been a doozy. So, I started taking sinus meds to help. I wanted to have a good weekend. It did sound fun.

Some of the gorgeous Cherry trees blooming at the resort.

Thursday: After arriving to Lake Lure, we hit the gym. I rode the stationary bike for 11 miles. Pretty impressive, considering I don't ride the bike anymore. But you remember, that is one of my goals for the year....so I jumped on with excitement and vigor. We were going for a swim in the indoor pool afterwards, but the place was crawling with kids.

Spring break! Yay!

Friday: I was definitely sick. I had a temperature, was coughing and had a stuffy nose. I continued with the meds...not letting it stop me from the exercise weekend Cliff had planned. We rode bikes today for about a mile. That's all I could handle. We even rode up a 15% grade hill, twice. I know it was 15% because Cliff has a Garmin or some dohicky that said so. But even if he didn't, look at it. That's steep y'all! That road has fear written all over it.

Said 15% grade hill. Yeah, you see! It's steep. That's why I look so contorted in the next picture.

That hill was a killer. It took all I had to make it to the top. I was grunting the whole way. And then Cliff had the audacity to ask me to do again. So, I did and it wasn't any easier the second time. Grunt!

Later that afternoon, we ran 2.16 miles....and you guessed it, more hills. And then when we got back to the previous 15% grade hill at the resort, I ran up it too.  Occasionally, there were some flat places to run. Artificial, but flat. Ha!

Now this is more like it. Artificial flatness! That's me running, flat. I love to run on board walks. The surface is so forgiving.

And this is a creek view along our running path. Serene!

Some of the local sights.....Quilt block on an old barn in Chimney Rock.

Covered bridge near Chimney Rock.

Saturday:  Still sick. I decided that there was no way I could ride 22 miles in those hills. I'm pretty sure Cliff was a little bummed that he didn't get to, but there was just no way. So, we went on a 1 mile hike instead and yes, you guessed it straight up the side of a mountain.  Hmmmm, Cliff was now starting to cough a little.

Our hiking shoes. On the left....the ones I scored in Colorado and on the right....Cliff's Converses...he never leaves home without them.

Bridge at the trail head.

Pretty stone bridge about half way up.

Yep, it was a climb alright.

And more climbing.

Saw this unusual plant. Does anyone know what it is?

And there's our destination. Hallelujah. I'm tired.

Sunday:  I was starting to feel a little better, but now Cliff was feeling bad and had fever. He decided the lake was way too cold to go for that swim, especially since he was now getting sick. The water temperature was 58 degrees F. He had a wet suit, but his face would be exposed. I think he made the right decision.  So, we kayaked instead for 1.8 miles (which took a couple of hours) and then called it a day.

Lake Lure

That's Cliff

That's me taking a picture of Cliff.

By Monday: Cliff was really sick. So, we packed up and came on home. I feel good about all the exercise we got to do. Of course, it would have been more fun and intense even, if we hadn't been sick. We kept going as long as we could. I took lots of pictures. Overall, it was a great weekend for us to get away and spend some quality time together. Cliff ended up going to the doctor today. He has pneumonia. He will be fine and we'll have another exercise marathon weekend, another time.

Just an old mountain home. Bless it! Seems as if she's seen better days. She's still beautiful though and was begging me to take her picture.....as if to say, "I am kind, I am strong, I am important".

Oh wait before you go.....you might want to check back in a couple of days. Sawyer's been on the loose. 

***4-11-2013 Update: The doctor's office called this morning to say that Cliff does not have pneumonia after all. He probably has the flu and an URI. He's feeling better. Thanks for your concern.

Talk soon, 

Laurie