by Scott Skinger on August 10, 2007
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Just got back from hiking the Colorado Trail for about three hours… very beautiful, it is great to be back in Colorado! I was going at a pretty brisk pace but I was more winded than I expected. Ouch, I hope I am ready for tomorrow. I wanted to do more today, actually go on a longer hike, but it took me forever to get to Keystone. Between rental car delays, traffic and trouble finding my condo, I didn’t get into my room until around 5PM.
Got some Mexican food tonight and had a beer in a restaurant in Keystone…the restaurant looked like it was going to be good but the food was pretty crappy (how do you make bad tacos?). The condo I am staying in is great though, I will post pictures on Sunday when I give a review of the Keystone area.
The plan for tomorrow is to wake up at 5AM and be at the trailhead by about 6AM. I think I can knock out both mountains and be back down to my car in around 8 hours, by 2PM or so.
I am going to be using my same Camelback backpack that I used in my Mt. Shavano climb and for the most part I will be bringing the same gear. I am bringing an extra bottle of water as a buffer. So, when the 100oz. of water in my Camelback runs dry all of a sudden, I still have a little water. For food, I have a sandwich, some chips, lots of granola bars and 2 mini-Snickers…one for each summit. I have a feeling that it is going to be tough to sleep tonight…I am pretty pumped up.
by Scott Skinger on August 8, 2007
I have decided to climb Grays & Torreys starting at the Chihuahua Gulch Trailhead. The total hike is 10.4 miles and has 4,360 feet of elevation. This is route 2.19 in
Gerry Roach’s 14ers book and is rated Type II, Class 2.
I think I can do the hike in about 8 hours, so I am planning on starting at about 6AM. The trailhead appears to be very close to where I will be staying in Keystone, so I am going to probably head out around 5AM. 2 more days…
by Scott Skinger on August 3, 2007
I’m coming home…um, I mean I wish it was my home! Whatever
but ever since I visited Colorado in July (
see Mt. Shavano climb) I have been thinking about coming back. It was a long drive back to Chicago and that got me thinking; why not fly out for a short climbing trips over a weekend? No kids, no dog, no kids, no kids…know what I mean?
Here are the details:
-I have booked a flight for Friday, August 10th through Sunday, August 12th
-I am staying in the ski resort town of Keystone. I got a great deal on a condo right next to the slopes…not much skiing going on right now!
-I want to get some good hiking in on Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and in the morning on Sunday
-My big climb will be on Saturday when I am planning on climbing Grey’s Peak & Torrey’s Peak
I have a few more details planned out for the hike up Torreys/Greys peaks but I am going to share these in my next post, once I have a few more details set in stone. See you soon.
by Scott Skinger on July 31, 2007
Our first day in Colorado…just outside Salida on the Colorado Trail
Salida, CO - I knew nothing about Salida (or Colorado for that matter) before we arrived. My first impressions were based off a few websites and the visitor’s guide sent by the Chaffe County Visitor’s Bureau . Based on the information I received, I was expecting an upscale resort town (i.e. Breckenridge) and I have to admit that at first we were a little bit let down. Not that we wanted “yuppie-ville”, but we do like nice restaurants, decent shopping and the convience of having larger stores found in a bigger town.
After we being in Salida for about 12 days we really started to love the town. The people were very nice, we started finding cool things to do (the Mt. Shavano Trout Rearing Unit was very cool for the kids) and we found good hangouts. One place in particular was Bongo Billy’s Salida Cafe. This is my kind of place…it’s a cafe, so of course they have good coffee, desserts and free Wi-Fi; but they also have awesome food, beer and live music. If I were living/working here (as I was supposed to be on this “working” vacation) this is definitely where I would be camped out. I would definitely stay in Salida again.
Allenspark, CO (near Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park) - Allenspark was a little too “remote” for us. This is a very small mountain town with a couple of businesses off of the beaten path. I did like the coffee house (the name escapes me) but we probably wouldn’t stay in this town again. Estes Park is very touristy. It has a lot more restaurants, shops and things for the kids to do but it lacks the charm that Salida has. If you are interested in outdoor activities and less people all around you, then Salida is for you.
by Scott Skinger on July 31, 2007
This is the third part in my series of posts on climbing Mt. Shavano. Click the following links to read Part 1 or Part 2 if you have not read these yet.
Climbing Mt. Shavano was a great experience. Overall, things worked out pretty well but there are a few things that I learned for next time:
More Water - I brought 100 oz. of water in my Camelbak Backpack. To my surprise, I sucked my water dry when we were about 90% through our hike and I didn’t really feel like I was drinking that much water. I also had a headache and didn’t feel all that great for several hours after the climb. I have come to the conclusion that I didn’t drink enough water during the climb. I have read elsewhere that you need to regularly drink water throughout the climb, even when you don’t feel thirsty. If you are not peeing at regular intervals, you are not drinking enough water.
More/Warmer Clothing - Keep in mind that we were hiking in the middle of summer. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I wore lightweight pants and a short-sleeve, moisture-wicking shirt. I brought one more short-sleeve shirt and a lightweight windbreaker/raincoat. By the time we got to the summit, my shirt was soaked with sweat under my backpack and I was freezing. The wind was very strong on top of the mountain and it was much cooler than I anticipated. My fingers were actually getting numb. I changed to my one dry shirt and put my lightweight jacket back on. I was fine the rest of the day, especially as it got warmer during the descent. This opened my eyes though…what if it rained all day and my clothes were soaked? What if I slipped and fell in a creek? On my next trip I definitely need to bring more/warmer clothing.
Trekking Poles - Do I need these? A couple of other hikers had them (and a couple did not). I think they might be real helpful on the way down. On the other hand, it seems like they might be a pain in the butt to deal with if I need to use my hands for any climbing. I will do a little research and post on these in the future.
Click Salida and Estes Park Review to read my last post related to the Mt. Shavano climb.
