Lost in the Rocky Mountains......for real

I refuse to believe I can have a nice mellow trip in the wilderness.....or a nice mellow trip in general for that matter. On his way back to Charlotte from California, my buddy Jeff decided to make a weekend stop to visit. In my mind, this means how much can we squeeze into one weekend. It's on...

So Jeff arrived in Denver around noon on Friday. We immediately made the necessary trip to REI. If you like the outdoors, it is mandatory to stop at the Denver REI as it is the Holy Grail of gear. I knew he had a very early morning and was whipped, so I threw him in the back of my car (better known as my sleeping quarters) for a little snooze as we hit the road.

First stop: Fort Collins
As we rolled into town, we did not waste any time and headed to Odell's Brewery for a little taste. Then is was off to New Belgium Brewery for some more free beer and free post cards (your welcome Terrie). We followed the beers up with a couple margs from the Rio and some quality mexican food. From there, it was the Town Pump (the smallest bar in the world) before dance partying in the streets as we headed to our destination of sleep.

Next stop: Rocky Mountain National Park
We awoke feeling great and hit the road. Making a little pit stop in Lyons, CO to take care of some school stuff, we were dooped into buying Ocarinas (look it up). Jeff immediately displayed his flute skills as we drove up the mountain.


Our first day in the park was spent just driving around. We made our way up Trail Ridge Road to a wonderful sledding hill. See video.





At this point, everything was still going according to plan. We set up camp at our site surrounded by hundreds of other tourists for a night of whiskey, Jiffy Pop, steak, brocoli, chips and Jeff's ocarina scerenade.

We awoke Sunday with a tight schedule and a full agenda. Before leaving the park, we knew we had to go on a hike. And that is where things went wron. On our map, there was a nice little lake we wanted to hit up, take a polar dip and head to the car. We were looking at about 4 miles....not a problem. The ranger told us the trail to the lake was unimproved....again, not a problem. I have hike a number of unimproved trails and was not concerned. However, what we came to find out was that "unimproved" actually meant still covered with snow. Needless to say, we lost the trail and really had no idea where we were. Thank God, I threw jeff the compass before we left. We would definitely still be there if I hadn't. So we decided to head southeast towards the car regardless of terrain. Bushwacking has become quite the trend in my hiking experiences.

So we made it to the car with about two hours to catch Jeff's plane. So book it we did. After a little pit stop for a freezing bath in a mountain river, we were on it.

Looking pretty good on time, we hit weather. Not just any weather, tornado warnings all over Denver. There was hail, wind, rain and, of course, wrecks. Jeff's plane was scheduled to leave at 4:00 and we made it to the airport at about 4:10.....good effort.

Jeff caught the first flight out in the morning, we saw The Hangover and it was a great ending to a crazy weekend.

Recap:
Brew tour, shady bar, dance party, flute jams, sledding, family portrait with elk, lost trail, river bath, tonados, missed flight......just another weekend!

Moab Madness

So this past weekend, some buddies and I decided the stars have aligned and its time for a spontaneous trip to Moab for some killer mountain biking. For those who don’t know, Moab is the Mecca of mountain biking. Before I continue, words can not describe the debauchery that ensued. To set the tone for this blog post, I have provided a nice video.



Needless to say, the blisters on my feet from hiking three miles in cycling shoes with my bike in the desert one just a small part to a ridiculous weekend.

“Hey Tim,” Kyle said, “pull the migraine card at work so we can hit the road earlier.”

“For sure bro.” Tim replies with much excitement and confidence.

Many many hours later, Tim calls to let me know he not only can’t leave early, he is working on a presentation and will be home late. The great thing about that is that moments earlier, I get a call from Matt letting me know he and Cory are coming, but can’t be ready until 7:00ish…in the p.m. of course. So right away, we are looking at an midnight ETA in Moab. No worries, I was in no rush and encourage the company.

So 8:00 p.m. roles around and we are finally crammed in and ready to leave (see picture).

Before we even make it to the interstate, we decide it would be a great idea to stop by a friends house who is having a “Skirt and Stache” party. So in a matter of moments we have on fake mustaches and keg beer in our hands and we are one mile from our departure location (picture coming soon). The plan was to only stay for a minute and hit the road. In that one minute, Matt managed to eat two hot dogs, loads of chips and washed it all down with three beers. In his words, “DUDE, you got to be resourceful on road trips.”

Touché

After an hour in Idaho Springs for gas and BBQ, we finally made it to our camp site at 3:00 a.m. and went straight to bed soon to be awaken by swarms of mosquitoes pummeling us at every opportunity. We awoke pumped for a day of riding.


BUT FIRST, we must go to grocery store, head to the bike shop (I spent a good hour fixing my front wheel) and hit up the gas station to fill our water before hitting the trail. Noon….that’s when we finally started riding. The idea was to ride three hours, eat and ride some more. One thing I have learned in my years of travel….plans change. Not only was the trail a complete beating, we all know what happened to my bike. It was almost 5:30 when I staggered back to the car for an ice cold PBR.

So we headed back to the site for dinner. Dinner was awesome. Not so awesome…..THE SWARMS OF MOSQUITOS. It didn’t take us long to extinguish our fire and depart for a new site away from the marsh and in the open breeze. Mush to our delight, the new site was perfect……..or……not so much. We soon noticed a nice little bat flying above our heads. Cory so politely let me know that bats are attracted to white shirts and that the friendly little flying rat was gunning for me. Sure enough, he was correct. First swipe – not to bad. The bat took a small dive and diverted about ten feet above my head. Second swipe – he wanted blood. I spotted the son of a gun returning for more and before I could utter the words “oh hey, the bat is…..” the damn thing barrels down at eye level and buzzes my face. Seriously, I might have peed a little in my pants. I literally made eye contact with the little demon, saw his teeth just watering for a snack. Not sure what changed his mind because he aborted at the last minute. I honestly could have reached out and grabbed him except for the fact I was concentrating on cleaning up the mess I had just left in my britches.

After much drama, we were whipped and went to bed. Like the night before, we decided to sleep under the stars despite the increasing number of clouds forming above us. And sure enough, as soon as we all fall asleep, the rain comes. It was just a sprinkle at first, so we all just stayed there to see if it would stop. After about thirty minutes of consistent sprinkle, I had enough. The last thing I wanted was a wet down sleeping bag. So we all jumped up. The plan was to empty the car for two to sleep and set up the tent for the other two. Another thirty minutes go by and we are ready to sleep again.

Funny thing about the rain….in typical Moab Madness Weekend 2009 fashion, as soon as we got up to make shelter, it never rained again and was beautiful night. But our sorry asses were stuck snuggling under cover in close quarters……F My Life.

So Monday came, they rode again, I organized and packed, we ate Mexican food and drove home. All things considered, it was a great weekend with great company.

For a side note, I wanted to provide a little timeline of my two year mountain biking career: Bought the bike for a screaming deal from REI. Hit a ditch, tore up my knee. Tree jumped in the way of my head….tree won, helmet done. Very minor fall, but cog caught my leg…twelve stitches. Hit a jump, landed flat, rear derailleur snapped in half. Buy new derailleur. Hit a jump, landed crooked, destroyed shoulder, surgery, six months rehab. Moved to Colorado, first ride, bike hits rock, bike stops, I go, scraped face, front wheel destroyed. Buy new wheel. Ride Moab, frame snaps in half, bike is done.

Lesson learned: Mountain biking is awesome, the bike is just cursed. I will never stop riding!

Live it up!

Life of a nomad...

So I realize it has been a little while since my initial post. However, it is not for a lack of effort. It is merely an unfortunate lack of adventure. But that is all soon to change......lets hope.

In the process of trying to establish a life here in Colorado, I have been blessed enough to have great friends who have kindly put a roof over my head. The Wilbourn bunch have been especially nice--one week in the cabin and my current residence at Tim's place (I think I am wearing out my welcome). A week of my time was spent in Fort Collins with Eric Knotts, one of my best buds from Journey of Hope. It was both incredibly amazing and unfortunately disastrous spending time with Knotss. In one week, activities included trail running, biking, two rounds of golf, a great hike and a dip in the river. However, it also included a lot of beer and my liver paid the price. All in all a great week.


In other news, I got my first speeding ticket in six years. What sucks about it is that I pride myself on not speeding because tickets are not worth the rush, but I got caught at one of those 35 mph meets 65 mph. It didn't help that my plates are still North Carolina. Homeboy popo from podunk Kremmling, CO didn't take too kindly to having a foreigner in his neck of the woods. The bright side of the whole deal was the view.


Hope all is well, God bless.