They don't call it Catchin!

To round out the summer.....Dad came fishin!

Back when I was a studly 7th grader in Coppell, Texas, my dad had a great idea to take me fishing in Colorado and we didn't catch a thing. But, it was one of the greatest trips we had....minus the chilly temperatures and the military rations.

We didn't know how to fly fish then, and we don't know how to fly fish now!

Before he came out, I warned him it was not like bass fishing. I told him we probably weren't going to catch anything because you really have to know a lot. I told him I'm not out here for the fishing, but just to hang out and I'm not paying for a guide. He said ok.

In the back of his mind, he still believed there was chance to catch something........nope, but we had an awesome time trying. See, Pops is a busy dude and it was great to have him out in the Rockies where things are calm. Plus, we had a great time laughing at our fly fishing abilities.

I will say I did catch one fish the entire time. It was fitting too, I fought him for a while, finally got him to shore, reached down to pick him up and he hopped off the hook. So technically, we didn't touch a single fish, but I still count it.

Awesome end to the summer. Bring on football!

Best Place Ever

A few of my favorite things in the world are as follows: Avocados, Mexican Food, Van Morrison and stinkin ASHEVILLE, NC!

On Labor Day weekend, I was fortunate to be a part of the Lentz/Brier wedding. Adam and Erin are two of my best friends in Charlotte and I was lucky enough to work with Adam at Push America.

Luckily, because they new I was coming of course, they decided to have their wedding at the Biltmore Estate in beautiful Asheville, NC.

I'm not really going to elaborate on too many details, but it was easily one of the greatest weekends of all time. Between golf, beer, more golf, more beer and seeing old friends in a great town.....good times.

Insert sappiness here....no matter where I travel in the road through life, the family I have in Charlotte is truly a blessing.

One LONG climb on Longs!

As many of you might know, one of Colorado's many desirable attributes is the quantity of 14,000 foot peaks that scatter the terrain and attract thousands of hikers ever summer. One such peak in the front range that is extremely popular and equally as dangerous is Longs Peak. Standing 14,255 feet above sea level, Longs Peak is one of the most demanding and scetchy of all the 14ers. Not named for the duration of the hike, coincidentally, Longs Peak is one of the longest day hikes in Colorado.

Considering it took us just over 14 hours to complete, there is a lot to share. Don't worry, I will keep it short.

We woke up at 1:00 am, made breakfast, hit up Wal Mart, drove from Fort Collins to the trailhead (just over an hour), on the trail by 4, above the treeline by 6 am and on the summit by 11:30 a.m. via the beautiful and less traveled "Loft" Route. You see most people don't know about the Loft Route because it is covered with snow for about 11 months. On a general day on the "popular" route (the Keyhole Route) you will see hundreds of people......we saw 4 and it was awesome!

We sat on the summit for an hour because the weather was so nice. You see, normally you have to get off the summit before noon in a race against brutal thunderstorms and epic winds. But our day was perfect........that is except the lung clogging smoke carried over from the stupid California fires. So, the weather was nice, but our views were totally covered by smog.

I must add, while on the summit, we completed what we believe to be a world record for the highest altitude frisbee toss......we are still waiting on confirmation from the Guinness Book.



I'm going to wrap this up because the rest of the hike is something we would kind of like to forget. We thought it would be a great idea to make our hike a loop and descend the Keyhole Route and see more of the mountain. BIG MISTAKE! That stupid route was significantly longer (added hours to the hike), super congested and far more dangerous/sketchy. We finished around 6:30 pm and whipped as hell......just ask Captain Grumpy (Knotts).

If you ever want to climb Longs Peak, go in August or early September and ONLY do the Loft Route. The view from Chasm Lake is incredible (see photo). Better yet, all the views from the Loft Route are incredible.....Keyhole Route....not so much.

One thing I forgot to mention....there was a guy playing bagpipes on the summit and it was awesome!

Two scoops of Avetts

One thing I have noticed about Colorado that I have never experienced anywhere else I have lived is that fall comes much sooner. I'm not saying it is completely here yet, but it is imminent. So what better way to close out an incredible summer than two scoops of The Avett Brothers.

For those of you who don't know, The Avett Brothers are probably the next big thing in music and, by far, the best performers I have ever seen live. There is really no way to truly describe their style.....but I will try. It is kind of a bluegrass meets folk meets rock meets the Beach Boys. I know it sounds strange, just check them out (The Avett Brothers).

Anyways, they put on a free concert in Steamboat Springs where I was accompanied by a good friend of mine from my days in Sooner Nation (Emily). The show was so awesome, I decided to go for round two a couple days later when they played in Denver. Definitely worth it!

Wilderness Adventures with Mom

For the last four years, my mom has been talking about how much she wants to go hiking with me. When I was living in North Carolina, we could never find the time to make it happen. Well, to celebrate her new found retirement, I told her it was time to put her money where her mouth is. So this past weekend, she did just that. But, we weren't just going for a hike, we were going backpacking.
We hit the Collegiate Wilderness deep in the heart of the Colorado Rockies and Mom was a trooper! We spent our first night in the luxury of Hotel de la.....my car (don't worry, the seats go down, it's nice). After sorting out was she was and was not allowed to pack, we hit the trail around 7 a.m. It wasn't long before the altitude hit Mom in the face, but she pressed on. We set up camp just below the treeline at the base of Mt. Belford (14,197 ft.) in a broken down cabin circa 1800s.

Unfortunately, Mom experienced an extreme blowout in her boot and her sole essentially removed itself from the boot preventing her from pressing forward. However, it was a blessing in disguise. I opted to hit the trail early the next morning to bag another 14er before Mom woke up. What I thought was going to be a quick hike was a brutal bout against the wind (see the misery on my face). It was the closest I ever came to being blown over and I thought my face was going to freeze off. There were times I had to get on all fours while the gust went through. Therefore, Mom would have hated it. I ended up making it to the summit of Mt. Belford and trail ran my way down as Mom was just starting to get organized.

We broke camp a day early because of the boot problem and hit the road. Regardless of the shoe issue, Mom still knocked out some extremely difficult hiking, especially considering she is a Texas Flatlander who got right off the plane only to immediately climb to 10,000 ft.

Mom turned 57 years old on our first day of hiking. At that age, I can only hope to be hiking still. Way to go Mom! Leave a comment for my mom, she kicked some serious ass.

Riding Wolf

So a few weekends ago, I was asked to scout a couple of roads through some mountain passes in Colorado. World T.E.A.M. Sports is planning for a cross country cycling trip next year and we are in the process of determining the route. What better way to scout a route than actually cycling? So I drove down to Pagosa Springs to cycle Wolf Creek Pass and I thought I would share some with you. On a side note, I do have to brag a little. On the way back down the pass, I did pass a semi--which is not a difficult thing to do, but I passed on the left and it was a first for me. Any other time I have passed a car, it has been on the shoulder.....good times.

Adventure TEAM Challenge

So it has been a long road, but I finally found what I think to be my dream job. I recently began working for an organization called World T.E.A.M. Sports. We focus on bringing disabled and able-bodied athletes together as one TEAM through challenging sporting events.

A few weekends ago, we had an adventure race deep in the Rocky Mountains. The Adventure TEAM Challenge consisted of teams of 5 (3 able-bodied, 1 paraplegic, 1 other disability) in a two-day race over all kinds of terrain. Rather than talk about it, I figured I would show you what it was all about. Hope you enjoy.

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2009 Adventure TEAM Challenge (re-cut) from WgH Productions on Vimeo.