September 2009 Recap

September included two big 14er weekends with a trip to the Grand Canyon in the middle. Over Labor Day we headed back to the Maroon Bells to take a shot at North Maroon Peak. I thought N.Maroon was actually a much more fun hike than S.Maroon. The following day we were back in the Sangre de Cristos, and camped at Willow Lake. With a high camp, summitting Kit Carson Peak and Challenger Point was a no-brainer! (Photos)

I flew down to Arizona and met up with my family and girlfriend for my sister's birthday in the middle of the month. We hiked down to the big ditch's Phantom Ranch via the S.Kaibob trail and ascended via the Bright Angel trail (all in a day's work!). After spending the night in Flagstaff, those of us that still had some juice left in our legs hiked up Humphrey's Peak, which at 12,637 feet, is the highest point in the state. (Photos)

I finished off the month by crossing 4 more 14ers off my list. Mt. Evans has a road that goes to the top, so I had been waiting until it was closed for the season so I could find some solitude at the summit. I hiked up via Chicago Lakes, and there was a surprising amount of snow, so it ended up being a long, tiring day. The following day I drove down to Lake City and hiked up Redcloud Peak, Sunshine Peak, and Handies Peak. The final stats on this weekend were 4 peaks, 13,000+ feet of vertical, 42 miles of hiking, and 6 hours of sleep. (Photos)

AZ/UT Trip

In June 2008 my parents and I set out from Phoenix towards the Grand Canyon. On the first day of the trip, I hiked from the south rim to the north rim, while they drove around and picked me up on the other side. From there we spent a week making our way across southern Utah: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches. We camped and hiked and had a pretty damn good time. After this trip, which came right after my first trip to Colorado, I was simply blown away with the SCALE of everything out west. I sensed that perhaps this was the part of the country that I was meant to live in.

Photos: Grand Canyon - Zion 1 - Zion 2 -Bryce - Arches - Canyonlands