Event Weekend Day 2 : The Big Hike!!!

Mt. Ida via Milner Pass
Distance Hiked: 9 mi
Elevation: 10,759-12,844 ft
Elevation Gain: 2,085 ft
Distance This Season: 81.45 mi
Elevation Gain This Season: 19,044 ft

Susan and I dragged ourselves out of bed at 4am sharp all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (ha) and moseyed over to the lobby where a yummy breakfast and lunch were provided by Kirk's Outfitters. I was pretty much wearing every piece of clothing I had brought with me to the park since I was not prepared for such chilly weather and had a nice conglomeration of Team NM's extra gear. With Susan's rainpants and ear warmers, Jake's headlamp, and Richard's gloves I was ready to rumble.


The drive to the trailhead took about an hour along Trail Ridge Road. It was pitch black outside but after getting out of the bus and taking turns at the porta-pots the sky started to get light enough to see without headlamps. I was pretty flippin excited about using one though so I insisted on using it for the first five minutes of the hike even though everyone had stowed theirs away.




The trail climbed very steeply for about 1.5 miles until we reached the timber line and then was a very gentle grade for the remainder. Our group consisted of 4 San Franciscans, 2 Rocky Mountainers, and 3 New Mexicans so the pace was kept slow enough that no one was having difficulty acclimating, and I found that although I had to concentrate extremely hard to keep my breathing deep enough, I acclimated very well on this first steep part with no crazy headaches or dizziness or anything!

The trail had some great views of the Continental Divide in the morning sun. When we left Estes in the morning it was about 30 degrees but felt a lot warmer once we got the blood flowing. The wind chill was pretty bitter, but luckily we had the wind behind us for the hike up and didn't get too chilly. We passed over a ridge which a few of us had enough curiousity to peek over and got a gorgeous view of a beautiful green valley with a huge herd of elk grazing near the lakes.

After a while, the trail turned into a big rock field with lots of scrambling to be done. We hopped from rock to rock until the summit was so close we could taste it! By this point it had gotten a little more windy and cold so I eagerly blazed through the rocks to be one of the first to catch a glimpse from the summit.
The two groups joined together at the top and had a power lunch on a ledge just under the ridge to escape the cold winds and were eager to speed back down the mountain. It was so cold I had to eat my lunch with my gloves on to keep my fingers from going numb!
As we started to head back down the mountain, the wind suddenly went from seriously cold to extremely cold and strong. Although we tried scrambling back down as fast as we could, the wind was so intense at times even the strongest hikers couldn't find the strength to move one leg in front of the other. the wind stayed pretty consistent over the four miles of unprotected trail along the side of the mountain at somewhere around 60-70mph with extreme gusts literally pushing hikers over. I could feel the wind going up one nostril and banging around in my brains and my morale was getting pretty low.

After what seemed like an endless journey of doom, we finally found the shelter of a few large boulders and everyone collapsed, removing their gear and scarfing down food and water. We didn't stay for long, however and started the trek back to the alpine line where we celebrated our successful journey and shedded our wind gear.

The ride back down from Milner's Pass along Trail Ridge Road was beautiful. We completely missed it on the way up due to the early hour. I remember passing a group of mountains to the right and stating "Woah, those are some serious mountains over there!" Our guide informed us that "those serious mountains over there" were Mt. Ida and neighboring mountains and I was like, "Sheesh! It's a good thing we drove up here in the dark, otherwise I would have spent those 7 hours at the trailhead!"
When we got back into town I was greeted with hugs and laughs from Uncle Jim and Robert and we wasted no time in getting some celebration ice cream and walking around Estes. Later on, Billy Mac and John met up with us for the Celebration dinner at the lodge which was very delicious in spite of the loud dance music. It was such a great feeling to have them come out to support me. Thanks so much for coming guys!

I felt really proud at how much I've improved during the season mostly due to the advice from hike leaders Angela, Glen and Chuck and also from the emotional support of all of my friends and family. I've never been part of a great cause like this one and was very happy to be a part of it and to meet such fun fellow hikers. Thanks again to everyone for being you. You can see lots more pictures from the trip at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9nbswhc.29kx7rcw&x=0&y=8sc4lh&localeid=en_US

P.S. The event has passed and the season is almost over, but It's never too late to donate to a great cause!

Event Weekend Day 1

Rocky Mountain National Park
Woohoo! Event weekend! The thing we've been training for all summer. After our arrival at Estes Park in the wee hours of the morning Thursday/Friday last week it was immediately apparent that I was not going to have enough winter gear for the blustery weather of a Rocky Mountain September. Thus, Friday morning was spent wandering in and out of outdoor shops and borrowing items here and there from my fellow New Mexico hikers.



Susan, Jenna, and I stopped by the eerie Stanley Hotel (the hotel Stephen King wrote The Shining based on) and poked around the place. It was a very classy lodge which is apparently very haunted. This was not the actual hotel used in the filming of The Shining (much to my disappointment) but was still a very interesting and beautiful lodge.

After a quick power lunch the New Mexico hikers got together for a nice leg stretcher to Cub Lake.

Cub Lake Trail
Distance Hiked: 5 mi
Elevation: 8,121-8,624 ft
Elevation Gain: 643 ft
Distance This Season: 72.45 mi
Elevation Gain This Season: 16,959 ft

Although we weren't at great altitude on our little leg stretcher hike to Cub Lake, I was definitely feeling it. Throughout the season I have struggled with altitude and breathing deeply enough to be able to keep up with the team on our hikes. We stayed together and took it nice and easy and I put my nervousness about the big hike the next day aside. It was great to get together with everyone for one last warmup and the lake was gorgeous with lots of beautiful lillypads and critters.

After the hike we rushed back to the lodge to prepare for the Inspiration Dinner. We met up beforehand to enter as a team and were surprised to see an archway of hiking poles guiding us into the ballroom. Ha! The food was delicious and the speakers were great. We were extremely proud to find out that so far this summer, the seven chapters attending this event had raised over a quarter of a million dollars! Wow!!!

It seemed almost impossible at the beginning of the summer to have brought in the amount of donations that I did. It's amazing how many great people we know who are willing to step it up and make a difference and to tell the government that if they won't take care of it, we'll do it ourselves! Everyone, you've made a huge difference in the lives of these afflicted families. Give yourselves a hug or a high five!

After dinner we broke up into the groups that we would be hiking with in the morning. All the chapters were spread out over several different trails with some having a departure time as early as 1:30am!!!! AHHHHHHH!!! Luckily, my group didn't have to be on the bus until 4:30am so we got to "sleep in". Our guide informed us that the trail would be steepest at the beginning, something else to tie knots in my stomach, but luckily I was able to sleep well before the big day!

TWA Crash Site

Domingo Baca Route to the TWA Crash Site
Distance Hiked: 8 mi
Elevation: 6,450-8,810 ft
Elevation Gain: 2,360 ft
Distance This Season: 67.45 mi
Elevation Gain This Season: 16,316 ft

Last Sunday we got up bright and early with the New Mexico marathon runners and hit the trails to find the TWA Crash Site in the Sandias. Richard was our fearless leader and used his might navigation skills to lead us though the lush rainforesty "trail".
It was misty all morning and pretty foggy in some parts but we didn't get too wet or cold throughout the climb. We had lots of obstacles along the way but made it up safely in one piece to the site.
The TWA plane crashed on Feb. 19, 1955, killing all 16 people aboard. The wreckage extends over about 300ish yards in the trees and bushes. You can view lots of photos in my slideshow I made here. It was a very unique experience and a beautiful morning hike. Thanks to Richard for organizing, leading, and feeding the group.



Today I'm off to Colorado for my event hike on Saturday. I will be getting up at the crack of dawn and conquering Mount Ida so wish me luck and pray for nice weather! Thanks to everyone for supporting me all summer and also for donating to LLS! You rock! See ya at the top!

Maria