I need to update my blog - my version of b2evo is outdated and it's been spammed to death...

P L A N E T r e k . c o m

"Ten - Four good buddy!"
Today's date HAH!

the "narrows" on the way home...can you find the (yellow) climber in the above photo?
me neither!

The story...

The weather has been fantastic here in Longmont, CO.
An extended summer if you will - so Deneen and I took advantage and went to climb Long's peak.
Living in Longmont provides an excellent vantage point to see Long's every day! Not to mention each time we drive to Denver this monstrous massif is just off to the West.

This impromptu climb was organized with Dave - a friend we met through JC - and this was his first fourteener climb, although he has attempted Capitol peak before and he's a solid rock climber, and slackliner, with plenty of experience on rock.
We decided to tackle this peak as an overnight experience, so two days to get the 14 miles RT done...and the weather and mountain delivered - it was fantastic...check out the photos on PLANETrek.com

Deneen at the Keyhole
There was some scrambling required on the route... we summited from the boulder field in about two hours and enjoyed about 1/2 that long on the summit - just sunning ourselves and soaking in the view.

almost there...db traversing upward on the sharpend leading our group

ahh...success. Dave, me, and Deneen, with our packs and lunch ready to be eaten!

The sunset on our hike in...
P L A N E T r e k . c o m

P L A N E T r e k . c o m

Wilson Peak 14,017'
What a great time. Packed in to Navajo Basin with Eric, Aden, and Deneen and climbed Wilson Peak.
A little bit of a drive to the San Juans (especially post Chris and Heather's wedding in Lander WY!) but we made great time and the drive had some awesome scenery.

Me, Joe, and Scott a.k.a: "Paraphunkanalia" groovin' at the pre-wedding sit down social! What a fun time - these guys were a lot of fun to play with - they have great skills.

The trip:

Gearing up at the parking lot. Sunday evening.

Breakfast by the lake
This was a rest day b/c of our long drive and late arrival
The Climb:

Early morning start from Navajo Lake!

Deneen and Aden on Rock of Ages Saddle

Our first scramble

Steady as she goes...

The Crux

Glory!

Thanks for the awesome sandwich Deneen!

We had great weather and the rock was [mostly] solid but definitely exhilarating...that is, until the hurricane blew thru!

Sunset on Navajo Lake with Gladstone Peak in the middle
We planned on 5 nights out but because of weather - it never improved - we left a day early.
Not disappointed tho, we did enjoy the free gondola into Telluride and a great burger at Smugglers!

We'll have to return and hit some more mountains next year - so everyone that missed out this go around...start your planning: end of August we'll get back to Navajo Basin, and we'll also hit Chicago Basin for the other 14'ers in the area!

On another note, we were lucky enough to find our new house - it's a mountain property, definitely a 'fixer upper'

What d'you think?

have fun out there...

kishout

editor's note: This was my second trip out to Navajo Basin.The first time was on a 2004 PLANETrek trip with Doug & Dave (pre digital era photos). It too was a great trip but again the weather was chilly and there was a heck of a lot of snow!

This photo is of our party (Dave, Doug) ascending the 1.75 mile West Ridge of El Diente
P L A N E T r e k . c o m

So...we're at the height of the summer and it's been a very unique one for me.
The house hunt is at the forefront of our energies and we've had some success but still no house.
A few weeks ago we took a break to visit some of the most beautiful wild places Colorado has to offer: Deneen, myself, and some of our closest friends, Kaspar and Liz and Jackson, forged ahead into the White River Nat'l forest and hiked the four mountain pass circuit around the Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak, Snowmass, and Capital Peak...absolutely amazing scenery and good times.
A place we'll never tire of returning to.
Next on the agenda is Lander, WY to celebrate our friends marriage - and I've been asked to play some music to accompany the ceremony. It seems that weddings are my solid gigs for the summer months, shared only with the LeVel 5ive exploits on the ICE. Other than that it's an occasional open mic or jam session with friends, and the rare recording sessions either for the band or for jingles like "Sweetie"
After the wedding we have some very exciting plans. Not only are we heading towards the high peaks near Telluride but we're gonna get to hike with some of our best friends and longest climbing partners.
So September promises to be an exceptional month.
I wanted to post a link to my friend Brody's blog FrozenBrody.blogspot.com.
He's a friend I first met in Antarctica. He's currently on an awesome bike tour of Europe. He's got a very honest and interesting writing style. It's quite entertaining. He's also an awesome Ultimate Frisbee player, recently competing in the World Championships.
Also if you live in and around Denver, come out to Pub on Pearl Wednesday night runs - it's free and super fun. A 5K that starts at the Pub on Pearl, organized by Aden at Oneton. Stay Healthy

Check back soon - I'll post some updates and then hopefully and invitation to the 'new' place!

db and I R still searchin for a house, homestead, humble abode!
It's been fun but draining at times.
I guess it's a big deal? B/C of the amount of mon$y involved.
but like she and I discussed U gotta pay rent wherever U R, so wouldn't it be better to own the place...blah blah blah...

yes it's been a while since I've blogged but that's b/c I'm house hunting!
hope all is well - special recognition to friends all around - Brody in Prague at the Ultimate Frisbee Championships - goodluck.
Joe and Rachel w/ their debut album due out in a day or to - it's awesome and intense - thefantasizerlives.com
and to everybody else - I hope summertime is awesome!

kishout