Hiking – Douglas County High Point, Thunder Butte (9,836 ft)

April 7th, 2013

Mountain Gals Ready to Bag Another Peak
Georgia, Linda, Myself, and Erin. Our Target, Thunder Butte, in the background.

Summit of Thunder Butte
On Top of Thunder Butte! Pike’s Peak in the Background.

Linda and Georgia were going to hike up Thunder Butte, the high point of Douglas County, and invited Erin and I to join them. I thought it sounded like a fun and easily attainable summit.

Thunder Butte Topo
Our Destination!

I was looking forward to hiking a non-snow covered trail. It was the first big hike I had done since my ultra, so I wasn’t sure how my feet would feel. Both my big toenails had blisters underneath them, so I figured there would be a small element of pain. Tape goes a long way towards helping, but I also wore a thicker pair of socks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , ,
Posted in Mountaineering | Comments Closed

Rock Climbing – The Spy

April 5th, 2013

Erin Preps to Lead The Spy Climbergirls Ready to Climb The Spy
Pictures Courtesy of Erin Thompson

The days are longer and spring is upon us, so I decide to join Erin for an afternoon of climbing The Spy. Unfortunately, we miss the proper start and she ends up creating her own line. She veers back on route, but by then, it’s too late to finish the climb.

We are cheered by the discovery of an orange metolius cam which is wedged in a horizontal crack. It looks a bit worn but still new enough to make a recovery effort worthwhile. She works on it a little bit, then I do, then we give up.

Meanwhile two dudes who are soloing come along and give it a whirl. They can’t get it out either, so as sun is setting, we get our nut tool back from them and retreat to the comforts of Boulder.

“Mmmmm, beer!” ~Homer Simpson

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Rock Climbing | Comments Closed

Running – Way Too Cool 50K

March 9th, 2013


Climbergirl completing the Way Too Cool!

With 4 months of intensive training, I was ready to run the Way Too Cool 50K! I had heard the hardest part to running an ultramarathon is showing up to the starting line healthy. So, my training program and coach were focused and determined to accomplish this very task!

Way Too Cool 50K Course Map
The Way Too Cool 50K Map

Way Too Cool Mascot
Unfortunately, no amount of training can prevent a person from contracting a viral upper respiratory infection! About 4 days prior to my race I was having a rough time. Seeking respite from the constant coughing and hoping for a good nights sleep, I went to urgent care. I was informed, by a doctor named Claire!, I didn’t have bronchitis or pneumonia. Yay, I was “cleared” to run the race, but would I be able to do it?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Running, Social Event, Travel | Comments Closed

Running – Ralston Creek Half Marathon

February 10th, 2013

Clare Running the Ralston Creek Half Marathon
Ralston Creek Half Marathon Picture Courtesy of SkiPix.com

My friend Linda signed up to run the Ralston Creek Half Marathon, in part to celebrate turning 60 (back in Dec). She asked me if I wanted to run it with her, so of course I signed up. Besides, I figured I could work it in as part of my Ultramarathon training.

At the race, they served chicken noodle soup at the finish line, so that was an extra special treat. I would definitely recommend running Ralston Creek in the future. It was very organized and professional!

I ran the race very smart and achieved a time right in the range my coach suggested: 8 min 16 sec/mile pace. I was 9th place in my age/gender division. Yay!

I could have run faster, but I’m really happy I played it cool. Running a half is so much faster than I had been training; even at the “slow pace” I ran, I still managed to tweak my foot! Thank goodness the tweak healed a few weeks later and just in time for my Ultra race!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Running, Social Event | Comments Closed

Snowshoe Hike – Fletcher via Drift Peak, Attempt

February 2nd, 2013

Sunrising on Fletcher
I met Doug at 5pm and we drove to the Mammoth Ride Share Lot to pick up Bill. Bill works part time on Ski Patrol, so he’s a good guy to have on a winter adventure. Our objective was to climb the centennial Fletcher Mountain (13,951) via Drift Peak. Bill was on AT skis and Doug and I were snowshoeing it.

Mayflower Creek Trail

Unfortunately, we greatly underestimated the traffic on the slopes. We figured there would be a trail packed down all the way to the ridge, from the Mayflower Creek trail head. When we got to the trailhead, there was evidence the trail would be as we suspected, so we decided to leave the snowshoes in the car. It was nice hiking with lighter packs!

Thanks to Doug for supplying pictures, I forgot my camera…so all these are from Doug!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Mountaineering, Snowshoe Hiking | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »