Mount Yale: My First 14'er and Certainly Not My Last

Yes...it's me under all those layers standing just below the summit of Mt. Yale in Colorado. On my previous trips to Vail I always wanted to climb a "14" but somehow never had the time. So for my fall trip out to Vail I made the decision I was going climb a "14". In Colorado, they have over 54 peaks that rise 14,000 feet or higher. These are affectionately know as Colorado's 14'ers. To climb a 14'er is to take part in one of those grand experiences and what a grand experience it is. It's thrilling, challenging and sometimes frightening but an unequaled experience.

I had originally wanted to hike Mount Holy Cross but after numerous discussions with my guide it was determined that for my first "14" I would climb Mt. Yale which is part of the Collegiate Peaks and 21st tallest peak in Colorado. The name comes from individual peaks which are named after universities, including Mount Harvard, Mount Princeton, Mount Oxford, Mt. Columbia and ofcourse Mt. Yale. It is considered a favorite for those "training" for more technical 14'ers.

My guide Tanya Wiesen of Trailwise Guides and I hit the trailhead around 8am. Mind you, I had already been up four hours. I woke up at 4am and drove one hour on the pitch black mountain roads up to Tennessee Pass near the Continental Divide to hook up with Tanya. There we loaded my gear into her SUV and drove an hour south to the town of Buena Vista. Once at the trailhead we strapped on our gaiters and with our very prepared backpacks started our ascent. Ofcourse in those very "light" backpacks we had extra Patagonia's, waterproof jackets and shells, water, hats, gloves, balaclava, crampons, food, first aid kit, Ziploc bags, cell phones, cameras, sunglasses, GPS, matches/lighter, headlamps, tape, my father's Swiss army knife and most importantly my St. Christopher medal. The climb up Mount Yale starts at Denny Creek Trailhead and basically goes straight up from there. For all the material I read on the web, it looked like a simple four hour climb up with most climbers summiting and returning within seven hours. Yeah..right

Unfortunately, I started the climb with a chest cold and the Diamox I was taking really didn't make a dent in the altitude. Plus we moved the climb up a few days earlier because of the impending snow so I really didn't even have time to acclimate. Basically, it was like running a marathon under water and breathing thru a straw. Besides all that, it was wonderfully challenging up to the summit. The near silence of the high mountains is something one doesn't appreciate until they experience it.

Certainly the hike was longer and infinitely more arduous and yard by yard the effects of the exertion began to play on me physically. The thinning air and physical demands started inducing a mild sense of nausea and dizziness however I was determined to summit. Tanya and I "scrambled"over a boulder field of which is visible in the picture. The boulder field ran about 50 yards and was coated with ice so foot placement was critical because one misstep was a ticket down the mountain either by gravity or stretcher....not so excellent.

Once reaching the summit all that disappeared for those few minutes as Tanya and I were on the top of Mt. Yale. We had an exceptional, clear but cold day with visibility close to 1oo miles. The mountain offered fantastic views of the Sawatch Range, Crested Butte ski area and Pikes Peak. We were surrounded by a dozen 14's. It was truly spectacular. However that was short lived because as Tanya said getting up was the easy part, going down was a different story.


It was on the descent that the forewarning of high altitude sickness finally kicked in and resulted in my "little tumble". My little tumble came on the steepest part of the mountain on scree (our nemesis) which is broken rock or gravel. Even though I had hiking poles it didn't stop my slip slide down the slope. It was at that point Tanya and I had our own "come to Jesus" meeting and it was decided I had to eat a sandwich or two and drink some Emergen-C or things were going to get worse AND we still had 5 hours to the trailhead. Oh brother!

Those last five hours were long, cold and arduous and were made only more torturous by my worsening chest cold accompanied with saturated silk underwear (don't ask) and a throbbing finger that had been bent backwards when I did my "little tumble". And let's not forget the last two hours were done in the pitch black because the headlamps died on the final part of the descent. At that point Tanya and I were locked into one step following the next-type of hiking. In the dark, it is amazing how one's eyes adjust to the night. The towering mountains that surround the trailhead are looming silhouettes of dark purple mass and the stars in the high mountains of Colorado are brilliant!! They are truly diamond-esque against the dark/blue purple velvet of the night. I did manage to enjoy the sky while trying not to walk into a boulder or off the trail or off that !#$%@! log bridge. Oh...gee how could I forget about a mountain lion or two or maybe a bear.

Finally...13 hours from when we started at the trailhead Tanya signs us out of the trail log and we get in her SUV for the hour drive back to Tennessee Pass. On the way I called Joe and Charles and asked them to meet us at the pass because I was just mountained out and couldn't drive back the hour to Vail. So at Tanya's suggestion, the boys brought food for me including "a nice salad", fresh cut fruit, beautiful broiled chicken, two slices of Joe's delicious homemade pumpkin pie and ofcourse the appropriate silverware and linen.

So from the time I left Vail, climbed Mt. Yale and returned home it was a 19 hour day and what a day it was. If you want a glimpse of the summit with Tanya and me visit my page at youtube www.youtube.com/amlfl Hmmm...now about Mount Holy Cross..who knows?

Watching the sunrise over the Collegiate Peaks...
Summitting Mt. Yale...
Viewing the starry Colorado mountain skies...
Trying not to hit the huge elk standing in the middle of the road..
Priceless.....

-Angie of the Aspens

Arches National Park - Utah

Last week one of the most photographed and largest arches in Arches National Park came tumbling down. A National Parks Service spokesperson said Wall Arch collapsed from a combination of gravity and erosion. The picture above is one of hundreds I took during my four day visit at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. Wall Arch is or "was" part of the famous red arches of sandstone that occur in great profusion. According to the NPS, there are over 1,000 scenic arches. It is wonderfully surreal with its striking rock formations which are scattered over the park's 73,000 acres. There are huge monolithic spires and ridges and they have been featured in many films, most famously Thelma and Louise.

The hiking is truly spectacular especially the Devils Garden Trail where Wall Arch collapsed. The primitive loop which I hiked takes you by seven prominent arches. In many instances you must scramble and free climb up enormous sandstone fins.If you have vertigo this is not the place to hike. There are no railings, no safety nets (no phone service) and alot of slippery rock. As you summit the fins the scenery is National Geographic picture perfect.

Once you are done with Arches you can head over to Canyonlands National Park. It is often referred to as the "Little Grand Canyon". It is 530 square miles of countless canyons, arches, mesas and with the confluence of the Colorado and Green rivers. There are three distinct areas of the park - Island in the Sky, The Needles and The Maze. The Maze was my favorite section of the park. It is the wildest and remotest part of the park. Roads are unpaved and dusty and you must have a 4WD vehicle. Many times the roads deteriorated into steep canyons and small ravines. (the Flomeister was not happy when she got wind of that her daughter was driving all over creation) It truly is a spectacular part of the country.

The parks are about a four hour ride from Vail. If you do go make sure and get off I-70 west and take the country road US 128 in the back way. I thought for sure I would run into John Wayne driving down that road. Arches and Canyonlands are located near the town of Moab. This town is the starting point for many boat trips down the Colorado River and is the epicenter of mountain biking.

Many visitors visit Moab as part of the "Grand Circle" tour. Within the Grand Circle lies America's largest concentration of National Parks and Scenic Byways. The circle includes 11 National Parks, 16 National Monuments and over 20 Scenic Byways. It is a 1,400 mile circle encompassing sections of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. It is a great way to experience the scenic and historical American West.

Remember...the views don't disappear at sunset. Take the time and boat down the Colorado River at night. The sky is absolutely cloaked in stars. In my travels only Tibet's night sky rivals what I experienced out west.

So, saddle up the horse and giddy up.

Happy trails,
Angie of the Fins

Biscayne Bay Baynanza

Ok..it's been a little time since my last blog. Well alot has happened since Vail and now it's time to get caught up. I have alot of blogging to do so I'll start with "Baynanza 08". I have been fortunate to grow up on Biscayne Bay. I spent many weekends fishing the flats with my Dad and watching my Mom cut the wake waterskiing. However, over the years with Miami's growing population the Bay suffered from pollution and the marine environment was in steep decline.The Bay needed a 911 water rescue and got it from Miami Dade County.

It was in the early 1980's that the County stepped in to save Biscayne Bay. Baynanza was created as part of a larger effort to save the Bay. Now in its 26th year, Baynanza is a celebration of the Bay and its importance as one of our most important ecological and economic systems. Even though Baynanza includes more than 40 great events spanning from March to April, it is the Biscayne Bay Cleanup Day that generates the most interest.

So to celebrate the Bay, we volunteered on April 19th with 6500 other people to clean the Bay. People cleaned the Bay from Haulover in the north all the way down to Black Point to the south. Armed with rakes, gloves and trash bags, we all collectively removed more than 30 tons of garbage that had accumulated along our shores and islands of the Bay. The Porifera group (Joe and Charles and ofcourse our coffee connoisseur Lisa) were on Monument Island which is located just south of the Venetian Causeway near Star Island. Our island had nearly 50 volunteers and collected over 120 bags of garbage in three hours. It was a great effort but the Bay needs more than one weekend of cleanup to keep its 69,000 acres clean.

Not all residents appreciate just how fabulous it is to live with one of the largest subtropical lagoons in the United States. It stretches from Haulover all the way down to Card Sound including Biscayne National Park.The Bay supports a diverse biological community from coastal wetlands to submerged aquatic habitats. Anyone who has driven over the Julia Tuttle Causeway can see the extensive seagrass beds at low tide. And for those of us who boat on the Bay are familiar with Miami Limestone (not so good)and ofcourse all the fish fauna. According to the University of Miami School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, there are atleast 512 fish species in the Bay and over 150 species of shrimp, crabs, and lobsters.

Matter of fact, Baynanza weekend we saw manatees, dolphins, herons, egrets and a huge loggerhead turtle. It doesn't stop there...many North American species use Biscayne Bay as a major stopover in the autumn migration. It is all that rich marine life that played an important role in the historic makeup of the Bay. The Tequesta and Calusa Indians settled along the shoreline of Biscayne Bay for its abundant wildlife. Their occupation along the waters of Biscayne Bay was unfortunately short lived after the Spanish made their landfall. Early explorers included Ponce De Leon who sailed into what was then Chequescha Bay. Over hundreds of years little by little what small footprints remained of the Bay's history were filled in by urban development.

However the Bay is still a beautiful aquatic preserve. There aren't too many places that you can go boating, sailing, or pilot an ultralight while watching a pod of dolphins, a manatee or osprey. It is truly unique and hopefully it will stay that way with people respecting the Bay and keeping it clean.

So be involved and be green...the next cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, May 10th. This time the cleanup brigade will be on South Beach starting at 1st beach and working its way north. Visit the Environmental Coalition of Miami Beach (ECOMB) website at http://www.ecomb.org/ for more info and to sign up.

Ciao,

Angie of the Green Girls