Bagged our first 14'er ~ Torreys Peak

On Saturday, August 22, 2009
Dave & I, Trey & Sean, and our friends John & Michelle
attempted to hike to the top of Torreys Peak,
one of Colorado's mountains over 14,000.
John & Michelle had attempted to summit the week before,
but a major sleet storm turned them around about 2/3s of the way up.
So all together, we grabbed a most beautiful weather day and bagged that peak together!
Here's our photo story ...

Torreys Peak is 14,267' above sea level
at the end of 4 miles of a steep, rocky, rutted 4WD road.

We drove the Excursion (of course!) ...

The trail head to Grays and Torreys starts in a beautiful meadow,
and quickly begins to tackle the ascent...

Michelle & John, Sherrie & Dave, Sean & Trey
(still in the shadows & very chilly) ...
Crossing the beautiful creek on the great wooden bridge ...
Then onward to the steps and wild flowers ...
7:55am ~ just perfect. We wanted to start by 8am
in order to be off the top by noon due to Colorado's
common afternoon lightning storms ...
(we got up at 4:45 :)

As we hike, we finally round a bend that gives us our first views
of Grays Peak (on the left) and Torreys Peak (on the right)
Here we come!

We're getting closer now, in the sun, shedding layers, and great views ~
John, Michelle, Trey, Sean, Sherrie & Dave ...
Above the meadow, we stop to look at the sights.
A hard thing about the hike is that it is so rocky that your eyes are on your feet
rather than taking in the grandeur and beauty.

Trey ...
Dave & Sean ...
If you look closely, you can see that Dave is carrying his & hers backpacks
(Thanks honey ~ I would have NEVER made it with my backpack!)
Sean powered up and scampered down the mountain
like it was a walk in the park ...
John ...
Michelle ...
Up, up and away ~ Dave & Sean getting higher still ...
A look back at the trail we've already hiked up...
the trail split is for Grays Peak to the left ...
Contemplation from the rocky parts
(actually Trey was waiting for me ;)
The trek still ahead of us up Torreys Peak ...
There was just one patch of snow ice that we had to go through ...
This picture is of that same snow ice looking back from the upper saddle of Torreys.
This picture also shows Grays Peak in the background...
A little closer view of the people hiking through the snow ice...
From the same vantage on the upper saddle, but turning forward to face Torreys peak
and the steep rocky slope to get to the top of the world ...
John & Michelle made it first and we passed them on our way up,
and right behind them, we passed Dave & Sean on their way down ...
And then it was our moment of glory ~ with Trey's encouragement
and patience, and company, together we bagged the puppy!
My hero!
Trey has "mad hops" (i.e., big air with his jumps!) ...
Yepper doodles ~ ta da!!
Trey lounging, enjoy the accomplishment & scenery, signing the log,
and checking out the names of the others who had been there before us...
There were a lot of dogs on the trail,
this is Focus, the bug-eating wonder dog also enjoying the top...
The views are/were spectacular!
I loved this little valley and the endless mountains behind ...
Zooming in, you can see Breckenridge ski resort ...
I'm bummed I held the camera upright rather than crosswise for this video
since I can't rotate it like I can with a picture!
Oh well, you'll just have to turn your heads sideways to
enjoy Trey & Sean coming back down the snow ice ;)


Our dear friend Michelle... my rock companion most of the way down ...

After summitting Torreys, Dave & John hiked across the saddle and bagged Grays too!
You'd never guess that Dave broke and tore his ankle to shreds less than 2 months ago
(well unless you look at it and could check out all the swelling!)

Goofball!

Dave & John were down by 2.30, I got to the bottom at 4.30
Total steps on the pedometer for this 7.5 mile venture ~ 22,500 :)

A Great Time in New Mexico!

On our way home from Tucson to visit my Moms,

we went to Alamogordo to visit Aunt Crissy, Uncle Charlie, and Grandpa-pa ...

And we were treated like absolute royalty!
Man, if anyone knows how to role out the red carpet and serve up a storm,
it's my aunt and we had our socks blessed off!

Welcome to the weary road warriors!
On our arrival, Lisa & Kent visited dressed for their togo New Year's Eve party,
which we understand was a very festive and delightful evening.
We felt fulfilled getting to wish them well & see them on their way,
as it was one of the first 10pm to bed new year's we've had in ages!
Snoozy woozy Sean & Trey ...

The meals and tables were spectacular, as is Crissy's custom,
her cooking is over the top, delightful, and delectable!
Our grand hostess never sat down to really enjoy this 3-course extraordinaire!
(complete with fresh made grapefruit sorbet ~ amazing :)And we were able to see Crissy's wildlife Christmas tree ~ so unique!
She does a different theme every year ...We also ran around the golf course for 9 holes which was very fun for my boys
I golfed a 36 on nine ... 2 drives, pick up ball, walk to green, drop on edge and 2 putts.
I'm not sure that results in a "legal" score but for me it's a lot of fun.
Dave on the other hand was more into using his golf balls to beat
a couple of the beautiful homes along the 8 & 9 ~ youchers!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day ...Mamma with her two baby bears ...
(I can tell that's not going to last much longer,
my guess is that Sean will be taller than me by Valentine's Day)Daddy & his swingers ...
We also played a game of Tripoley which has been a favorite
of our families when we get together. Grandpa remembers the poker hands
as if 70 years ago were yesterday!

Our 36 hours in Alamo came and went far to fast ~ here's a picture of
our 95 year old grandfather enjoying whole wheat fresh pancakes at our departure!
Trey taught him to play wii golf while we were there and on one hole,
Trey told Grandpa the yardage and he said, "give me my 7-iron" ~ quite adorable!!

And WHERE was my camera when we stopped in Albuquerque and had lunch
with the fabulous Keri, Tom, Kaly & Aubrey family??
It was such a special treat on our drive home!!

Thank you Cris & Charlie, Grandpa, Keri, Tom, Kaly & Aubrey
for the most wonderful wonderful loves!!