Celebrating Fall

October, welcome.

Things I love about October:
1. It's officially fall
2. Oktoberfest
3. Sweater weather

The weather has been absolutely perfect in Missoula which is great timing given it's officially my last month in town. As for my hiking goal of 60 miles by October 1, I exceeded it with getting 64 miles of hiking under my belt in just over a month. I can't wait to start hiking in Utah and exploring a new set of mountains and terrain.

My friend and I made what will most likely be our last (for now) ascent to the top of Mount Sentinel. The view truly never gets old. While we were at the top a paraglider was setting up to take off. We were able to see him take his approach and fly off the mountain. Definitely something I had never been able to witness before, pretty amazing.

Looking east from the summit

For my last long hike in Montana I decided to make my second attempt at Upper Holland Lake which I had tried to hike to a year ago but had been misguided. The Seeley/Swan area northeast of Missoula is one of my favorite areas in western Montana. We made it a few weeks too early to see the larch turning in full swing (which is absolutely incredible) but nonetheless still beautiful.

View from above the main Holland Lake

Upper Holland

I'll miss these colorful river rocks

The weather is cooling off which can only mean one thing for my kitchen: crock pot time. 

In light of me needing to dwindle the items in my refrigerator and pantry before my move, I decided to go with Honey Soy Chicken by The Recipe Critic. Instead of using soba noodles, I made a batch of quinoa with mushrooms to top with the chicken. I also mixed in a tablespoon of chunky peanut butter to each serving. Enjoy!

This past weekend was Oktoberfest, a celebration I had been counting down for from a year ago. The six hour drive to the mountain town of Leavenworth, Washington was worth every mile, carb, and bruise from the weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with Leavenworth, the entire town has a theme of Bavaria. The shops and signs are all in English and German and it is amazing. I highly recommend making the trip there along with planning some hiking in the Enchantments which I unfortunately wasn't able to do (this time). Our group was rowdy and festive -- I love lederhosen. 

October may be my new favorite month, two weeks left in October and two weeks left in Missoula.
Time flies doesn't it?

k

New Heights

One of my favorite beers I've found in New Mexico is the La Cumbre Elevated IPA as I've mentioned previously. La Cumbre means "the summit" in Spanish which brings me to the topic of this post: summits. But first, let's talk rivers.

The Rio Grande flows right through the middle of Albuquerque. The river isn't very deep, I would say an average depth of 3 feet with some parts more shallow or deep. Last Saturday I decided to do a 5 mile stand up paddleboard (SUP) tour down the Rio Grande. The tour was half tour and half a lesson on how to maneuver the river and it's obstacles. For example, getting in and out of eddy's, ferrying to shores, multiple paddle strokes, and finally a quarter mile upstream race (ouch). The Rio Grande is the first river I've been on where I couldn't see the bottom. The water was completely brown from agricultural runoff. The tour was awesome and worth every hour in the dry desert heat. I digress...

This weekend I journeyed out of town to meet Melody and her boyfriend in Colorado to do some hiking and camping. By hiking I specifically mean conquering my first 14er, Mount Lindsay. West of Walsenburg, CO in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains stands the 14,042 foot tall peak. I was not only excited to set a new PR for the tallest peak I've hiked, but to complete it with these two. Being really organized for a hike like this is essential from not only planning where to camp, what to bring, and what the route will be. I highly suggest utilizing the 14ers website when planning your hike.

The road to the trailhead was a bit of a trek, but ended at a spectacular view and a great camp site next to the trailhead.

View from the parking area where we camped

We started our hiked at 5:30 a.m. which was a great choice given the heat and the frequent afternoon thunderstorms that happen in the mountains. Here are some photos from our ascent before we were above the tree line. 

Wildflowers were in bloom along the creek

Just before the boulder field

Sunrise

After reaching the saddle of the start of the ridge it was time to put our helmets on, get the map out, and determine our route along the northwest ridge of the mountain. There were about ten others hiking Mt Lindsey on Saturday as well. It was nice to have a sense of comradery with our fellow hikers, especially when things got tough. There are 2 main routes to the top, we chose the rock climbing ridge route for the ascent and the scree of rocks in the gully for the descent, thankfully. 

From the base of the saddle, the false summit is pictured here. 

None of us had ever had to do this level of rock climbing to get to a peak. I was nervous but felt better being with people I trusted and somewhat knowing the route we were planning to take. The following are the photos I was able to take during the ascent. I can honestly say that at one point during the "semi class-4" climbing area, it was the closest I have ever come to having a panic attack. The important thing I learned was being able to overcome my fears and really apply mind over matter.

Final steps to the top of the false summit

One of the easier crevices we were able to climb

Our route was scurrying on the left and down the ridge

Reaching the top of the false summit was such a feat. It was only a short distance to the actual summit on a defined trail. By this point we had reached 14,000 feet and it felt so good. The trail had a very great string of cairns that were even throughout the ridge. At that, we had reached the summit.

Cairns at the summit

Apparently my excitement and relief to be at the top of this beast resulted in a power stance. I secretly think I was having a post-panic grounding stance. Blanca Peak is directly behind me. It was such a beautiful view from the top.

After finishing our lunch and signing into the log, we began our descent down the gully. As opposed to the very sturdy granite we had climbing up, the gully was a steep scree of loose rock that we mostly had to slide or side step down. After the gully it was just a long route down of dodging hail and aggressive marmots. 

We were pretty spent after our trek and in search of a well deserved beer. I was so happy to have these two with me for this experience. I love accomplishing personal goals especially in good company. Colorado, you never disappoint. Mount Lindsey, thanks for being my first and definitely not my last 14er. 

Now go out there and get elevated.

k