The Ideal 20-Something

I’ve started thinking a lot about how everyone in the same age group as I am (in their 20s) seems to be at a different stage in their life. Everyone is doing something different.

Let’s take me, for example. I’m 26. I went to college, and continued on to graduate school. I’ve been struggling to find work. I don’t have a significant other, nor do I want one/want to get married. I don’t think I want kids. I have a dog who is practically my child. I’m an Aunt to two beautiful girls. I spend my days job hunting, volunteering, and hiking.

Now, let’s take a look at other people I know who are in their 20s:
Some are in undergrad.
Some are in graduate school.
Some never went to college.
Some are working a full-time career.
Some people are on their second career choice.
Some people don’t work.
Some people started their own company.
Some people are stay-at-home moms.
Some still live in the same town they grew up in/went to college.
Some moved to a different state.
Some moved to a different country.
Some are single.
Some are in a relationship.
Some are married.
Some are divorced.
Some are expecting their first child.
Some just started their family.
Some already have multiple kids.

You know what that tells me?

There’s no ideal place in life you’re supposed to be in your 20s.

That your 20s aren’t really supposed to make perfect sense.

Your 20s is about figuring yourself out, about learning what you want from life. It’s about growing into the person you want to be.

It’s about working towards that life you want, and beginning it.

So when I sit here and wonder “Wow, so-and-so is married with two kids, but the idea of having kids at my age terrifies me. Is that weird?”, I know that the answer is no.

A few years ago when my sister first announced she was pregnant, someone asked me, “So…how do you feel about your younger sister being pregnant?” I knew what they meant. They wanted to know how I felt that my sister, who is 3 years younger than me, was starting a family before I did. You know what I said? I’m so happy for her, I’m ecstatic for her. Because I wasn’t in a place in my life where I was ready to start a family, but she was.

Because, again, everyone in their 20s is at a different stage of their life, and no one should be jealous or feel bad that they aren’t doing the exact same thing as someone else in a similar age group.

So whether you’re sitting on a mountain with your dog as your partner, or looking at houses with your SO, or playing with your kids at the playground – You’re doing exactly what you should be in your 20s.

Reservoir Ridge

 

Trail Stats/Info:
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Length: No set length, ranges anywhere from 3-7 miles RT.
Elevation gain: ~500 feet
No entrance/parking fee
Dogs must be leashed
Trail map

I’ve recently started hiking the area known as Reservoir Ridge in Fort Collins, and I think it’s becoming my favorite go-to. It’s an area that you essentially create-your-own-loop, so you can hike anywhere ranging from 3-7 miles round trip. Plus, the elevation gain is mild and well distributed throughout the switchbacks, so it’s a very pleasant trail overall.

Something else that’s great about it – Free parking!

A friend of mine and I took our dogs there a few weeks ago, and I went back on a nice day with just Joule. Although the weather turned sour real quick for us then. On the first hike, we did probably around 5 miles. For the second time, I took an extra loop that gave us an addition 1 mile on the hike. Plus with the storm coming in, we fast walked/jogged for part of it.

The trailhead/parking lot is actually less than a 5 minute drive from my house, so you can see why I enjoy going there a lot now.

Plus, I like the idea of walking up to the foothills. The first 1.5 miles of the trail from the parking lot is flat walking up to the base of the first ridge (hence the name, Reservoir Ridge) of the foothills.

The last photo was taken on our route back, hence no foothills in the distance.

Once you reach the foothills, you take a series of winding routes and switchbacks up the hillside. I just love it.

I don’t hike the plains area a lot because frankly, I think it’s boring. But there’s something about this area that just gets me. There’s a beauty to the prairie grass covered hills.

I’m sure it’ll be just gorgeous in the summer time too.

When hiking, you’ll hit a few trail splits. The first one is the starting/ending point of the northern loop. Personally, I say keep left/south and hike the loop from that direction.

The second split you’ll hit will be the foothills trail split. This later gives you the option to continue the loop back to the trail you were on, or continue down the foothills trail way south. The first time I did this hike, I opted out of that loop and continued right on the trail. The second time, I took that loop, then came around and continued on the northern loop as well.

Since that description is obviously confusing, here’s two maps showing my loop routes.

You do have the option to only do the southern loop and connect back to the main trail. I just chose to continue onto the northern loop.

The south loop goes through this lovely area, then comes out with an overview of Horsetooth. We crossed the road at this point for some photo ops. Maybe not the best idea when the wind was pushing 50mph!

Windy ear malfunctions are the worst.

We continued onto the northern loop, which, the walk along the ridge here is beautiful.

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Someone wasn’t a fan of the wind.

There’s lovely places to sit down on the northern loop.

During our first hike here, Cali and Joule took the time to take in the scenery.

The second time…we had nasty storm clouds rolling in and that was our cue to book it down the mountain.

If you aren’t having to book it on the route down from the ridge, there’s some nice rock areas just off the trail.

Connect back with the main trail, and start your cool-down hike back to the parking lot.

Overall, it’s a really delightful trail. If you’re looking for a quick 1.5-2 hour hike, I highly recommend it.

 

Arthur’s Rock

Trail Stats/Info:
Location: Lory State Park, Fort Collins, CO
Length: 3.4 miles round trip
Elevation gain: 1,200 feet
Park entrance fee $7
Dogs must be leashed.
Trail map

Arthur’s Rock is one of the classic Fort Collins hikes, in addition to Horsetooth Rock.

Last time I attempted Arthur’s Rock was over 2 years ago with my cousin, and my dog ended up having a heat stroke. It was scary, and I think that made me nervous to hike in Lory State Park during warmer days for quite a while.

Well, when it was destined to be 75 degrees on a Friday in March, I couldn’t resist attempting it again. The thing that makes this hike very hot is that it’s very exposed for a good portion of the trail. Even when starting the trail when it was probably around 60-65 degrees out and having plenty of water, Joule was still heating up a bit. I made sure to take quite a few breaks.

I used this hike as a test run for how my joints handle decent elevation gain. At a 1.2k feet gain over ~1.5 miles, Arthur’s Rock definitely as a hefty incline at some portions. But, the trail also handles it quite well so it’s not as noticeable for the most part. Overall, great practice trail for these ol’ joints of mine!

The hike starts up some switch backs to get you up the initial hill, then you’re greeted by a walk across a grassy clearing with the great view of Arthur’s Rock, plus the climb ahead.

After crossing the clearing, you begin the final switch backs that take you to the eastern base of Arthur’s Rock

The views on this part of the hike are pretty great.

When you reach the South-Eastern side of Arthur’s Rock, there’s a nice overlook area with some rocks to scramble.

But don’t stop there! The trail will take you along the edge of Arthur’s Rock, leading you up to the western side. There’s a bit more shade in this area, so it’s a good place for a quick break if you need it.

The trail will take you right up to the rock, where now it’s time to walk from rock to rock/scramble up the final ascent area.

Once you get to the top, the views are breathtaking.

You have Horsetooth Reservoir before you, then the rolling pine-covered foothills and a peak at some of the Rocky Mountain peaks behind you.

Take your time up top. It’s a great place to relax, take some pictures, drink some water (or beer, shame I forgot mine!). Or you can just lie on the cold rocks for a bit.

A fun thing to do after the descent is cool off in one of the coves of Horsetooth. My particular favorite (because technically the hike down to it takes you out of Lory State Park) is the one near Eltuck picnic area. It wasn’t warm enough out for me to want to take a swim. But Joule sure enjoyed it.

Definitely going to be doing this hike again during another spring day. Maybe even a sunrise hike?

Opinion time – Would you like the trail stats at the beginning, end, or in the middle-ish (right after my intro but before I begin discussing the trail itself)?

Why Do You Hike Alone?

I hike alone, a lot. Actually, the majority of my hikes are done solo.

But it seems like a lot of people don’t understand why I would want to do that.

Sure, hiking as a group or with another individual can be a lot of fun. I had my fair share of group hikes last summer. In fact, I did them weekly for nearly two months. They were a blast! I still go on the occasional local hike with someone else, too.

Hiking alone doesn’t occur because I can’t find anyone else to go hiking with. It’s because I actually enjoy hiking by myself.

Hiking alone is one of the most calming and refreshing things I’ve ever experienced.

It allows me to go where I want, when I want, and hike at the speed  I want. Group hikes were great, but I always felt like it was a rush to reach the summit when I wanted to spend time just enjoying my surroundings. I like to stop a lot, take it all in.

And hiking quickly just doesn’t happen for me anymore. My weight-bearing joints aren’t doing as well as they did when I was younger, and my lungs also can’t handle going too quickly up an incline without aching. Which means I need to stop quite a bit and let everything rest for a few moments. So honestly, it’s just easier to be by myself. Then I don’t feel like I’m forcing people to wait on me, or watching a group leave me behind.

Also, I’m never really hiking alone. I take Joule, the best of friends. Sure, it’s not another human, but I never feel like I’m actually alone when she’s with me.

When I come home from hiking with just Joule, I feel totally happy and at peace.

That’s why for my birthday I went snowshoeing alone. Because I knew that’s the one thing that would be guaranteed to be a blast and leave me satisfied.

Really, I’m just good at being alone and in the outdoors. I’m content with myself, and maybe that’s part of the reason I enjoy going and doing these things alone/with Joule so much. Because I don’t absolutely need someone else there to make it an enjoyable experience.

Honestly, I just need that crazy dog of mine by my side.

That doesn’t mean I’ll turn someone down, or never try to find someone to invite along, though. There’s only been a few instances where I’ve wanted to go by myself so badly that I told someone no to joining. Which, if I ever do that, don’t take it badly! It’s nothing against you particularly, it’s just that I need a little refresher and being alone is important to that.

“But Kylie, going alone is dangerous!” *cue Zelda joke*

Shut up, no it’s not. It’s only unsafe if you’re an idiot and don’t know how to take care of yourself. I never put myself into situations where serious injury could happen, or where I wouldn’t be able to get help if I needed it.

I go by myself because I want to, because my soul needs to. And I don’t think that’s ever going to change.

 

Joule’s Birthday!

 

Joule’s birthday was January 10th, and birthday #5 seems like a big birthday. Heck, they all seem like big birthdays. We’ve never really done anything super special beyond getting some extra food, a new toy, etc. In fact, one year she even spent her birthday drugged up since she had just been diagnosed with pancreatitis and was trying to battle that. That birthday was crummy for her.

This year I started to think – What would make for the best dog day ever?

 

The day started off with a delicious breakfast of kibble topped with 2 over easy eggs. I’ve given her scrambled eggs before, but she went crazy over the liquid yolk.

Then we started to prep for a fun afternoon of snowshoeing! We went up to Lory State Park and created our own loop that ended up being around 4.5-5 miles total after I tallied it up.

We parked at the Arthur’s Rock trailhead area, hiked up that trail to the first fork. That’s where we opted for the Overlook Trail. This might actually by my favorite trail in the Park area now. The views were just so gorgeous!

From start to finish (which comes out at the Homestead Picnic Area), that trail is about 2 miles with ~500 foot elevation gain. Most of that gain is right at the beginning of the trail, then you’re walking along the hillside with amazing views of Horsetooth Reservoir.

 

We even saw some deer. Joule was pretty stoked about that and spent about ten minutes talking to them.

Once we reached the Homestead Picnic Area, we hiked up the road to Eltuck Picnic Area. We hiked East from there to reach the midpoint to the East Valley Trail. We took that South and it’s a fairly easy, pleasant snowshoeing trail. This was where we had some snow where Joule’s paws kept going through, while my snowshoes helped me out.

The elevation gain wasn’t bad for this trail – maybe around 300 feet? But by the end, it felt like a lot. We’re still new to snowshoeing so we get exhausted quickly!

We took that trail all the way back to the Arthur’s Rock trailhead, thus completing our little loop.

Joule was asleep in the truck before we even left the parking lot.

When we arrived back home, Joule passed out for a nap while I began making her some delicious pupcakes. She helped with taste testing and fully approved.

After quickly decorating a few, we took them to her brew dog friends at Snowbank Brew. Of course, I had to enjoy a quick pint while she napped on the floor (I’m sensing a napping theme here?).

Dinner for her was kibble mixed with pumpkin puree, topped with another over easy egg. She spent a solid 15 minutes licking her bowl after she finished because she had to make sure to get every little bit.

Before pupcake time, she enjoyed playing with 2 new toys (the frisbee is in safe keeping now until we have time to take it outside).

And of course, the grand finale – Her own pupcake! I put a little extra decoration on it and she just went nuts over it. I tried one myself and when I was sitting there eating it, she was in my face, begging for more. Of course I shared. Duh. It’s her birthday.

The remaining few hours of the night was spent cuddling on the couch, with her drooling on me and snoring.

She was still pooped the next day and it made me smile. Because I know I gave that dog one hell of a day.

Birthday Snowshoe Adventure

It’s been a while since I’ve gone snowshoeing. And when I say that, I don’t just mean a couple years. It’s been over 10 years since I went snowshoeing, and honestly, I barely remember the original hike. That was my first and only snowshoeing trip until the first of this year.

Being a New Year’s baby is always weird and kind of disappointing because no one is ever really free to do anything. I remember it being difficult to throw a party when I was younger, then I turned 21 and no one was in town (since I live in a college town and everyone would go home for the holidays. So I started going to Keystone – rented a condo, invited friends or my current SO to come hang up there and snowboard alongside me. I did that for 2 years and absolutely loved it. I said okay, this is how I want to continue to spend New Year’s Eve/Day/My birthday.

Then this year happened and I was too broke to afford a condo and snowboarding. That’s when the idea came up – all I wanted to do for my birthday was go hang out in the woods alone.

After countless hours of searching for an easy snowshoe trail that was easily accessible (all the roads to the trailheads are closed for the winter!), I finally settled on trekking a few miles north on the Sourdough trail from the Brainard Lake Recreation area.

Well of course, thanks to a few cocktails to celebrate ringing in the new year, I didn’t wake up quite as early as I planned. Whatever, it was worth it. I rang in the new year with a pint of porter and wearing my dog’s face on my shirt. I can’t really complain.

I didn’t actually reach the trailhead until about 10:30am, when the original plan was to be there around 9am. Oops.

If you’ve never been up to the Brainard Lake area – I highly recommend it. I’ve gone there both in the summer and winter, and both times it just blows me away. I hiked to Isabelle Glacier twice over the summer, and now I may try to make it to at least Lake Isabelle this winter. Below, there’s a photo from Lake Isabelle in the summer (left), the from the winter parking lot a few days ago (right). Mind blowingly gorgeous, right?

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We didn’t snowshoe very far, I think about 1.65 miles in, then back. Once I hit the first Wapiti trail loop split, I continued on a little bit so I could go into a clearing and enjoy myself. Why didn’t I go further? Because elevation starts to drop faster, and that uphill climb back (while only ~500 feet elevation gain) was going to be rough for someone who’s still new to snowshoeing. I was right, it sucked. If I could just never snowshoe uphill, that’d be fantastic.

But you know what? Who cares. It was my birthday, and if I only wanted to snowshoe ~3.5 miles, then that’s my own choice. I wasn’t going for distance or pushing myself – I wanted to wander alone (besides the few people I ran into on the trail) in the woods with my dog, surrounded by snow. I never understand why people make fun of others for doing short hikes. If you want to do a short hike to just take in the scenery, by all means, do it!

 

And honestly, it was the best birthday I’ve had.

First off, it was the most perfect, beautiful Colorado day for any outdoor adventure. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I don’t think the temperature ever reach 20 F. Now, that sounds cold, but anyone who has hiked in the winter can tell you that the lower temps feel pretty good when you’re working up a sweat.

It started off with Joule not liking my snowshoes and poles, so she kept trying to fight me.

I kept trying to make her walk behind me, because otherwise she walked way too far ahead of me since she didn’t want to be near the shows/poles. What a goober. But when she walked behind me, she kept stepping on my snowshoes! So at one point, she bolted past me (because obviously the snowshoes were going to attack), tried bounding through a snowbank just to the side of the trail and ended up tripping and faceplanting into the snow. I laughed so hard that I really thought I was going to pee myself.

We kept hiking until I decided I wanted to just sit down in a clearing, soak up the sun and enjoy a beer while Joule explored around me.

It was relaxing, it was gorgeous out, and I had a beer in my hand.

Seriously, happy birthday to me on that one.

Next time I’d like to take the Wapiti trail around, although I’m having difficulties finding the length/elevation gain on that trail. Since I’m still so new to snowshoeing, it’s a real concern for me.

I topped off my birthday with some cocktails with a close friend, then went home and cuddled the dog.

Best birthday ever, by far.

 

New Year’s Resolutions

 

 

Everyone creates resolutions, it’s a tradition. Typically they’re about changing your life for the better – love more, go to the gym, eat healthier, remember to call Mom once a week, etc etc etc.

New Year’s resolutions always mean something a little more to me because the new year is 100% a new year for me. Being born on the 1st means that every time we enter a new year, I’m also entering another age of existing as a functional human being. So New Year’s resolutions are like a double whammy in the resolution department.

This year was big for me, obviously. A lot happened, as I explained in my previous blog post. But I also spent this year falling in love with myself, becoming happy, learning to be happy with just myself, laughing an incredible amount, enforcing the bond with my dog that had sadly diminished a little over the past years due to how busy I was (I’ve always loved my dog, but being busy meant less time for us doing fun stuff). Overall, who I am as a person has essentially fully changed within this past year.

So I suppose when I begin to sit down and think about it, there’s only one resolution that will result in something brand spanking new for 2016;

Find a job.

But that’s an obvious one, and it’s a stupid resolution because well, I’ll find a job this year. I know I will. It’s to the point that it’s a given.

So, what do I want to line up as resolutions?

I want to continue the path I’ve set for myself this year.

Thus, for 2016, my resolutions are:

• Continue to laugh more
• Keep taking selfies of myself being happy
• Continue to focus on making myself happy
• Always make time to adventure with my best friend
• Grow upon that little spark of faith in humanity that occurred this year
• Never apologize for being introverted
• Continue to enjoy life because it has so, so much to offer

In general, I resolve to not go back to the way things were before. I am a strong, joyful, caring, adventurer who probably loves her dog more than some mothers love their own kids, and that is exactly the same person I want to be in 2016.

 

2015 – The Year Where Everything Happened

2015 was insane for me. Even acquaintances know a lot happened. And close friends know how absolutely crazy the entire year was for me.

The past year, I have seen myself hit one of my lowest points, yet also one of my highest. It’s been a roller coaster, but I’m so happy it happened.

My year started off with turning 25 in the mountains, doing one of my favorite things – snowboarding. It was one of the best birthdays I’ve had, even if it was spent with a now-ex-boyfriend.

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All of January and February was spent writing code and analyzing my data. And watching my relationship begin to crumble.

But I also got to witness the friendship between my dog and niece begin.

The end of February was my first experience presenting on my research. I gave a seminar to the School of Biomedical Engineering, and it went incredibly well. I suddenly began to feel less stress for my future defense.

 

A month later, I presented my research at my first conference. It for the American Society of Sports Medicine, and while it was just a poster, it was still a big deal to me.

Fast forward to the beginning of April. An argument about a hike is what triggered my relationship ending. Sure, we had been building up to it, but it’s crazy to think that that’s what ended up being the final straw. I wrote a bit about it a few months ago. The future I envisioned came crumbling down all around me. I was thrown into a deep depression and spent day after day crying. I couldn’t eat, sleep, or focus on my research work. The worst part? I had to continue living with him for 2 months.

I had to drag myself out of it and give my first podium presentation at a conference. Presented at the Rocky Mountain chapter of the American Society of Biomechanics. Everyone complimented my presentation and I was ecstatic. It was the first time I had truly smiled that entire month.

Came home, was lead on, killed all emotions I felt, and buckled down to finish writing my thesis. Basically, the more I focused on my work, the less I focused on everything else. This resulted in writing the bulk of my thesis in a matter of weeks. And to top it off, I prepared a full thesis defense within a matter of days.

Joule was kind enough to let me practice my defense on her and her friends.

That brings me to the highlight of the year, of my life, actually.

My thesis defense was so successful that I wasn’t prepared for it to be that successful.

“Graduated” that same day, May 15th. I didn’t defend in time to technically graduate, but they still let me participate in commencement.

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Took off a few days later for a road trip through New Mexico with my best friend at my side. Single greatest semi-spontaneous decision of my life.

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When driving to get coffee one morning in Albuquerque, I realized just how happy I was with my life. The exact song that was playing was Ride by Twenty One Pilots, and every time I hear it, I feel happy.

A week after my return, I was flown out to Memphis for an interview. Not many people knew about it. Ended up not getting the job, but it was still an experience I’m happy I went through.

For the 4th of July, I sat on top of the fermenters at Odell Brewing to watch the fireworks. Pros of having friends in the brewing industry. Ended up being locked up on the roof temporarily, thankfully someone unlocked the door.

Spent the summer drinking beer and going on adventures. Really can’t complain there.

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Ran Warrior Dash for the 3rd time.

I climbed my first 14er – Mt. Bierstadt.

I even drank naked in a river. I mean, I had to. How else should you drink a beer called Birthday Suit? Of course there’s pictures,  but, those are for my eyes only.

Went to GABF for my 3rd year in a row. Ended up trying around 30 different beers within 2 hours.

Left the next day for some peak foliage sight seeing in Crested Butte. These were some of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever seen.

Was able to hold the American flag on the field for a Broncos game for a 3rd year in a row.

 

I met my absolute favorite metal band, All That Remains, when they came to Fort Collins at the end of November. Definitely fangirled a little hard.

At the beginning of December, I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at Breck for Ski Spec, which was a week-long event for disabled athletes to come participate in winter activities. Spent a few days helping assembled monoski chairs and hanging out with pro-athletes.

Sent a Christmas card featuring my dog all over the world for her fans.

Ended up spending the full weekend before Christmas as Bro Reindeer at various bars around Fort Collins. Worth it.

Found out that a health issue I’ve been trying to get my body to fight for 3 years is finally fully 100% gone. It wasn’t a huge deal that I had it, but, it was starting to get worse, and the longer it’s around the less likely it is that your body is actually going to fight it. So, after 3 years, I had kind of accepted it. Huge weight off my shoulders to hear that everything was finally normal.

A lot happened this year. I had a lot of successes, and a lot of failures. But everything I went through has lined me up for 2016. I know what’s going to happen in 2016, although I’m not sure the specifics. I’m excited to find out what it is, I’m excited for the journey.

2015 was the year where my life fell apart and I made due with the pieces. It was the year that I chose to live life to the fullest.

2016 is going to be the year where everything falls into place. Where I get to show the world what I’m made of and what I’m capable of.

Goodbye 2015, hello 2016.

Oh You’ll Find Someone

One of my biggest pet peeves that I’ve discovered lately is that when I admit to someone that I don’t believe I want to spend my life with someone or have a family with someone, they say:

“Oh, you’ll find someone.”

“You’ll change your mind.”

“You’re still young.”

The concern has never been about not finding someone. I don’t spend night after night alone on my couch thinking “Oh woe is me, I don’t have someone to sit here romantically with.”

It’s because I want to be alone. It’s because I am completely and utterly happy and content on my own.

It’s because I’ve realized that I have never been happier in my entire life than I am right now, since accepting that I’m better on my own.

Of course there’s always the opportunity for that to change, I’ve never said that there’s not. I just don’t believe, right now, that the possibility of that happening is likely. I’ve tried dating, I’ve tried meeting new people. And I’ve come to see that I just don’t have a concern with connecting with someone beyond friendship. I don’t really want to let anyone else into my life like that.

The emotional bond that I would share with someone while in a relationship? I get that from my friends. Honestly, I do. And that’s all I want.

Sure, I still try to meet new people. But who doesn’t enjoy meeting new people? Who doesn’t enjoy expanding their group of acquaintances and friends?

I do still find quite a few people that capture my attention. But after hanging out once or twice, I fully register that the necessary drive isn’t there for me. I always feel guilty when I begin to pick up on someone being more interested in me than I am in them. Because what am I supposed to say? “Oh yeah, still trying to just get out there and meet people even though I really don’t have the intention of getting into anything serious”? People hate that.

Why can’t people just be happy for you? Why can’t someone hear you say “I’m so happy on my own, I don’t think that I want to be with anyone”, and respond with “I’m so happy that you’re happy and have realized that’s what you want for your life!” Why do they feel the need to tell you that you’ll change? That you’ll meet ‘the right person’?

Why does an end goal for me have to be ending up with someone?

Why can’t it just be accepted that there is a very strong potential that I’ll spend my life single? And that’s it’s because I want to, rather than because I can’t find someone?

“Oh but what if you decide you want to have a family?”

Uh, hello. It’s the 21st century. There’s ways to accomplish that on my own if I so desire.

Stop making people feel bad for the choices they make for their lives that have literally no effect on yours. If my mother, who may never get a son-in-law or grandchildren (beyond granddogs) from me can fully understand and accept that, then so can you.

Mount Bierstadt – My First 14er

So on Friday I hiked/scrambled my first 14er. I was pretty excited about it, even when my alarm went off at 3:30AM after I had gone to bed two hours previously….after some drinking in Denver with the Gociety crew. Needless to say, I had to pop a few Aleve before starting the drive to the trailhead.

The 14er we chose was Mt. Bierstadt, which is actually known to be one of the easier 14ers and is recommended to beginnings. If that beast is an easy 14er, I can’t imagine what others are like.

To put it simply – It kicked my ass.

But Joule was a champ. She was bouncing all around that mountain like it was a normal everyday walk.

We started around 6am, with the world around us still pretty dark. That’s my favorite though. If you’ve never done any night hiking, definitely try it. There were some coyotes howling in the distance which added to the whole “let’s go climb a mountain in the dark” scenario.

Probably 1.5-2 miles into our hike, the sun was finally starting to peak over the mountains and shine onto the tips of the opposite peaks.

Cue “Circle of Life” song intro for Lion King.

This was before hell happened, before shit hit the fan, before I regretted what I had agreed to do.

The remaining mile and a half was terrible. It was probably one of the worst sections of a hike that I have ever done. We were stopping like every 5 minutes to take a break, catch our breath, and let our muscles come back to life. It was that nuts.

At first I felt bad for all the stopping, but then all of us admitted that it was needed.

Once we made it to the saddle just below the summit, I was feeling good. I’m not the greatest at steep climbing, but I can scramble really well.

It took us roughly 3 hours total to summit Bierstadt, which I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.

The view was pretty spectacular though.

Although, I’m not sure how worth it it really was. If I climb/hike something crazy, I want something to do at the top. I’m a big fan of alpine lake hikes for this reason. Because at least I have a cool lake to hang out at.

This was just like “Oh, I did this difficult hike only so I could say I’ve been to a mountain whose peak is above 14,000 ft? That’s it?”

We hung out up top for a while, drinking some brews for #EarnYourBeer and taking awesome Gociety photos.

What cracks me up about Joule is that it doesn’t matter where we are – once we summit, she wants to lay down and enjoy the view.

Queen Joule Bug, Summit Master, Eater of Wild Thing’s Poop.

Majestic af.

I tried to take some selfies with Joule but she’s kind of difficult.

The descent didn’t take us nearly as long. Probably around an hour and a half total.

The views were absolutely gorgeous. Compared to the ascent when most of the mountains and the valley were still hidden in the shadows, we finally had the sun shining over everything.

For the entire hike, whenever we had to stop, Joule wasn’t very happy with it. For the ascent, she’d stand there crying because she wanted to keep going. On the descent, she just walked off without us.

That was when I stopped to get my camera out for a photo. Apparently that took too long so she nope’d right out of there.

She was a total goober for part of the hike too. Big fan of rolling around in the grass and getting extra dirty.

In fact, towards the end of the hike (this was when all of us were just wanting to get back to the cars so badly), she got the zoomies. For those non-dog owners out there, the zoomies consist of running around at top speed like a mad dog.

Well she got those, and then during the zoomies would dive bomb head first into the ground and flip/roll around in the grass.

I was giggling like an idiot while watching it.

Overall, the hike was fun. Sure, it’s cool to say that Bug and I summitted our first 14er together, but beyond that, I don’t think I’m going to directly try to summit another anytime soon. Now, if a friend wants me to join, I could probably be convinced.

But beyond that, I’m happy to stick to my other non-14er hikes.