Hiking

[deerfield]

kane - I thought you would be downtown when I am in the office Monday. If so, we are still on. I have your cell phone so will call you. - Stuart

[kaneboats]

OK, after you didn't respond to my last PM and starting talking about heading to Colorado I figured you were busy or gone by then. I'm still on the same timetable I gave you. Looking forward to it.

[deerfield]

Had a great visit Monday of this week with Kaneboats. Glad we had the chance to connect while he was in Chicago.

Late yesterday arrived in Denver. The drive west into the Rockies was beautiful. This morning we will check out the base of the Birds of Prey trail and decide if we hike todau or tomorrow. Looked for hiking shoes and decided to not spend the money for just this one time. Hope to find a local source for trekking poles. Will be sure to take pictures.

[wolfeman131]

Hey, I'm sitting with Kaneboats @ O'Hare now!

[kaneboats]

And we sat there for a long time. We ended up on the same flight to ATL and sat there for 2.5 hours on the runway after the local aviation mechanic working on the plane got hydraulic fluid in his eyes. Uggghhhhh!!. At least I got to sit by Wolfeman and talk about Ed for 4 hours. Then they hooked me up with a first class seat on the last flight of the night to Tallahassee. With the free beers and the upgrade it's hard to stay mad at Delta.

[wolfeman131]

Whatever. Don't think we wasted more than 4 min discussing Ed. Free beers usually help with forgiveness. Just wish we had been served a little sooner.

[kaneboats]

Well, you know what they were worried about. They didn't want to start serving that many folks food and/or drinks when they had no idea how long it would take. They might have encountered a situation like this one (@about 25 sec. in):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sY6iH9Ojg

[wolfeman131]

one of the best lines ever!

[deerfield]

Well, I sorta fell short of my goal to hike Birds of Prey.

On Wednesday, Judy and I hiked a distance of about 2 miles around the base area of the mountain. She had enough. Determined to see Birds of Prey up close, Thursday morning I rented a mountain bike and rode/walked it about a mile to the base of Birds of Prey Express chair lift, elevation 8,850’. Left the bike and hiked just the bottom of the course far enough to get uphill of Red Tail Jump. Then I went back to the bike and the walked/rode to Spruce Saddle Lodge, elevation 10,200’. Ascent time: 2 ½ hours.

I was out of water and energy, and decided not to hike the distance from Spruce Saddle Lodge to the start area of the course atop Birds of Prey. I took thirty minutes to catch my breath, enjoy the view, and take a few more pictures. Then I rode down the mountain and returned the bike to the rental shop, elevation 8,100’. Descent time: 20 minutes.

Even though I did not get to see most of Birds of Prey up close, I did get a taste and had a great experience. The panoramic views and fall colors were spectacular. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

[deerfield]

and five more pictures.