Life Update

It has been awhile since I last posted on MK.  Recent posts have been on my other blog, Guide 2 Hiking, which is intended as a resource for the hiking community (mostly those folks I hike with on tours).  :-)  This blog, Mountain Kaleidoscope, was started to cover my personal adventures and day to day life in the mountains.

Lately, I feel like I have been "living the dream" somewhat.  I've started to experience a nice balance of work (guiding seasonally and fitting in my massage training working for a local chiropractor), art (this month on display at Cafe Dawn here in Salida, CO), and physical activity (currently training for my first 25-mile trail run event, the Collegiate Peaks).  All that, plus maintaining day to day relationships with friends & family.

Skiing and ice climbing have taken more of a back seat this year to massage therapy.  I've met some great people and (hopefully) helped relieve some of their aches and pains.  It has been a bit frustrating being a new therapist at age 50.  Patience has been the key.  Practice and do what I am currently trained to do; know that experience will come in time.  Listen to clients.  Be present.  Practice good body mechanics because massage work is much more challenging than it looks like from the outside!  I'm grateful for the opportunity. 

I've had half a dozen ski days and no ice days this winter...!  Although I miss being out there, that doesn't mean I'm not training.  It is hard to describe the joy I feel out running the trails.  It's one of my favorite past times.  We are lucky to have so many singletrack trails nearby with fabulous views of the Collegiate and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges.  I've had my eye on the CPTR for quite a while and finally (eek) signed up for it this season!  By no means am I fast.  I was one of the slowest runners in my class growing up.  Geek material.  I am awe of ultrarunners (50k, 50m, 100k, 100m+).  Just developing the ability to be able to spend the whole day exploring the mountains really piques my interest.  Trail running allows for even more options than a long day hike.  Multi-day adventures could be possible as well.  All I really want to do with this race is finish.  Upright, preferably!  :-)

As for art, well, aside from finally hanging some pieces in a local coffee shop for the month of March, I'm awaiting my next project and inspiration.  Maybe it will come from playing with new media, maybe from an upcoming tour in the Grand Canyon.  Who knows?  But my pencils, papers, and paints await, ready to go when Inspiration arrives.

Thanks for visiting!  Keep a look out at Guide 2 Hiking for new posts in the near future.  

N.  

 



 

A View from Here

Above:  Looking NW towards Mt. Shavano, 14,229'.  Lots of snow up in the mountains, but virtually nothing in town: 

Above:  Looking towards Salida from south of US hwy 50.  There's a great trail system in the Arkansas Hills above town (near the "S").  Low snowpack has had me enjoying most of the trails up there this winter!

Meet William, The Mountain Goat.

Meet William.  William Edward Goat.  Or Bill E., for short.

He's one of our "mascots" while on the road.  William and his friend, Zwiggie (a stuffed teddy bear) usually live in the front window of whichever van we happen to be driving on tour.  Looks like William got ahold of my camera for a "self portrait" on the top of Beartooth Pass last summer.  If you look closer, you might be able to make out some of William's relatives in the background...

A Few More Pics from 2010 Tours

Here are a few pictures from the Vines & Vistas tour 2010.  We had fabulous weather the whole tour with beautiful fall colors!

Above: The gang taking a rest stop on the Grand Mesa descent.

Steve biking up Grand Mesa.

Elli & me during a rest stop after tackling a hot, challenging climb!  Pfewf!  I can't remember how hot it was, but it sure didn't feel like September in Colorado.  :-)

Some Pics from 2010

Here are some pics from earlier this year.  We had a nice trip on our own to South Dakota / Wyoming in early June.  It was my first time to Devil's Tower NM. 

Above: Interesting rock formations in the Needles area of South Dakota!

Mt. Hood from Timberline Lodge (June 2010).  It was snowing when we pulled up to the lodge with our hiking group.  Got the van & trailer stuck in the parking lot because the snow was so wet & slushy.

Hiking on the Glen Aulin trail, Yosemite National Park, CA.

View from Glen Aulin trail -- note all the water!  High runoff made for some awesome waterfall flow.  Yosemite NP.

The high waterfall flow of Yosemite Falls.  Half Dome in background.

View of Half Dome's face from North Dome.  Yosemite NP.

One last view of Half Dome -- from Panorama Trail.

I'll try to post some more pics from the road soon.  Thanks for visiting!

New Computer, etc....

I guess it's about that time again to blog some more.  We've moved our stuff out of the storage shed and into yet another apartment/condo for the winter.  My old computer went down the tubes and I recently purchased a new one.  Haven't connected my old digital camera to the new machine yet so pardon the lack of photos for the time being.  :)  

Now that I've recovered from a great season of tour guiding, it's time to plan some winter adventures.  Yep, got the ski pass.  Haven't been up to Monarch yet, though.  They just opened the other day.  Snow is coming!  All this relaxing & recovering has got me completely exhausted.  I've got to get out and do something!  Somehow that sounds backwards...?  

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Think snow (for the ski areas, of course)!         

New Drawing

Here is a 5"x5" drawing done in ink & Lyra colored pencils (the colors are richer than in the photo).  Just playing with simple designs.

I can tell I've been living in a "river" town all winter since I'm starting to draw kayaks!  Hope you have a great weekend. 

Weekend Ski Tour

View of Homestake from 10th Mtn Hut

View south towards Mt. Elbert from 10th Mtn Hut

Headed out for the ridge above the hut

Here are a few pictures from last weekend's 10th Mtn Hut ski tour.  It had snowed Friday night so conditions were great (and cold) on Saturday morning.  We parked at the Crane Park TH, just south of Tennessee Pass near Leadville.  It was one of our group member's first time touring so we took our time, making the 3.5 mile trek in to the hut in about four hours.

The hut location is beautiful (see pics above) with views of Homestake Peak (elev. 13215 feet / 4027 m) to the west and Mt. Elbert (elev. 14,440 feet / 4401 m) to the south.   

Spring visited us again on Sunday.  Temps warmed up above freezing.  After our trek up to the ridge just NE of the hut, the snow conditions deteriorated and got quite sticky!  We got a good workout, though, LOL. 

Skiing out Monday morning was a challenge as we made our way down 2.5 miles of frozen snowmobile tracks... yikes.  Most of us ended up donning our skins to help slow us down.  The last two miles of trail were designated as "ski only", making the final leg of the trip *much* easier! 

New Painting

2' x 2'

Night Ski

This is the acrylic rendition of "Night Ski" that I've been working on recently.  I don't know if you can see how the background goes from darker to lighter blue (top to bottom), but I really like how this turned out.  Each painting seems to get a little bit easier... I think that's how it's supposed to work!

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Spring is definitely here in Colorado -- one day it snows a foot, the next day is sunny and 60F! 

Joshua Tree - Boy Scout Trail

 

Joshua Tree - Boy Scout Trail

~8 mi. one way

Driving:  Drop one car off at pick up point.  The pick up trailhead is about .5 mi. uphill from Indian Cove Ranger station, located south off of Hwy 62 on Indian Cove Rd. just west Twentynine Palms. 

Drive west on Hwy 62 to Park Ave. in Joshua Tree town. Turn Left. Enter JTNP and drive to Boy Scout Trailhead (on left, about 10mi. from turn onto Park Ave.).  The drive from the pick up point to the starting trailhead takes approximately a 1/2 hour.  

Hike Overview: This one-way hike begins as a sandy, flat-ish trail for the first half of the hike or so out through the J-Trees and Wonderland of Rocks. There are some scenic rock outcroppings before the descent into the wash, which could be good lunch stops and/or water breaks. Good views out towards the west & the San Bernadino Mtns.

The trail descends moderately and ultimately 1,345’ total into a wash and changes character dramatically. Arrowhead symbols on posts mark the way once you start descending. Watch carefully for the trail -- in some places navigating can be tricky. The trail is rocky in spots and at one point, descends & switchbacks fairly steeply. If you use hiking poles, take them, even though it initially looks like you won’t need them. Trail goes into the sandy wash bottom on & off. It eventually descends down to the bottom of the canyon, out the last of the wash, and exits onto the flats for the last mile and a half or so. Look for desert bighorn sheep in the canyon.

There is a side trip available which branches off a little more than a mile out from the trailhead (Willow Hole, 2.3mi one way). The scenery is about the same, but if you want more miles, it is an easy way add them.

Hike Highlights:

• Scenic Joshua Trees

• Wonderland of Rocks formations & views of San Bernadino Mtns to the west

• Transition of terrain from start to finish

• Possible desert bighorn sighting – I saw at least three when I was running the trail!

Joshua Tree - 49 Palms Hike

We've been busy the past month!  We just returned from hiking in Big Bend, TX, and before that, Joshua Tree, CA.  It's full-on spring here in Colorado (that means basically nice days alternated with blizzards).  Where did the winter go?

Anyway, here's one installment of hike descriptions/photos to come...

• The park is named for the Joshua Tree, which is actually a type of yucca. Joshua Trees live primarily in the Mojave Desert, though a few can be found in the Sonoran Desert, Great Basin Desert, and San Bernadino Mtns.

• Two large desert ecosystems, the Colorado/Sonoran & the Mojave, come together at Joshua Tree National Park.

• Below 3,000’, the Colorado Desert (Sonoran) occupies the park’s eastern half. It is dominated by abundant creosote bushes but accented by spidery ocotillo and jumping cholla cactus.

• Higher, more moist, & slightly cooler, the Mojave Desert hosts its signature plant – the Joshua tree. Extensive stands characterize the park’s western half. Elevations are generally between 2,000 and 5,000 feet. Precipitation averages 3-5” per year. 

• Another ecosystem is the Pinyon/Juniper zone, found at high elevations in the Little San Bernadino Mountains. Panorama Loop/Warren Overlook & Peak hike visits this area.

• Five fan palm oases in the park.


Joshua Tree - 49 Palms Hike  3 miles R/T

To get to the trailhead, turn south off CA 62 onto Canyon Road (look for an animal hospital on corner) & drive to the parking lot at the end of the road.
Hike Overview: The hike is a good introduction to the area. Moderately strenuous. It has approx. 360 feet of vertical gain both directions.
Hike Highlights:

• Views of the town of Twenty Nine Palms and out towards the marine base 

• Small natural fan palm oasis at the turnaround point.

Hiking up & over the hill towards oasis in the distance

49 Palms Oasis

Approaching the oasis

Chicks with Picks!

Please forgive me -- I'm a bit late in posting these pics as the Betty Ice Ball in Ouray was the last weekend in January.  Enjoy!

Sports Massage!

I was up in the Denver/Boulder area for a few days this past weekend taking a Sports/Orthopedic Massage course at BCMT.  The course was the first in a series of modules that I will most likely finish in the next couple of years.  What excites me about this series is that it relates well to guiding!  The specific techniques used in sports massage will definitely be helpful for cyclists & hikers (as well as skiers, ice climbers, etc.).  Being able to identify and work with sore muscles in different & healing ways is definitely helpful in the direction I'm heading with massage.

We just found out this week that Steve & I are going to be leading the new Joshua Tree hike next month, so look for new pics coming up from that and from Chicks with Picks later this month!  :-)       

Review of 2009

2009 began with me in massage therapy school in Santa Fe, NM.  Art was more or less restricted to anatomy flashcards and the occasional illustration (see below).

During school break in January, we took a short road trip to the Las Vegas (NV) area.  Stopped at Hoover Dam along the way.  One of the highlights of the trip was visiting "Bodies: The Exhibition" at the Luxor as well as seeing my third Cirque du Soliel show, "Mystere".  Love the art at the dam (above), and the creativity and colorfulness of the Cirque shows (check out "KA" if you get to Vegas, especially if you are a climber).  "Bodies" was truly amazing -- if you have interest in actual dissected human anatomy, this exhibit was very educational and done in respectful taste! 

Two illustrations finished while in school -- Ice Lake Basin (L) and Kalalau Trail (R).

I ran past several sculptures along Canyon Road* in Santa Fe while training (Feb, Mar) during second semester at NMAHA for a half marathon (the Flying Pig, in Cincinnati -- May).  You can run right up Canyon to Upper Canyon Road and access several of the Dale Ball Trails.  My favorite long run went up this way, up & over to Hyde Park Road, then back to Canyon, Alameda, and ultimately down Agua Fria. 

*Canyon Road is an area of Santa Fe with many art galleries.  Check it out if you get down there, as well as the Dale Ball Trails.  You could even book a massage at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts graduate or student clinic! 

A winter shot of one of the Dale Ball trails above Santa Fe.  You can do a couple miles or many on nice, singletrack trails!

After school finished in March, we road-tripped down to Carlsbad Caverns NP & Guadalupe NP.  This shot shows the natural entrance to the cave... it's amazing!  You descend, descend, and descend some more to get down to the main area.  They do not let people hike back out, though.  You have to take the elevator!  Go figure!

A nice sunset shot of ocatillo silhouettes.  I love New Mexico!

Yucca at White Sands, NM, on the same road trip.

Ahhh, Moab! While camping up on Sand Flats road isn't free anymore (gosh, that's been a long time ago), it's still beautiful with the La Sal Range in the background.  Best of both worlds, mountain & desert!  We rode a few new mtn bike rides... can you believe I had never been on the ride to Klondike Bluffs?!  Somehow in the past, I would always end up in Moab on my own.  Caution kept me to the most popular trails (i.e., Slickrock, Porcupine Rim).  Steve discovered running on  the Slickrock Trail and prefers that to biking it.

May took us out east, to lead the Kentucky Bluegrass bike tour.  Along the way, we stopped in Cincinnati to visit Steve's relatives and run 'The Flying Pig'.  Steve qualified for Boston in the marathon.  My trail running body is not so fond of pavement.  However, I managed to finish my first half marathon on pavement.  The hardest part, though, is not the running.  It's waiting in line to use the porta john (and will cost you valuable time, I might add)!  LOL.

June took us out to Oregon -- did I mention we drive a LOT?  Working seasonally for a tour company that does tours all over the west takes us, well, all over the place.  It can be a challenge to get from Denver to the west coast in a few days and throw in a couple of workouts.  Who says tour guides have an easy way to stay in shape?!  I beg to differ.  :)

This shot (above) is from the Dog Mountain hike.  It's on the Washington state side of the Columbia River Gorge.  The hike itself is only about 7 or 8 miles R/T, though steep, and you get to see a nice view of the area, provided the weather cooperates.  You can also get a glimpse of Mount Hood...

This is Mt. Hood (above) albeit from Timberline Lodge!  There's a really fun hike called 'Tom, Dick, & Harry Mountain' just south of Mt. Hood.  I've never been able to get a good photo from the top (maybe this year?) but trust me, it's a moderate, user-friendly peak.  Check it out if you are in the area.  If you do it in June, you might see some of the rhododendrons blooming.  Pretty cool!

Lupine & Mt. St. Helens taken from the Ape Canyon trail, I think.  We were on some days off in late June and had to head from the Portland, OR, area down to Yosemite.  We took our time driving the coast to get down there as well as visiting the Tillamook Cheese Factory!  Check it out if you are wandering in that area -- they have fantastic ice cream!

Classic Yosemite Valley with El Capitan (left foreground), Half Dome (back right), and Clouds Rest (back center).  I would soooo love to spend more time exploring Yosemite's backcountry.  Guess I'll put it on the list...!

I just like this pic of one of our guests, Katie, taking a break along the Panorama Trail that goes from Glacier Point to Yosemite Valley.  That's Half Dome in the background.  This is a must-do hike if you can get out there.  Classic.

August found us in Glacier Park, MT, leading a bicycle tour.  It's easy for me to lead a tour in Glacier as it is one of the most beautiful places in the USA where I've been fortunate enough to spend a good bit of time.  The mountains there are distinctive: sort of a slate gray, very angular, with turquoise lakes nesting in valleys.  Flora & fauna abound... moose, sheep, mountain goats, wildflowers of all sorts, huckleberries!  Truly an amazing and magical place.  When people ask me where's my favorite place, I'm often tempted to say Glacier.  Just tempted, though.  What about Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton/Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Bryce/Zion, Hawaii, etc.?  We are so fortunate to have these places all in our country!  Unbelievable. 

Isn't this an incredible trail?  This is coming down off of Alta Peak, in Sequoia NP in September.  Our whole gang made it to the summit.  My photo from the top didn't turn out that well but I think this one shows more of what the hiking was all about near treeline.  We certainly had a "Peak Climbing Day".  The weather held and better yet, everyone made it down in time for dinner!

I didn't list all of our wonderful trips from '09 (such as the Northern New Mexico Alpiner, one of my all time favorites -- didn't I say it was hard to choose?).  It was a tough season what with the economy and all, but I must say I was grateful.  Grateful for all the wonderful people I met along the way.  Grateful that I finished school.  Grateful that I enjoyed some tours/work.  Grateful that we were able to visit some pretty cool places (did I mention Olympic NP?).  I can only hope for and work towards making 2010 just as awesome! 

P.S. Just added that 'Follower' gadget today!

A Beautiful Day!

Today's outing took us up to Leadville's Tennessee Pass XC center.  Steve just got some new used skis (I know -- oxymoron, LOL) so we wanted to try them out on the tracks.  As you can see from the photos, it was an amazing day... warm & sunny, hardly any breeze.  You can't ask for much more at 10,400'!  Conditions were good, considering how little snow we have had as of late.

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Just received a couple of 2'x2' canvases the other day and am beginning to paint the Night Ski design in acrylic.  I'll post when it is further along!