Silverton, CO - Highland Mary Hike

Highland Mary Trail Hike!
Ken, Dixie and I went on a hike today to Highland Mary Lake near Silverton. We didn't make it all the way to the pass, but we did make it to about 12,000 feet. The snow was getting deep, and we had already trekked through a trail filled with mud and ice from the snowfall that came several days ago, so we were pretty tired. About the time I was reading our hiking book (to decide if we should go further up, which we decided not to) two hikers that were hiking the Continental Divide Trail, which intersects with the Highland Mary trail, came along. They were coming from Canada all the way to Mexico!
All together, we did about 6 miles round trip and saw some beautiful country. When we started, it was below freezing, but we warmed up quick, and I ended up getting a pretty bad sunburn that day. Sunscreen is just not the first thing that comes to mind when I'm freezing, but at altitude, it is so easy to burn. I get to see some amazing places. Thank you, God!

The view on the way back down the mountain was gorgeous, of course. We climbed about 1,500 feet in altitude.

10 mile hike, Colorado style

Today, Kenny, Dixie and I went on a 10 mile hike near Silverton. Part of it was on the Colorado trail and a lot of it was on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks.The train was done running for the day, so we were safe. The section of the Colorado trail that we hiked was mostly downhill, although it was plenty challenging with the elevation and the steepness of the area. The picture of me on the trail with the backdrop of the mountains looks so unreal! It almost looks like I'm in an Olan Mills picture studio! We were still fairly high on the trail heading down to the tracks when the picture was taken, so the view was just incredible. The tracks were very hard to walk on - almost like a step workout! We found lots of old discarded railroad spikes and the valley was gorgeous. Our hike took us a little over 3 hours and we were plenty tired when we were done. We had to park one vehicle at the end of the hike and another we drove up to the trailhead. Crossing some of the railroad bridges was a little scary... looks like from the picture that we were actually 'trespassers'.
Colorado is so unbelievably pretty, don't you think?

A mountain hike and run - Silverton, Colorado

I arrived in colorful Silverton, Colorado (at elevation 9,318 ft.) on Sunday after a 10 hour drive from Tucson. After a day of rest on Monday to get used to the altitude, Kenny, Dixie and I went on a hike up Stony Gulch, heading up to the Old 100 boarding house. It was a pretty steep hike, so we didn't make it to the top, but we still got in about 1:45. I felt like we were on top of the world! I could see for miles and miles. There was quite a bit of fog that day in the valley - we are at about 11,000 feet (guess) in the picture. The landscape views from up high almost look fake! Dixie was very happy to see me and really enjoyed the hike. It is great to finally be with Kenny - we don't get to see each other much over the summer. He is going to get us in some good hikes this week to get me ready for the Bisbee Stair Climb race in October.

Later that afternoon, Dixie and I went on a 3.5 mile run around Cunningham Gulch, which is beautiful! We are staying in a cabin up there, which is near the Old 100 Gold Mine. The leaves are changing and are a sign that fall has arrived. All the pine trees, mountains and streams make it just an amazing place to run. I was pretty winded from that run - the elevation near the cabin is even higher than Silverton, and my lungs were trying to adjust! It always takes a few days to get a little acclimated. I like a little bit of a longer run, but I was trying to take it easy until I was fully acclimated. It was a little cool, but Dixie didn't notice - she was playing in the creek. She loves the water, no matter how cold it is!
I feel very connected spiritually up here. It is just too beautiful for words. Thank you God for the changing leaves, the majestic mountains, the deer and the marmots, and for bringing people (and dogs) into my life that love and cherish me!