Mr. Moose

While at the cabin we had a special visitor.  He was so close to the deck we could have reached out and touched him. The kids were so excited. We also saw heards of Elk, Mule deer and a few Marmonts.

Done with Colorado!

Been having trouble posting on the blog. So will try again.  We are officially done with Colorado. Just crossed back into Wyoming this afternoon.  The last 3 days I have hiked 25 miles plus. Ready for a break.

Back at it!

We parted ways with the kids on Aug. 6th and headed to Silverton, Co. to make up a piece of the trail I had to skip because of fires. That was a tough one. Made it through in two days. Had to get use to the higher elevations again. Was up over 13,000 ft.  We are headed north to the Wyoming border.

Above tree line

Have been back at it now for 8 straight days. Hiking above tree line, over 12,000 ft.  I'm in the Arapaho National Forests now and heading North, almost to the Wyoming border. Just a few more days. The weather is changing, only 28 degrees this morning. Have had a dusting of snow a couple of times.

Done with Colorado!!!!!

Sorry we haven't posted for awhile. We are having trouble with the blog. It won't take my entries or pictures from my phone anymore. We are doing well. Rick is still heading North. We finished Colorado yesterday (8-21-13). That's cause for celebration. We drove to Northern Wyoming today to pick back up where we left off in June. Rick's back is starting to bother him a little bit, but he's not giving up yet. The weather is starting to change at the higher elevations. It's getting colder and the alpine flowers are starting to disappear, he has also seen some snow here and there. Brrrrr! He will probably only be hiking another week. We will then drive to Montana to visit Leslie and Kirk.

Hiking with Papa

We had such a great time with Maddie and Wyatt. The cabin was perfect for us. There was so much to do in that area. We hiked, kayaked on Grand Lake, rode horses, went go-karting and played at the beach right across from the cabin. We saw a lot of wildlife, moose, herds of elk, mule deer and a marmot.

July 28, 2013

Better weather today. Only hiking half a day. We are meeting  J. and Angie in Denver  today to keep the kids while they go on a much needed vaca.  We have rented a cabin outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. Should be fun. I will still be hiking this week, but not everyday.

Arapaho National Forest July 26, 2013

Headed out in the rain this morning. Ended up having quite an adventure.  Got to the top of the mountain and had to head back. I ended up on a knife edge with lots of rain, hail and could only see about 3 ft. in front of me. I was up over 13,000 ft. and walking in the clouds. Too dangerous. Will try again tomorrow in better weather.

July 25, 2013

Camping tonight!  The road is so bad at the Argentine Trailhead that Sue didn't want to drive it more than once. Took 20 min. to drive 2 miles, very rocky and bumpy.

White River National Forest

I left early this morning. Have 20 miles today. Gorgeous country.

Mountain Goats

I did see these guys looking for some grass to munch on. No other hikers this stretch of the trail.

July 22, 2013

Here is another look from above tree line.  I have to say this is the toughest section so far. Rugged and no trail to follow. Had to depend on my G P S to guide me.

Arapaho National Forest

This was between Mt Sullivan and Santa Fe Peak.  Slept on the mountain top last night. Elev. was over 13,000 ft. Very windy and cold.

Hope Pass...Near Twin Lakes, Co.

July 16, 2013.     Crossing Hope Pass today. I was told the settlers called it that because they hoped they would never have to cross it. It was a tough one.

In the heart of the Rockies.

This is so beautiful.  It has looked like this for days now. Will be near Leadville, Co. in a few days. I told him yesterday that I feel like I'm on a scavenger hunt everyday trying to find him and he's the prize at the end of the day.  Ha Ha! All is well with us, having great              weather.

On the move.

This was 6:00 a.m. on 7/13 at the trailhead. We are at 11,000 ft. now. It's a bit chilly now crawling out of the tent in the mornings. He went about 16 miles today.

A Happy Man!

As you can see by the look on his face he is happiest when on the trail. We have had great weather so far, warm temps and only a couple of showers here and there. I ended up having elevation sickness last Thursday while staying in Creede, so Rick had a down day to stay with me , but he is back at it.  I am well now and we camped together at Eddiesville Trailhead in Gunnison N. F.  He is so far into the Forest that it took me 2 1/2 hrs. to reach him on an unpaved Forest Service Rd.

Creede, Co

He was able to get back on the trail last week at Spring Creek Pass outside of Creede.  This is an old silver mining town.  Went about 19 miles today. Well over 12, 000 ft.

More fires

This was so close to the road. Fire crews everywhere.

Wolf Creek Pass

Rick wanted to jump on the trail here and do about 40 miles he missed last year because of snow, but couldn't get on because of the fires.  It's awful, can smell smoke with every turn. They just opened the main road 2 days ago.

Hovenweep Dwellings, not much left of these.

Mesa Verde N. M.

Back in Colorado

Made it to Colorado! On the way we took a few side trips and visited some National Monuments.  Mesa Verde and Hovenweep National Monuments. Historic Pueblo Dwellings.

Leaving Wyoming

Sorry it's been so long without a post, but the cell service out here is awful. I will try and catch you up to date.     This was our last camping night in Wyoming before we hit the snow in the Rockies. We will be heading to Colorado to pick up where he left off last summer.  But before we left, we ran into a bit of trouble.  The Forest service roads I was traveling were in horable shape and we had 3 flats on 3 different tires in 4 days.  Sooooo, we ended up buying  all new HEAVY-DUTY tires.

There he goes. On the CDT south of Lander,  Wy.  The land scape is starting to change now as we head towards the Rockies. He has about 25 miles to hike today to get to our meeting spot.  Hot and windy today. High of 86. Lots of sunscreen needed.  We are staying at a remote lodge for the next few nights. No cell service and no electricy.  Everything runs on solar and propane. 

We haven't had cell service for a few days now. Had to drive an extra 40 miles just to use my phone. I guess you could say we are in the middle of no where. I dropped Rick off about an hour outside of Lander, Wy. This is the dirt road we were on. Took us 30 min. to drive 11 miles. Ugh!

The Great Basin

Made it through Rawlins and heading North.  The terrain looks like the desert that I hiked in last spring in New Mexico. Not feeling very well, only got 18 miles done today.

Bridger Pass

Hiking Sunday, going over Bridger Pass on the CDT. Heading towards Rawlins, Wy.  Got 25 miles in today.

After hiking 20 miles in the snow for 2 days he took Friday off to recoup. We decided to move to a lower elevation to get out of the snow. He hit the trail again Saturday morning near Rawlins. Elevation is about 7500 ft. By the time the day was done he had hiked about  27 miles today. It's  amazing how fast he can go when not in thigh high snow

SNOW

This is the picture Rick sent me last night as he was getting ready to set up camp. He ended up hiking in snow all day. Hiked for 8 hrs. and only got 6 miles. The trail markers were all under snow, so had to use his GPS most of the day. The marker in the picture is the only one he saw all day.

Wyoming

Well, we made it to Wyoming and I dropped Rick at the Pipeline trailhead in the Medicine Bow National Forest. Elevation is between 9,000 and 10,000 ft. Saw some snow in places on the way up the mountain.

Home for the night.

Still in Nebraska. Who new, we thought it was all corn fields.

Sunset

We are camping tonight! What a gorgous sunset. We are in the McKelvie National Forest.

Nebraska

Sunday morning we hiked at the Homestead National Monument, just outside Beatrice, Nebraska. And continued on.

Saturday morning we drove to the Effigy Mounds National Monument (also in Iowa) and hiked for a  couple of hours. Very interesting.

Upper Mississippi

We left Middlebury on Friday morning and stopped in Chicago and had lunch with Greg. We continued on and stopped for the night in a cute little town in Northern Iowa. We stayed right on the banks of the Mississippi.

Southern States

Southern States

We stayed home the month of March and got some things done, but continued our quest to hike more National Forests in the months of April and May. We visited Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Southern Indiana. Next week we are heading west to hike the CDT again. We will start in Wyoming while waiting for the snow to melt and then double back to Colorado to finish where I left off last summer when I hurt my back. Here are a few pictures from our hikes in the South.

Hawaii

From American Samoa we flew back to Hawaii and spent 3 more weeks. We hiked and did a lot of sight seeing on Oahu, Maui and The Big Island. We hiked on the Volcanoes in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Also hiked 14 miles in Haleakala National Park. Hawaii is beautiful. Like no other place we have ever been.

American Samoa

Well, we are back at it again. We will be attempting to hike every National Forest in the U.S.  I will try and catch you all up to date. The middle of January we spent a week in American Samoa. We hiked almost every day and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and weather.