Mount Bierstadt Climb

Mountains are amazing piles of rock--igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary, or combinations of all three rock types--thrust up from depths of the earths crust.  They cause our imagination to explore hobbits and dwarfs, pioneers and mountain men, Indians and cowboys, miners and prospectors. and the mythological and spiritual.  They also inspire us to seek revelation as did Moses, Elijah, Nephi, and even Jesus.  Majestically they tower above valley floors beckoning us to venture forth to climb their slopes and summit their peaks as Bali Hai whispers on the wind of the sea, "come to me, come to me.  So it was with Lorie, Kelly, and myself as we climbed Mount Bierstadt on Saturday the 22 of June 2012.  

It all started innocently enough about two years ago when Lorie became taken with Mount Blanca--a large mountain in the central Sangre de Cristo range in south central Colorado--whose peaks jut towards the sky from the floor of the San Luis Valley.  She mentioned that she would like to climb it.  I agreed as I have never climbed it's lofty summits even though I had lived near it for the first 19 years of my life, but i knew of the difficulties that await those who attempt to summit her peaks.  .  

Fast forward a couple of years and I find myself working this summer east of the front range.  I have also recently read about some disasters on some of the 14ers decided that I would like to attempt a summit or two.  Kelly has climbed about three of the peaks that are close to his home, so on a break between wells where I couldn’t go home, I decided to get Kelly to climb with me.  Then talking with Lorie I found out that she would like to come out and see me since she didn’t get to see me on Father’s Day.  I told her what we had planned and she was on her way to join us in three hours. 

Kelly picked out a mountain that he had climbed that was close to his house.  We wanted one that was possible to do in a day and one that didn’t require expert climbing experience.  The lucky winner was Mt Bierstadt with an elevation of 14,060 feet above sea level.  Not the tallest mountain in Colorado but a 14er none the less.  Lorie arrived at Kelly’s house late Thursday night, so we had Friday morning to spend with Kelly before he went to work in the afternoon.  We went to see his bees, another story that he will likely tell anyone who wants to listen.  We also had lunch together at a new Japanese restaurant called Pew Wei, which he quite likes.  He then went to work and we went and spent time together watching “Men in Black III”, shopping, and talking. 

Saturday morning came early and we got up between 6:00 and 6:30 and loaded our preparations prepared from the night before and drove west into the mountains to find the road to Guanella pass.  Guanella pass is where the trail to Mt. Bierstadt and where our adventure would begin.  We arrived at the pass about 9:00 and were on the trail soon thereafter.  We couldn’t believe how many people were climbing the mountain that Saturday.  Both parking lots were full and cars were parked along both sides of the roads for maybe ¼ of a mile along both sides.  We didn't count the people but I guess a close estimate would be about 2,000 hikers.  

The pass elevation is about 11,600 feet above sea level.  The trail head is accessed from the parking lot, and we walked quickly downhill to the parking lot and began our trek. 

The trail crosses a hanging valley formed by glaciation of the Pleistocene age — this is for my children who know I can’t write about anything without inserting something about geology and just wait, there will be more posts to follow – and then traverses the opposite face of the “U” shaped valley. 

It doesn’t appear so steep in this photo but it is.  The face we traversed is out of the picture to the left.

It was an important climb for me as being in my early 50’s everybody is worried about my health.  Everyone is worried about my heart, blood pressure, and general health and it has caused me to wonder; I feel good just like a teenager or twenty year old, but I do know I have slowed down.  So, I was curious about how or if I could make it to the top and how I felt while climbing.  I have hunted, walked, and have no problem with physical exertion.  I needed to do this.  I think Lorie felt the same way and I wanted to accomplish this small feat.  It was fun and difficult and gave me a lot of confidence about my health and general well being.  I know I am getting older and I do feel it; however, I feel now that I am ready to get better in shape and want to keep healthy, so that when my grandchildren want to climb a  mountain, I can.  It was a very nice day and we had an enjoyable time.  It was also a wonderful way to spend an anniversary which Lorie and I had to count as work would prevent me from being with her on our anniversary.

 Kelly and Lorie on the ridge trail above the hanging valley.  The jagged mountain and peak in the background is called the Sawtooth and is climbed by mountain climbing groups that like more of a challenge.  The sun was at the wrong angle to get a picture that shows just what a cliff it really is.  

 

Bierstadt from on the ridge.  If you look close you can see a line of people that are on the peak and all along the ridge hiking up and down the mountain.

Getting closer to the top.  These boulders were hard to climb as it is 13,000-13,500 feet above sea level. 

The first one on top or to reach the summit.  Yea!  Way to go babe. 

The three of us on top of the world, well Bierstadt anyway.

Kelly contemplating the view and life’s questions.  The guide for the day and with very sore feet. 

A view from on top of the world.  Mountains for as far as the eye can see.

A look back at a wonderful and fun day filled with lots of wonder, awe, and life lessons learned.

A map showing the trail to Bierstadt, Guanella Pass, and the topography.

Thanksgiving Turkeys (Blessings)

We are definitely blessed! Two turkeys: most families only have one but we like (our family) likes turkey left overs. I also have a new toy. This summer I got a smoker and since then have smoked ribs (twice), a beef brisket, and a Turkey (once in October when Mark and Dani came to visit and once for Thanksgiving). Nikki, Rachel, and Hailee, lapped up the ribs (I had cooked 4 racks) they didn't last long at all. I am getting pretty good at it and I will continue to smoke other meats and try some vegetables and as time goes on. I am waiting for salmon to go on sale so I can try smoking some. Well here are the turkeys.

This is both turkeys roasted on the left and smoked on the right. MMMMMMmmmmmmm

The girls busy cooking and the wonderful smoked bird.

New Eyes

I just had a life changing experience -- Lorie says that it really wasn't a life changing experience but more 0f a different experience (can't find the right word). I underwent LASIK eye surgery. I am very glad I did it and can see without my glasses. Yes, maybe it was a vain thing to do, however, now I don't have to pay for glasses. I also got very tired of sitting or laying on them when I set them on the bed or lost track of them. I will be very happy when the cornea gets back to norma. I am going to try to upload a video of the surgery and yes, that is my eye you see. Really didn't feel much, although it was very hard to look at the red light using my right eye. I got the mono vision (one eye near sided the other far sided) so I don't have to have reading glasses either. The day after the surgery I could read 20/12.5 with both eyes and 20/12.5 with the right eye, 20/15 with the right eye. So enjoy the video.

California Dreaming

Family trip number 2 for the summer: Meagan is due to have a baby during the week of July 24 and we were invited to visit and await the birth of the second Judi girl (Rogers grand-daughter). Lorie went out with Jackie to play mother and help with the baby -- really to hold the baby and play occasionally helping with the chores (ha, ha). She did help Meagan and Derek a lot with the house hold chores and played with Brooklyn and held Emma. If you can't tell Grandpa is just a bit jealous.



Driving was a cinch as all three of the younger girls Nikki, Rachel, and Hailee drove almost the whole way. From Salt Lake City to San Jose, interstate 80 is fairly easy to drive and Nikki had her licence, Rachel has her learners permit, Hailee is not really of age but the time has come that she needs to learn to drive also. She drove from west of SLC across the saltflats to Wendover. I had a real enjoyable time and slept a lot. The parental opinion is that she might as well start learning now and that route is an easy drive with an occasional drive.



Playing with Brooklyn was very enjoyable. She would laugh and giggle and just run all over. There were times when she wanted only grandpa but mostly she played with her aunts and was very happy getting them to take care of her dolls or reading her a story or going shopping. We went to the beach on Monday and she and grandma built a sand castle while everyone else played in the surf. She helped bury grandpa and was tired in the afternoon as we spent the whole day at the beach, something she is not use to. The beach was at Santa Cruz and there were various animals either flying or swimming off in the distance. Jack was able to swim very close to a sea lion out in the surf. The sea lions would sun themselves on the pier near the beach and then go for a swim in the waves.



Meagan did have little Emma early Sunday morning, very early Sunday morning. She is a cute little girl and we love her very much.

Trip to Topaz Mountain

Topaz Mountain is a wonderful place for a family outing. It is about 35 miles west of Delta, Utah at the south end of the Thomas mountain range. I became acquainted with this wonderful place when our mineralogy class led by Revel Phillips (BYU mineralogy professor) went there one Saturday to collect topaz. We didn't collect topaz at Topaz Mountain but drove past it after collecting topaz and garnets earlier that afternoon in the northern part of the Thomas Range.

We tried it once as a family when all of the girls were home about 10-12 years ago. I couldn't remember where it was exactly where we collected the clear, colorless gems, but everyone who collects topaz goes to the BLM collecting site at Topaz Mountain. So, we followed the advise of all of the mineral clubs and went to Topaz Mountain. It was one of those trips that Meagan, Shawna, and Jackie thought dad was nuts trying to get them to collect and find topaz. What is topaz any way. It isn't my birthstone and it isn't pretty and it is too hard to find, so who cares. With that attitude we didn't spend much time looking and we didn't find any thing.

This summer I was wanting to visit the Thomas Range area again and take the remainder of my family out and see if we could find and collect some topaz. Shawna and James met us there and we camped out at Topaz Mountain Friday night and collected Saturday morning and afternoon. Again, we weren't able to find the BLM's excavation pit where people do find the elusive pink or smoky topaz crystals, nor were we able to find any topaz crystals around Topaz Mountain where we were camped. We did figure out the secret and drove aways to the north and started picking up crystals that have been washed out of the mountain range over time. These crystals are all over. They are clear and show the orthorhombic structure and crystal faces. They are mostly clear and colorless. Occasionally, light pink or smoky ones can be found in blocks of the ryholite where they grow in cavities formed by gas bubbles as the ryholite magma cooled.

Other minerals that can be found in the ryholite are almandine garnets and titanium minerals such as Bixbeeite. Red beryl has also been found but it is extremely rare.

The Big Five at Tau Lodge

I promised that I would blog about Africa and I know you have all been waiting on baited breath for some experiences with the wild life of the "dark continent". I have been busy doing other things during June and realized that I hadn't displayed anything about my adventure. Yes, I did get to see wild animals but and here are some of the pictures.

Africa is famous for the Big Five (5): lets say them together as you probably know them, elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and water buffaloes. I was lucky enough to see 3 of the big 5. I did however have to go to a game reserve to see them. This is common in Africa because animals running around tend to make a mess of things. I was in the Kalahari where I thought I would see lots of wild animals but it was along the eastern part of the Kalahari where there is a lot of cattle posts as well as natural boundaries which keep the animals limited in this area. There was a leopard that had been seen by several in the camp before I arrived but I was not fortunate enough to see it even though I took several walks outside of camp by myself. The central Kalahari is where the animals are in greater numbers as well as in northern and southern Botswana.

This is a small group of lions (I don't know if it is a pride or not, can't remember what the ranger said). It is a mother and her four cubs three females and one male.

After seeing the lions we then saw some elephants. There were about 30 and it was interesting to note that where ever there are elephants, the trees are pretty beat up. They destroy the brush and shrub vegetation. The one picture is not very good but it shows a young elephant that is less that a year old.

This loner was seen on the way to the water hole and just kind of stayed out of our way and tried to hide.

This big bruiser came walking up to the water hole that was next to the lodge where I stayed just before coming home. He just wanted a drink. The water bucks that were at the water hole rutting just moved out of his way.

This rhino is standing in the road. We went looking for leopard early in the morning but all we could find were elephants and rhinos. This is a white rhino (you can't see it but his lips are square shaped and not pointed like the black rhinos). You also can see this in the picture but there is a stream of urine as they mark their territory this way. They also walk their feces into their hoofs and then walk it all over. "Fascinating", at least that is what the ranger said.

Together Time

Friday before Mother's Day Lorie and I went for a ride in the swell. We really enjoy doing this but we don't get much of a chance. I told her to get a lunch and we would go see some part of the swell that we haven't seen yet. As it turned out we really got a late start and got to the trail head about 1:15 pm. The San Rafael Swell is a geologic wonder land full of land forms and wonderful sites. Most of you won't care but a small geologic description has to be told as it is really a trip through time.

We start off in the Carmel Formation which is mid Jurassic in age (approximately 161-175 million years ago). It is a sequence of marine strata formed by an inland sea. It covered large sand dunes of the Navajo Sandstone as seen in the first picture Lorie took. This is a large sand dune that formed 190 million years ago. Dune structures can still be seen in the rock forming the canyon walls and in out crops along the trail. From these structures the ancient wind direction is from the northwest to the southeast. This area that extends from southern Wyoming into Utah and terminates in north central Arizona had a climate similar to that of the Sahara in northern Africa. This formation as it weathers forms spectacular land forms; wind erosion of this sandstone forms arches.

















Lorie got a picture of an newly forming arch that we saw as we road the Eva Connover trail.

This picture shows mass wasting and this formation makes for a fine picture.

This is a very cool cottonwood tree. I can picture a person hanging for horse theft or Butch Cassidy galloping past on the way to one of his many hideouts. It was a fun afternoon even though we did get separated and Lorie thought I was dead somewhere along the trail.