It's beautiful outside

The fall colors this year are absolutely stunning. There is a tree around every corner that catches our attention and calls for a declaration of the "most perfect specimen of fall." Our neighborhood streets are lined with piles of crunchy dead leaves and an overhead canopy of glowing reds and golds. The scenes are a bit more rugged outside of the city but just as eye-catching.











Our mountain bikes were stolen a few months ago and we decided to wait until sometime after Christmas to buy replacements. We've largely been ok with that decision during the sweltering heat of summer when the only thing that mattered was finding a large body of water. However, it's an entirely different story now that fall officially happened. The cool air and empty trails are just begging to be enjoyed on a mountain bike. Trail running or hiking is just not the same. We've found ourselves huffing and puffing up some hill numerous times only to have a mountain biker come whizzing by, seemingly grinning from ear-to-ear.  Seriously, has anyone else noticed how happy people are while riding bikes?  Funny how we never noticed that before.

Rock Hound

There was some time to kill last week but we had to stay local so it seemed like a good opportunity to check out a nearby crystal mine that we had heard so much about. We were sort of hoping for a mine shaft to explore but this particular mine, at this point, is just a large mound of multi-colored rocks. I hear if you're lucky there are true crystals to be found. We decided to just be happy with this little collection.

An autumn picnic on the TRT

Job's Peak, Job's Sister & Freel Peak

The plan was to do something mellow and short as the flu officially put the stops on a longer more techincal climb. Freel Peak was said to have incredible views so we found directions to the trailhead and Denver loaded up on Sudafed, Gatorade and crackers. The trailhead wasn't all that easy to find so eventually we just parked the truck with the ridgeline in view and traveled cross-country. We ended up at the saddle between Job's Sister and Freel Peak and decided that we might as well summit Job's Sister before heading over to Freel Peak. Freel Peak didn't end up taking all that long, we had plenty of remaining daylight, and weren't quite ready to head back to the truck. Job's peak was in the opposite direction so back we went along the ridgline, up and over Job's Sister, and finally to the top of Job's peak. Our one peak turned to three but the views were amazing and there's no stopping Denver once he sets his eye on a mountain top.

We did lots of hiking/peak bagging when we first got married. We were living in Alaska at the time and it was too wet in the summer to really do much else. In the beginning I'd complain bitterly about having to always have to climb up something. "Why can't we just hike across something?" I'd say out of breath and frustrated. Denver would always promise that next time we could. He'd start out with good intentions, letting me choose the trail and plan the day.  Once we got out on the trail though, there was always "that" distant tantalizing peak. His pace would invariably quicken and he'd look around at me, his eyes asking me to be gracious because some things simply can't be helped.  He'd take off up the hill and I'd follow him and that's pretty much how it's been ever since.
 

Job's Peak, with a view of Freel Peak and Job's Sister


The top of Job's sister


the top of Freel Peak

Great Basin National Park

Winter thus far

Mt Rose summit, January 7th. Where's the snow?

White Mountain

I've been wanting to hike White Mountain for ages and Denver has been wanting to check out the Bristlecone Pine trees for just as long. The Bristlecone Pines just happen to be right below the White Mountain summit/trailhead. We made a deal, he'll hike with me and I'll look at pine trees with him.


The ancient Bristlecone Pines are thought to be the oldest known single living organism. This one is apparently not living but they have dated some of the living trees to over 4000 years of age.


View of the Sierras from across the Owen's Valley


A hummingbird's nest?


Our plan was to sleep at the trailhead and wake up with the morning light to make our jaunt to the summit. Instead of sleeping, we spent an ungodly amount of time burrowed in our sleeping bags in the back of the truck, listening to the wind howl and the gusts shake the canopy.

I had read earlier in the guide book that "since the trail was basically a road to the top a moonlight hike was a pleasant option". We certainly weren't sleeping so with the promise of a pleasant moonlight hike and some other faulty reasoning we laced our boots and headed up the hill. It was dark and cold and miserable, can you tell from the above photograph? Maybe someday we'll do it again and actually see a view from the summit.


First light of dawn on our way back to the truck. Our only thought was of a steaming cup of coffee and a donut at the local bakery down the hill.

Mt Rose in two seasons

Mt Rose summit by foot, last weekend. It only took like an an hour and twenty minutes to get to the top,so we thought we going to beat Jocelyn's time and hurried back down. Surprisingly, it took just as long to get back down, so we still beat her, but not by much. (she will contest this, but she who blogs first wins)



Here's a photo from the archives, the other time we were up there. Sometime in the 09/10 season, we did Mt Rose on skis. I think we even blogged about it. Okay, at least Facebooked about it.

A Hike in Devils Postpile (without instagram filters)

Bumpass Hell

I could say that we spent the weekend camping at Lassen with my family, ate lots of s'mores, swam in a lake, rode our bikes and slept under the stars. However, I'd rather say that we hiked to Bumpass Hell.



Because we did, and then the world ended.

Tahquitz Canyon

Fresh socks and bumper stickers

We made a quick jaunt to Oregon over the weekend. We took a leisurely afternoon hike to Blue Lake with Denver's parents, ate piles of pancakes, drank lots of coffee and tea with my parents, gathered eggs with Kayce and Garret, successfully leased the house for another year, and planned a winter ski trip with Jocelyn. Not all weekends can be perfect however and sadly enough the duffel that we had our clothes in was somehow left sitting in the middle of our apartment floor. Meaning we spent the weekend only in the clothes we were wearing when we left Reno and whatever articles of clothing we could nab from our unsuspecting relatives. We're still a little dumfounded that we could actually step over the duffel to get out the door and still leave it behind.

Here is Denver in his father's fleece dreaming of all the freshly laundered socks he had placed in the duffel the night before.

On an unrelated topic, regarding natural childbirth, I saw a bumper sticker one time that read "Midwives help people out."