Deer balls!

That is not an animal heart! Though some men... Okay all men... would argue it's about the most vital organ there is: balls.

After work I went to a friend's house to witness the butchering of a freshly hunted deer. It was so cool to see where the various cuts of meat come from!

No- the balls do not get eaten. Not even by the dogs. Apparently you're required to keep the balls or milk sack attached after the kill so you can prove to a game warden that you hunted the sex of animal that your tag is for. Always learning...

butt = kicked

Gratuitous Lucy photo that really has nothing to do with this post (but ain't she just adorable)



Today I went to a ski conditioning class at my gym. I got my gluts kicked. And I'm psyched about it!

Pretty much every gym in the Rockies offers ski conditioning classes in October and November. I've been meaning to go but it's just been so darn nice outside I've opted for hikes or runs with Little Pants. Today was no different; it was 65 and sunny! However, the Little Pants was a little under the weather so I took advantage and let her sleep while I got myself some fitness!

I almost didn't go into the class because they had a sign saying something about them being in "phase two" ( of three) and you weren't allowed if you didn't go through phase one (which clearly I hadn't). A few friends convinced me I wouldn't be kicked out so I went.

It was awesome! I hadn't been pushed athletically since college ( sure I'd run hard or crazy long mileage, do a tough hike or something but it just doesn't bring back the same inner feelings as having someone else push you to test yourself). I thrive on that stuff. I loved being yelled at to sprint faster. I loved having coaches facetiously 'ask' me if I was tired or have them place fake bets with the team that I couldn't win every single sprint and then make 10 free throws in a row. I LOVE being pushed like that ( yes, I'm a little strange. But you probably already knew that!). Maybe it's because I never want to lose. Maybe because I've always discovered I'm stronger, faster, better than I would be without someone pushing me.

I kept having flashbacks to high school basketball conditioning and just thinking about that made this class seem not so tough. I reminded myself being in this class didn't require a tryout or age specification so it couldn't be that bad. I learned I'm in better overall shape than I thought I was... And that I still have a ways to go. Most importantly though I got to feel that self-competitive rush that I love. No idea why, but pushing myself to give everything is something I'll always love.

I'll definitely be going to the class regularly now :)

slightly less exciting

Okay, so living in Aspen is always pretty exciting/excellent. That being said, compared to the Summer I've been on less long/unique ( for this place at least) adventures. I'm back at work for the Aspen Skiing Company full-time and it's starting to get dark around 6:30 so Lucy and I have mostly been going for short/fast runs or hikes on trails you've already heard about. (However, we did check out a great new trail overlooking Aspen today that we'd never explored. I previously thought dogs had to be on a leash so we'd go to other off-leash friendly trails. A Ranger recently informed me it was off-leash so off we went!)

I was so caught up with taking in the view of Aspen far below and the mountains around it that I forgot to snap a picture. Sorry! Next time!

The leaves in town are still bright yellow while those up high... okay, highER... fell a few weeks ago. Winter is supposed to be making a visit so we'll see what's left after this week.

it's snowing!

I was about 50 yards away from the spot I wanted to snap a picture at up on Aspen Mtn and a heavy fog swept in and whited-out the mtn... so no picture :(

Our little after work hike was pretty frigid, especially considering it hadn't been that cold the past few days (I wore shorts on Saturday). It was snowing pretty heavily when the Pants and I got home. Winter is in the air- time to retire the shorts and did the Sorels and down jackets!

it's snowing!

I was about 50 yards away from the spot I wanted to snap a picture at up on Aspen Mtn and a heavy fog swept in and whited-out the mtn... so no picture :(

Our little after work hike was pretty frigid, especially considering it hadn't been that cold the past few days (I wore shorts on Saturday). It was snowing pretty heavily when the Pants and I got home. Winter is in the air- time to retire the shorts and did the Sorels and down jackets!

yellowness all over!

After an exhausting but fun time working our (back at the Ski Co, remember?) event, The Meeting, I needed to get some fitness! The Meeting is a really cool 3 day event we put on where a huge percentage of the snow sports industry gathers to preview this season's ski/snowboard movie, engage in various session and (it is the snow sports industry...) party like the world is going to end at any moment. It's very tiring... yet also a blast!

So back at the office with our next major event over a month away I can finally get into a groove and get some exercise (something I've been lacking this past month). Today I took Lucy for a much needed afterwork hike up a pretty popular trail that overlooks the city.

While some aspen groves are starting to lose their leave this particular area was in full-on photogenic yellow mode. There was a slight cloud cover that made the lighting super cool and Lucy and I made some new friends too. All in all a great hike to start my first day of Sober October (my much needed hiatus from alcohol; swapping it with sleep, fitness and hydrating liquids)!

pre-work fall hike

(Please note- if you click on the photos you see the real one in much better quality!)

This morning, a friend and I got up early and went on a dawn/sunrise hike up Buttermilk. Sure we, and our puppies, got a bit of exercise but we mainly did it to check out Fall foliage in full swing. Some of the leaves are starting to fall already so we probably only have another 5ish days of peak coloring to enjoy.

back to work

First day back at the Aspen Skiing Company offices since the end of April. I'm excited to be back!



Lucy can't contain her excitement at being back at work...

thomas lakes hike

Lucy, her furry friend Chauncey and I went part of the way up Mt. Sopris to checkout Thomas Lakes. The hike was full of beautiful Fall colors and cows... Yep, cows.

We learned that Lucy is definitely part herding-dog and Chauncey prefers to use her barking energy on people. At one point a few cattle were on the trail and Lucy made sure she sent them on their way... in the same direction. She herded them off then ran back to me with a huge smile on her face. Next step, next years cattle dog herding championships!

The lakes were beautiful (seriously, not much ugly scenery around here) and it felt great to spend a few hours in the crisp fresh air before I go back to my job at the Aspen Ski Co on Monday.




Lucy spent the entire time at the lake saving ball-sized rocks from drowning.



My finger and the top of Mt. Sopris in the background.

ruedi reservoir overlook

Today Lucy and I did a mellow but beautiful hike on the Ruedi Overlook Trail. The trailhead is about a 45min drive from Aspen and I'd never driven the 2nd half of the road. The drive was beautiful!!! On one side was the Fryingpan River with more fly fishers than I could count spread along the 15 mile river.

The hike was only a few hrs round trip and would actually make a great trail run. Lucy and I took our time and enjoyed the perfectly crisp weather, yellow leaves and beautiful views of the biggest body of water nearby.

biking to Ashcroft

Took advantage of Lucy's minor injury (bit if chaffing under her carpal pads) and went for a bike ride. I hadn't been on my bike since August (!) and had been itching for the chance to ride. Went for a 25-miler up to Ashcroft and back. While the scenery is always pretty ridiculous, today I got to enjoy the added bonus of Aspen trees starting to yellow and mountain peaks dusted with a bit of snow. Monday I'm back to work so enjoying the staycation while I can! (not that I will cease to enjoy Aspen once I'm at work, just means limited midday outside play time)

yes, another hike

It's been cloudy all week here (an oddity) but I've managed to get in touch with my Seattle roots and go for a few hikes anyway. Today little Lucy and I hiked to the top of Buttermilk (one of the Aspen Skiing Co's four mtns). While Buttermilk is generally regarded as the most tame of the mountains it arguably has the best views from it's summit.

This is the view looking towards newly snow-dusted Pyramid Peak (next to the famed Maroon Bells; they're hidden by the mtns to the right of Pyramid).




After our hike we visited some friends and chef-ed up an amazing Southeast Asian meal of Myanmar Pork Stew (seriously, now my new favorite dish), shrimp summer rolls, ginger lemongrass tofu, rice and banana spring rolls for dessert. So freaking tasty! I'd been craving Vietnamese food and this meal definitely did the trick. Another excellent day in the books thanks to good friends, good food, playing outside and, of course, little Lucy.

a little hike

Just a nice little hike in my backyard. Perfect Fall weather complete with crisp, fresh air. Lucy's loving Fall; no longer too hot for her to be in the sun.

back home

When I saw little Lucy Pants I couldn't believe how cute she was. Nothing changed, I just hadn't seen her in almost 2 weeks (longest since I got her last July). I looked at photos of her daily but her adorableness surprised me. I was so happy to take her home and reclaim my little snuggle buddy.

I was in Boston and NYC for a few weeks celebrating the marriage of a few close friends and catching up with others. It had been a few years since I saw most people but it always amazes me how time never really seems to matter.

After a few weeks of delicious meals, late nights and humid days I was pretty excited to get home.

It's definitely feeling like Fall and I can't wait to play outside and enjoy the changing temps and Aspen colors

mmm seafood

Colorado isn't exactly a seafood haven so my very good friend and I went to the Neptune Oyster House to fulfill my seafood craving. We had this uber tasty raw bar assortment plus a hot lobster roll washed down with a nice crisp glass of white wine. I dare to say we had the best lunch humanly possible today. Oh yeah, we also picked up a cannoli from Mike's Pastry...

boston

After a 3.5 hour drive to Denver, rerouted flight to Kansas City to refuel (apparently they couldn't refuel in the heat if Denver combined with the altitude) miraculously having my bag appear in Boston after being limited to a 10min layover due to aforementioned stopover I finally got to my friends place in Boston last night.

Getting ready to go for a little run through the Commons and along the Esplanade before meeting up with some good friends I haven't seen in far too long.

Gratuitous "I miss Lucy" photo of her playing in the park

yep- that's lance armstrong

On Sunday we hosted the sister race to the ski mountaineering race I organized last winter- the power of four mountain bike race.

It's pretty much a bunch of mtn bike and fitness freaks who are up for the challenge of biking 9,000ft of elevation gain over 33 miles. In our inaugural year lance armstrong decided to give it a shot (he's number 57 in the picture, front right).

While lance is often in Aspen, he has a home here and comes quite often, he doesn't always partake in each biking event so we were pretty excited to have him out.

He ended up DNFing (did not finish) after a bad crash on a very technical and rocky part of the course. While it might sound obvious that he would have won , I'm not so sure. It would have been very close between him and his local biking buddy Max. At the half way point Max was only 1.5 mins behind Lance and gaining on him. Yes, Max is an insane athlete.


One interesting fact: Lance was the only athlete who didn't even bring food or water with him. I was at the aid station at the half-way point (where i took a pict of the bridge above) and he just flew right on by. Super human!

real update coming this week

stay tuned for mention of bears, bouncy houses, 100 mile bike race

it's 9:32am...

time for a gratuitous puppy in the parking lot photo! (getting everything set up for Ride for the Cure allllll day and she gets to tag along through venue set up, registration and Riders meeting )

real update coming soon

have a picture of a puppy for now and I'll share about my 4-day backpacking trip after Sunday

like to hike

American Lake on the last day American debt is AAA-rated

One of the many perks of having a furry child is that you have a hiking partner who is stoked and ready to go every minute of the day. Lucy is the rare breed who enjoys her sleep and sleeping in, but even so I could wake her up at 4am say the word "hike" (it's maybe once a year I actually wake up that early for a hike...) and she'd jump out of bed and be seated at the door ready to roll.

Yesterday my little hiking fiend and I went up to American Lake. The trailhead is about a 15min drive from my place in Aspen towards the ghost town of Ashcroft (where I biked to in my previous post). It starts at about 9,500ft and goes up to around 11,500ft. Aside from the awesome scenery at the top/the lake the route up makes you feel like you're on 3 separate hikes all at the same time.

You start in a huge grove of mature Aspen trees and switch-back and forth through them up a moderately steep face for about 2/5ths of the hike. Then, you hit this very short yet steep little section covered with exposed roots and BAM, you're now in an evergreen forest with a completely separate ground cover... it's pretty weird. You go through that type of terrain for another 2/5ths of the trail and the last 1/5th is a combination of a scree field (lots of loose, reasonably-sized rocks) and a few huge meadows brimming with wild flowers that inspired the puppy to frolic like a member of a certain singing Austrian family with a bunch of kids.

Lucy and I loved the hike and were pretty psyched that we were able to keep a very good pace over the entire 6 mile trail (3mi to the lake, 6mi roundtrip). One day I'd like to be able to run it... that one day may have to wait until next summer when I'm (hopefully) fitter though.

You know you want to frolic through this!

Bike to Ashcroft

History, endorphins AND mountains!

Yesterday I rode my newish road bike from my place in central Aspen to the ghost town of Ashcroft. It's one of the more popular places to bike to and is a good little workout.

The ride is beautiful (duh, it's the Rockies) and follows a creek through a valley that spits you out staring at a granite wall known as the Elk Mountain Range. It's here that back in the late 1800s miners thought it'd be a good idea to dig for silver and set up a once-booming mining town. The town booms no more. The only remnants are a few old cabins and mine dumps.

Ride Stats
Starting elevation: about 8000ft
Finishing elevation: about 9500ft
Miles (roundtrip): 22.5mi

I'm Back!

Yes, it's been a while... Last time I posted I was living in Vail and now I'm firmly settled into Aspen with no intention of moving. After my trusty flip phone broke a few days ago I finally got a smartphone and can update this with ease.

So long story short- you can count on me to update this as frequently as I do fun things... Frequently.