BerryPicker, Hanging Lake, and a Hike with Dad

A few days in Jess and I hiked up Berrypicker trail to the summit of Vail Mountain. We were the only people headed up, it seemed. A crisp 3000ft elevation increase over about 3mi. Moving again felt good. I did not take pictures at the summit due to the fact that the summit of Vail mountain is covered in buildings and lifts. I did, however, take pictures of the journey up, which only lasted 2 hours. It was a joyous time.

This summer has been an unusually wet one in Vail. Rainstorms rolled through for roughly half of the three weeks I spent in the valley, though only a couple days were completely rained out. The storms combined with our lack of a car made traveling a bit rough. Biking and hiking were our sole modes of transport. Luckily the area is full of bike trails and hiking opportunities are literally everywhere.

The second hike of note is the notorious Hanging Lake, which is a short hike (~2mi) up what is basically a staircase. I think the vertical was near 1500ft. The heavily traveled path is well-worn and full of hikers. It is overall a simple hike which leads to a confusingly beautiful location.

Dad flew into Denver two weeks after I got to Vail. Another joyous experience. Jess and I joined him on a hike to Booth Lake, which is north of Vail. The trail head itself is just across the highway from the resort, but due to a crowded parking lot we were forced to park about a mile down the highway and bushwhack our way in. Though we didn't make it all the way to the lake, it was worth the effort. Most activities out there seem to be worth the effort.

So we hiked up a ravine onto a ridge, followed the ridge to it's end, and more or less slid down a slope to the actual trail head. From there we hiked about halfway to our destination before turning around. I have some pictures from there that I can't upload yet. Later.

Overall the Vail Valley is a great place. I will be back. Today I am seated in Denver International Airport on my way to Seattle and Bellingham, WA before heading into the Montana wilderness.

Leaving Vail

Today we leave Vail to check out Denver and the plains. Tomorrow I hop on a plane to Seattle. The Vail recap is just a draft now, and will be finished on the plane.

A Formal Apology for My Lethargy!

I feel bad about not posting so much anymore. By this point I assume no one would be checking, but I must push on! I need to get a blurb about the road trip out then I'll move on.  It was nice, but overall uneventful. An 8-hour trip turned into 9.5 when I decided Nebraska was boring me. I turned west into Wyoming. There were no regrets.

Colorado is a pretty cool place. Almost as wonderful a place as they make it out to be. The mountains begin west of Denver. Until then the land is very much the same as what I was familiar with - rolling, endless plains. The Rockies change the scenery rather abruptly. Obviously. From a distance they look like gray clouds. As you approach, the enormous rocks jutting out of the landscape become a bit more intimidating, and then you enter the valley. Towering mountains and cliffs of red, grey, and green surround the valley. The roads are on bridges and mountainsides with steep grades and everyone drives 90mph.

I arrived in perfect time to sit through the closing rush at the shop Jess works at.
Since arriving I have done a lot of relaxing, thus the lack of posts.  The past couple weeks have been spent eating, sleeping, drinking, riding around Vail, and hiking. Also hanging out with Jessy and Eric.

My next post will be about some of the hikes around here. Maybe some day to day too. Who knows. As for now I have bike ride to get out of the way before a hike to Booth Lake.