Hiking the Royal Arch in Boulder, CO

After eating a big lunch at Snarf's, it was time to head to the hills and start a hike. Even from a distance, the Flatirons were breath-taking.

It being Boulder, the park was swarmed with hikers but luckily, there are plenty of hiking trails to choose from:

Ben took us up a trail that he knew well, promising great views from the top. Needless to say, this was the easiest part of the trail, and we were soon huffing and puffing heading toward that Flatiron you can see in the center of the picture:

We didn't go far and already the views were spectacular - you could see most of the Colorado campus below:

At the official start of the Royal Arch trail, there was a bear warning posted - luckily, no bears were spotted along the trail, probably because our heavy, wearied breathing scared them away.

Ben seemed barely (bearly, haha) winded, and he kindly made excuses for the rest of us (I'm not going to lie, I was the worst out of the group), telling us that it was the high altitude that was causing us to tire so easily. I took advantage of many a "photo break" to take a picture and catch my breath.

Most of our hike was rocky, steep and heading up, but there were points where we had to go down on the trail, which aggravated me since I knew we'd have to make up that ground later in the trail:

Yup, here's us hiking up again - did I mention how steep it was? Although agile and fit natives, and ashamedly, a group of Colorado freshman, kept passing us on the trail:

Finally, the summit! You can see where the trail gets its name:

The views, as promised, were stunning:

Resting underneath the arch, we were all charmed by a little visitor, some sort of mountain chipmunk (I am notoriously OBSESSED with chipmunks):

One of the aforementioned freshman was kind enough to take a sweaty picture of us:

I call this the roommate picture - I love that Ben and Amy are both laughing and showing the same expression:

We also spotted this little cutie, who had hitched a ride on his owner's neck the whole way up:

With one last admiring look at the layers of rock and the view, it was time to head down:

Andrew wrangled the camera from me at one point and took this picture. If Amy appears to be walking gingerly, it's because she wrenched one of her ankles (weakened by old soccer injuries) so we were careful to take our time going down:

Again, the view of the Colorado campus at the foot of the Flatirons made the hike worthwile from top to bottom:

Just another one of those sweeping views of mountains in Boulder that seemed unreal - I doubt even people living here fail to appreciate this on a daily basis:

As we were leaving the park, we caught sight of a wedding party taking pictures with the Flatirons as a backdrop, which must have made for some amazing photos:

Walking back to the side street where we had parked, Andrew and I caught sight of this front yard and fell in love (the lion heads are a little much but we loved the potted plants) - call it our dream house in Boulder.

If you've never been to Boulder, definitely mark it as a place you must visit at least once in your lifetime.

Hiking In The Blue Hills

Thanks to my good friend Rosie, I learned a quick and easy hike in the Blue Hills that's conveniently located right off Route 138, close to 128.  I went hiking with Rosie and Breena back in June, and then had the opportunity to take my parents on the same trail, this time with a camera to capture our journey.

From the parking lot by the Trailside Museum, it was fairly easy to follow the red dots on trees and rocks to make sure we stayed on the trail.

A view of my parents ahead of me on the trail - my mom is rocking my BC 2001 National Hockey Champions shirt while my dad is predicably wearing a shirt (in this case, Liberty Fest) from a past open base event (I think this one is from Taegu, Korea):

Waiting for us at the summit is Eliot Tower (as it's marked on the map)

From what I could find online, it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s as an observation tower. Although it's described as falling slightly into disrepair, it still has nice seating areas scattered throughout, and most importantly, a sturdy stone stairwell that lead to the top of the tower:

The view from the top is spectacular and well worth the roughly 30 - 45 minute hike up, as my parents can attest to:

You've got Boston in the distance (it was one of the days this summer where it was overcast with scattered thunderstorms, hence the fog and haze you can see in this picture)

And from another side, what I believe is Houghtons Pond



The hike down is less rocky (and even has a paved road intersecting it), although we got hit by a heavy rain shower near the bottom and ended up making a run for the car. As we only got to explore one tiny section of the Blue Hills Reservation, I look forward to exploring more sections of it, especially the observatory which seems fairly close to Eliot Tower.

I have to add - there is plenty of free parking next to the Trailside museum; a few free outdoor animal exhibits that will excite kids of all ages (Rosie, Breena and I were also enthralled), and the trail seems very dog-friendly as we've run into several dogs on the trail or at Eliot Tower.

Fall Tradition - Hiking in NH

After spending a lot of my free time researching houses and wedding-related stuff (I promise I'll stop ranting about these two topics and begin raving again soon), it was nice to head into the great outdoors for a day and clear my head. Saturday was a typical beautiful fall day in New England with clear blue skies and crisp temperatures in the low 60's. Amy and I hitched a two hour ride with my Uncle Rich, cousin Andrew and family friend Jason to Mount Shaw and Black Snout in the Ossipee Mountains of NH.

First stretch of the hike was lovely, with a brook to our left providing soothing background noise:


It gradually got steeper:


We spotted two of these toads (frogs?) on our way up:


Andrew views one of the numerous brook crossings:


I needed a pit stop to apply moleskin to my heels - next time, I'll wear a better set of socks with my hiking boots!


My first look at deer poop - nice, I know:


Finally, we reached the summit, taking around two hours and twenty minutes to cover 4.1 miles:


The views were stunning, especially on a clear fall day:


The men in our hiking group - Jason, Rich and Andrew:


Me and Amy - I think we have the same picture for four years running - a great tradition!


Imagine that - you get cell reception at the top (which Andrew made a point of letting us know every chance he got - kids and their technology):


A great shot of Andrew and Amy (when did he get so tall) with Mount Washington just out of view behind them in the distance:

More importantly, reaching Mount Shaw meant lunch! In addition to ham, turkey and provolone sandwiches, I packed Pringles (my hiking staple) and chocolate chex mix for dessert:

On our way down, we hiked out to Black Snout:

Which gave us stunning views in the opposite direction, of Lake Winnipesauke:

Obligatory butt shot of Rich - this is also a hiking tradition:

Going down was rough on my toes, but gave my heels a break - plus, we got another look at the brook:

Andrew led us down for part of the way:

I wanted to soak my aching feet in the crystal clear pools created by the meandering brook:

While we could see beautifully-colored leaves on the forest ground, there weren't many around us unless you looked at the tree tops - those glorious colors are the main reason I wanted to get married in October in New England:

The descent felt like it took us forever - we were back at the parking lot around 5 pm, having spent close to six hours hiking. After a pit stop at a local store to pick up Tuckerman's Ale for Rich and a non-portapotty bathroom for Amy, we were back on by six and home past eight. I took a shower and promptly passed out on the bed for nearly twelve hours.

Hiking in NH, Part Two

Sunday saw us waking at the crack of dawn - 7 am which doesn't seem too early except when you take into consideration that Andrew and I didn't get home from the BC game until close to 1 am.

Rich and Amy drove over to Newton and then Rich graciously chauffered us the 1.5 hours to Meredith, NH to Mount Morgan.

Although it was technically past peak, the colors were still gorgeous on our two mile climb to the top.

Before the summit, we hit the ladder section - yes, there are ladders on the mountain!

Followed by a squeeze through a narrow crawl space (butt courtesy of Rich)
























Next was a climb across a rock face on our way to Mount Morgan's summit


















Finally, the top and a great view!

Time for lunch - no worries about starving with all the food we carried up and with Rich's homemade trail mix. Although a dog did run off with one of Amy's sandwiches!

Next was a half mile hike over the ridge line to Mount Percival and another great view.

One of the last stops on the Morse trail down was a charming wood bridge.

Legs and feet sore, we headed home.