Flying through Lima, I tried something new this time. Instead of taking the first available flight to Cusco, I booked a hotel at the Wyndham airport, with the idea that I’d get a solid seven hours of sleep. As it was, my flight was super delayed out of Dallas and I didn’t get the experience I was hoping for with the sleep! But, having that booking made sure I didn’t miss my connecting flight, which has its own benefits!  In the turn of events, I actually got travel insurance for this trip, trying out World Nomads.  It will be interesting to see if they cover my hotel!

And now, I’m enjoying a Peruvian Asian fusion meal – sushi, fancy cocktails, and these lovely fried rice extravaganza‘s.  Peru is known for its food, and I figured I would start with something foodie and delicious!

The post Day 1 in Cusco … appeared first on Kellie Okonek.

Offroading adventure in the Paracas Reserve

While mainly in Peru to kiteboard, I was also in the mood for some adventure to spice up my time in Paracas.  I had decided to stay in Kokopelli Hostel because I liked the vibe there, and they had single rooms.  I met 2 other lady travellers and they were headed to Huacachina so we decided to go together . . . the adventurous way!

The reserve near Paracas

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  Flying flamingos . . . the inspiration for the Peruvian flag – not what I expected to see or learn!

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  And the ‘road’ continues – blissfully obvious in this section

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  Thank God the sand stayed hard enough to be a good travel surface . . . I felt so lucky considering our very under-prepared vehicle!

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  It’s a big empty world out there . . . one of those times I’d really like a Garmin InReach!

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  This ‘sign’ was such a welcome relief as the ‘route’ got very unclear at this point . . . just when you literally need a sign, it’s there!

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  Increasing signs of ‘civilization’ – this is when the road turned away from the ocean and got a lot more obvious and road-like

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  Our not-so-fit-for-purpose offroad vehicle . . .

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  At least the views were pretty!

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  And then we started encountering spots of soft sand

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  An actual road

  Bliss at the Tacama Winery and Vineyards

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  After a day of more adventure than even I liked, it was so nice to have a lovely huge soft bed in a vineyard hotel . . . bliss!

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  Peaceful vineyard life

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  Snacks, kind strangers, mesmerizing fire, wine

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  vineyard tour at sunset
  

  vineyard tour

  

  so peaceful I stayed an extra night!

  

  lovely grounds

  Exploring Huacachina – Oasis and sandboarding!!!

  

  Huacachina Oasis – sand dunes!

   

  

  Sandboarding Huacachina – fun for this skier to go sideways!

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While on a kite trip to Peru, the call of the mountains was too much to ignore, so I made my way to Huaraz and completed the Santa Cruz trek with Huascaran Adventures.  The most famous of all the Cordillera Blanca Treks with two high mountain passes and fabulous views of famous peaks Alpamayo, Huascaran, and Artesonraju of Paramount Pictures fame!  Lagoons, waterfalls, peaks, and valleys with the high point of 15,420′ (4700m).

Cordillera from the town of Huaraz

Gourmet meals 3 times per day!

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  Perfect journal moments abounded

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  The route continued up valley, but we took the side trip to the beautiful lake and vista of Alpamayo

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  Alpamayo in the distance!

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  pre-swim smiles!

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  When in Rome . . . I started this, and then everyone swam!

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  The meal tent . . . what a luxury!

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  The famed Andean condor

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  our high point

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  It was rainy season, after all . . .

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  Cuy!

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  now, those are some switchbacks!!!

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The post Peru: trekking Cordillera Blanca – Santa Cruz trek appeared first on Kellie Okonek.

Aberdeen – Stonehaven – Pitfichie – Aberdeen – Scotly Hills – Aberdeen – Moray Monster trails – Ballindaloch – Glenlivet – Aviemore – Laggan Wolftrax – Newtonmore -Fort William – Edinborough – Inneleithen – Glentress – Glencoe – Ardgour – Fort William – Newtonmore – Laggan Wolftrax – Pitfichie – Aberdeen

Reflections:

• Red trails are plenty difficult, black trails are next level!
• The best biking is along the Whisky Trail, making a road bike trip a nice tour through distilleries too!
• Glenlivet makes great whisky and great bike trails . . . I’ve never ridden trails that make such great use of gravity!
• The whole idea of bike parks is fabulous – start with a coffee, end with a beer, great flowy riding between!
• Glentress might be the best purpose-built trails I’ve ever ridden
• I could easily spend a week in the Glentress/Innerleithen area – word is that there’s even a weekend shuttle at Innerleithen!

So, I ended up going to Scotland for a work-related training class in September of 2016 . . . It wasn’t exactly planned (booked the flight on a Friday and left the Sunday after!), and as it turned out, I was able to take the next week off, so I decided to throw my bike in as I had always equated Scotland and mountain biking. Typical Kellie Okonek, I hardly had a plan, but I figured I’d sort it when I arrived. And typical Kellie Okonek, I did.

The trip started out with some friends in Aberdeen and sightseeing at Stonehaven. Dunnottar Castle is pictured below – William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, the Marquis of Montrose and the future King Charles II have graced the Castle with their presence. Most famously though, it was at Dunnottar Castle that a small garrison held out against the might of Cromwell’s army for eight months and saved the Scottish Crown Jewels, the ‘Honours of Scotland’, from destruction.

The first place I checked out with my bike was Pitfichie (https://www.trailforks.com/region/pitfichie-12613/) and it was super fun to warm my legs up! Super fun trails, fun features, ride-arounds on everything big (good thing to have before you trust a place!), and lovely trees. Overall, a super fun ride!

I also came back to Pitfichie on my last day riding – this picture was from the top of the Red downhill . . . I’m not sure we ultimately found the right fire road up, and Trailforks came in handy . . . but all’s well that ends well and it’s a totally worthy place to ride!!

The next day I headed out to Scolty Hills (https://www.trailforks.com/region/scolty/) – again, I loved the cool forest, old stone structures, and just being out exploring. The trails didn’t blow my mind, but were fun all the same. The town of Banchory just at the base is super idyllic and quintessential for an American tourist like me!

From there it was onto the Moray Monstertrails (https://www.trailforks.com/region/moray-monster-trails/?activitytype=1&z=12.7&lat=57.60261&lon=-3.08098) . . . I rode the red loop first, and then did laps on the Orange ‘bike park’ style trails at the end . . . super fun, and a great intro to Scottish purpose-built trails!

After riding, I went to the nearby town of Lossiemouth to see the ocean and enjoy another idyllic town and lovely view

And from there it was into the whisky territory of the River Spey . . . this water makes some of finest Scotch whisky in the land

I couldn’t find a place to stay in Abelour, so I ended up sleeping at Delnashaugh Hotel near the Ballindaloch Estate and the River Avon. The food was super good, the inn quaint, and the people nice – no complaints!

Of course, the next morning, I HAD to check out the Ballindaloch Estate because I couldn’t be that close to a castle and not go!

From there, it was on to Glenlivet . . . I was supposed to meet my riding partner at the trail, but suffice it to say I got lost and came to the distillery to make a call . . . so we ended up meeting here and starting our bike day with a tour and whisky tasting . . . what could go wrong?!!?

And then it was time to hit the trails! This was my intro to the Scottish bike park at its finest . . . a cafe at a random parking lot in the middle of nowhere with lovely purpose-built trails . . . and beer at the end!

Bike Glenlivet (https://www.trailforks.com/region/bike-glenlivet/) trails really flow . . . maybe the best use of gravity of any trail I’ve ridden – there’s not a lot of vert but they really make it work for you!!!

That night, I stayed in Aviemore . . . people called it ‘the Girdwood of Scotland’ but I’m not sure that’s a super accurate description. That said, it is a mountain town with lots of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, outdoor shops, and a lively mountain town vibe. I definitely recommend it as a stopover.

Nearby Aviemore is the Laggan Wolftrax (https://www.trailforks.com/region/laggan-wolftrax/) bike trails . . . again, coffee shop/beer shop in a parking lot in the middle of nowhwere with rad bike trails. I’m getting used to this concept already!!! These trails are super fun and easy to do long laps that combine red, black, and orange trails . . . I really enjoyed this place . . . so much that I came back a second time on my way back to Aberdeen from Fort William at the end of the trip!

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I started in Antigua since that seems to be where everyone starts, and figured I’d take a coffee plantation tour . . . as a lover of coffee, it seemed wrong not to learn a thing or two about the bean which so inspires my life  What I learned: “coffee should be black as night, strong as passion, sweet as love and hot as hell” – sounds like a decent motto!

Needing/desiring to “get away from it all” – you know, cuz Antigua with it’s cobblestone streets, shops and restaurants, is soooo crazy – I decided to go check out famous Lake Atitlan.  Formed 80,000 years ago in an eruption, it’s now a stunning lake surrounded by dormant/dead volcanoes and Mayan villages.  I ended up in Jaibalito, at an amazing place called Casa del Mundo.

Thankfully, La Casa del Mundo had some of the best hammocks I’ve ever seen – that, combined with a good book, gourmet smoothies and drinks, and lots of amazing food made hanging out there truly feel like a vacation

From there, I was off to Tikal – the Mayan ruins I had come to Guatemala to see/explore.  Arriving midday, I had some time to kill before the evening tour, so somehow got talked into going zip-lining in the jungle.  One could argue (and I did consider this) that such an activity was not the best way to heal a collar bone, but they let me use my left hand, and I was able to keep my right pretty stable – all’s well that ends well, but I do have to admit I feel pretty lucky to have come out of that experience unscathed

Fringe benefit: not only were there ruins, but also monkeys!  I have no idea why, but I really love monkeys . . . this particular leaper was a Spider Monkey – there were also Holler Mokeys, aptly named for the “music” they create . . . Eddy (the guide) was super good at calling/hollering to get them to holler back

We watched sunset atop Temple IV, with amazing views out to the other ruins – in the heyday, the jungle was completely cleared throughout the city, so it looks nothing now like it once did.

Unfortunately that night, I got the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had and spent a wretched night, made even more festive by the inability to get up quickly with the broken bone!  When my wake-up call came for the 4am tour, I forced myself to get up and go – after all, its the reason I came to Guatemala . . . in retrospect, I guess I’m glad I rallied, but it was a pretty painful experience – thank goodness for modern drugs!  Admittedly, I missed most of the sunrise, curled up in the fetal position sleeping on top of the pyramid, and I ended up covered in bug bites since I took every opportunity to lay in the grass on the tour!

Overall, I have to say it was a good trip – could have gone without the sickness, but from what I gather, that might just be part of the Guatemala experience!  I am thankful for the relaxing time, the chance to check out Tikal, and for meeting a bunch of cool people along the way . . .

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The walk actually felt a lot like the Alaska wilderness as it transitioned from trails to the wide open river valley up higher. About 6pm, I arrived at Casa Piedra, having decided to walk directly to the second camp since I was feeling strong and already acclimatized. To my utter joy, the muleteers were cooking an asado that night and the whole camp joined in to enjoy classic Argentine fare, spiced up with new friends, some good laughs, a little wine, and some more Spanish practice. The mule drivers were super awesome – full of life and the Argentine spirit I have come to adore.

 

Oh, hello skis

 

Making progress upriver . . .

Does life get better than a full asado in the wilderness? Good times for sure! Mule-assisted travel definitely allows for some luxury!!

Ollie and I killed time by drawing and coloring . . . look closely and you will see his steak, fries, and avocado with wine

Clicking into skis: what a beautiful experience. In that moment, we went from tired-out hikers to focused skiers . . . the day’s efforts immediately forgotten in the realization of, “hell yes, we’re going skiing!!!!” Having not climbed the direct, we of course had some route finding to do to get over to the Polish Glacier, but had enough remaining visibility to do so, and the beta that the snowy ridge would take us directly there. I led down the ridge and within a few hundred feet saw the familiar landmarks I’d memorized from below, knowing we were there. To our joy, the soft snow we’d wallowed in the day before did actually last all the way to the summit, so were greeted with legitimately good skiing from the first turn. At the top of the line, we investigated the snow and found the same consistency we’d experienced the day before, increasing our confidence in skiing the line. It’s a big face, so we couldn’t really put a solid cut in, but were able to test and probe a bit before committing to the rollover and I was feeling pretty good about it by the time we dropped in. With my nerves building over the changing weather and the continued development of the clouds, I finally looked over at the boys and asked, “do you guys mind if I just go for it?” . . . they responded affirmative, and I was off. Oh sweet powder skiing, how I love you. Oh sweet steep skiing how I love you. Oh sweet steep powder skiing on beautiful glaciated high altitude faces how I truly adore you. I really don’t know how to describe the joy that skiing the Polish in the conditions we found was. It didn’t even feel like I was altitude as I made fast and powerful turns down the face, skiing a solid 500m before I stopped in the realization that I’d already made it to the bottleneck and a reasonably safe zone to pull out and wait for the boys to come down. It was as effortless as skiing gets – perfect wind-buff powder with almost no sluff, even above where the angles were a solid 50-55 degrees . . . insane! I enjoyed my perch, watching as snow poured over glaciated features from the boy’s turns above. They skied it a bit slower to actually stop and take some photos, but we were soon together again on the familiar lower face. At this point, we were starting to relax a lot more. We were out of the clouds and wind, back on the face we knew from the day before, and our slope angle was mellowing substantially. We milked the remaining 500ish meters of sweet pow before our short section of “paying the rent” in the hard sastrugi back to camp. When we arrived at the toe of the glacier, elation took over. We had been making regular radio calls to base camp and had appreciated the support and encouragement of our friends at Grajales and so immediately got the radio out and made the call: “Argentina, Argentina! Equipo Quilombo – hicimos cumbre y bajamos esquiando!!! Woohoo! Hooray!! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!” It is an understatement of the century to say we were excited. So much had gone into the journey for all of us. Those boys had spent 2 weeks tent-bound and load carrying from base camp dealing with super shitty weather and maintained a good attitude and spirit of commitment throughout. I had undergone the doubt of walking in alone and potentially climbing and skiing alone, suspending disbelief that such a miraculous union and successful climb could actually happen . . . and here we were together having pulled it off . . . wow. Back at the tent, we indulged in our remaining food, took a rest, and then packed up to begin the descent to base camp. We had to hike about halfway to camp 1, but could then put the skis back on and ski to within a few hundred meters of base camp when the penitentes got too bad.

And then we relaxed a little more . . . look closely to see Ollie in full spread eagle!!! Gotta love that guy

Equipo Quilombo was in full-effect at this point as our packs were full gypsy-wagon style to accommodate the sundry of gear that had gone up in carries and caches before. When we took off skis, I decided to hang back and walk in slowly, taking the chance to let it all sink in. The night sky was full of stars, the breeze a bit warmer and the air a bit thicker . . . all perfect conditions for daydreaming and reliving the wonder of the previous few days. I actually still can’t believe the series of amazingly fortunate events that came together in support of such an incredible descent. I eventually made it back to base camp to be greeted with hot soup and welcoming smiles from our peeps at Grajales . . . so wonderful to come “home.” Anton and Ollie were determined to get to steak asap and actually organized all their gear and left camp at midnight.

I was all too glad to take a nice restful evening and following day at camp, finally leaving after a hearty lunch and morning of socializing at about 2pm. I ran into my Slovakian friends from Vallecitos as well as the awesome muleteers from the asado on the way in, and enjoyed walking on dry ground again . . . not to mention the fact that I like to wander and chat almost as much as I like to climb and ski.

If only I had seen this sign on the way in . . .

Suffice it to say I was completely blissed out on the way out . . . my hike in had been in a whiteout, so I relished in the views of the mountain all the way down, taking photos and gazing up at the Polish, still in utter amazement that I had been there the day before, that we had actually made it, and that it skied that well. It’s always so crazy when your dreams just come true right in front of you . . . what do you do with that? I guess you smile, relish in the feelings of deep and utter gratitude, do some headstands, smile some more, and remind yourself to never forget just how miraculous life is.

The post SOUTH AMERICA – Argentina – Skiing Aconcagua (6962m – 22,841 ft) via the Polish Glacier! appeared first on Kellie Okonek.

November 16th 2009. I am in the middle of the Southern Ocean on my way back from Antarctica on Ski Cruise. I have been in South America for almost a month, getting in ski shape for a few weeks road tripping in Chile and then ski touring the 7th continent, carting insane amounts of gear through more airports and bus stations that I care to remember. My intention was leave Ushuaia and join a group of 4 others to climb and ski the Polish Glacier on Aconcagua. As is the nature of travel, skiing, and well, life, things change – my connection to the original group had disintegrated. I took a minute to do a personal check-in, exercising my commitment to make everything in life as positive and constructive as I can. Do I feel like sulking around South America being bummed out that it didn’t happen? No. Do I feel like walking away from Aconcagua? Well, no. I had already made the sacrifices to be there – I may as well give it a go . . . what did I really have to lose?

So, I continued on my original plan to Mendoza, but decided to spend an acclimatization week in Vallecitos, Mendoza before heading over to Penitentes and into Aconcagua. Originally, one of the guides from Antarctica was going to have time to kill before guiding his own Aconcagua trip and it seemed more appealing to acclimatize and ski with company. As it turned out, he decided to go home for Thanksgiving instead, but I had already gotten my head around the idea and decided to do it as a solo trip instead. Over the past few years, I have slowly integrated solo wilderness travel and backcountry days into my program and I realized I was totally capable of pulling it off . . . so off I went.

Vallecitos turned out to be an awesome experience. I stayed two nights at the Refugio San Bernardo, doing an acclimatization hike to 4200m Cerro San Bernardo and then heading up to Campo Piedra Grande (3600m) and then on to Campo Salto de Agua (4200m) at the base of 5318m Cerro Rincon and 5435m Cerro Vallecitos. I had intended to ski the SuperCanaleta off Rincon, but it was totally burnt out and certain death to enter, so I started looking elsewhere, eventually finding a truly beautiful couloir off the shoulder of Cerro Vallecitos that looked downright delicious.

Csaba at dinner the first night – mmm mmm good!

Sunset from my camp at Piedra Grande – this was such a relaxing night – I went to the creek to get water and just sat there, looking around and taking in the beautiful light . . . then perched at a rock in front of my tent for another contemplation session . . . I have memories of this being as content and peaceful as I’d been in awhile . . . it just felt good to be there.

Leaving Piedra Grande, headed to Campo Salto de Agua which is at the top of the morraine on the left. Cerro Vallecitos and Cerro Rincon (with the supercanaleta just over my left ski) are in the distance.

Chillin with the Slovakians at Salto de Agua . . . intially they were a little antisocial, but we got to be friends more and more each day . . . we eventually had a great re-union on Aconcagua at Plaza Argentina that warmed my heart, having gone from the first day when I could barely get a “hello” to a warm meeting of hugs and cheers . . .

It took me two days of poking around the surrounding areas to convince myself that the run went (it had a pretty choked exit) and that I trusted it enough to jump in and ski it. Where I landed was that the line was a total no-fall zone, period. The reality was that having a partner added a modicum of safety, but the reality is that I had no place in the line without total confidence in both myself and the snowpack. I had also made friends with an Argentine and Slovakian group at camp who would be on the main Vallecitos route and had offered to be my accountability parties. Really though, it was my deal . . .

A view of my my line from below . . .

The day I finally went up was actually the one I had intended to hike out, thinking that I needed to get over to Penitentes if I was really going to go to Aconcagua. But, after two days of nuking winds (having literally been blown over at the col), this particular morning was calm and beautiful. I had to give it one last try. So, up I went. I had a skin track and bootpack up the glacier to the col and made good time (considering the altitude), transitioning to the super-sonic trail from there to the summit . . . summer routes are rad! The wind didn’t abate nearly as much as I’d hoped, but the reality was that it wasn’t really a hazard as I would just get blown into the hillside ultimately landing on the trail . . . I could handle that concept, was warm enough, and had energy so I kept going.

The Argentine crew on the way out of camp. These guys had been super great entertainment at camp. Acclimatization leaves a decent amount of downtime, so we definitely had some good chatting, mate, picada-eating and laughing sessions

Looking down the line, feeling pretty good

One last look back up before I went around the corner to camp and out of sight of the line . . . full of emotion, mostly adrenaline leftovers!

Stay tuned, more to come!!!!

The post SOUTH AMERICA – Phase 3 – Argentina – Vallecitos! appeared first on Kellie Okonek.

Well, this trip was a little of everything . . . I decided to combine a trip to WSU and U of Idaho college recruiting with one to meet up with my family for a road trip from Colorado Springs to Moab, UT. The story is too long, and likely not interesting, to tell here, but I’ll add a few highlights and then share the photos!

• • Got to ride a section of Captain Jack’s trail in Colorado Springs – had to do it as a there-n-back ride, so I couldn’t ride all the way to the valley, but that trail has some serious potential! It was fun to explore the hills around my sister’s cabin

 

• • Upon arriving in Moab super late, I had a great moonlight run – made me super glad that I’m in decent enough running shape to make that an enjoyable experience! The desert is so vast!

 

• • Rode Porcupine from Hazard down on my first Moab day – was super overwhelmed by how technical the trail was, and I don’t think the altitude helped! Since I was alone and am perhaps one of the chattiest people on the planet, I met a lot of great folks and had a fun ride. I also learned a bit of the trail so that next time I rode it, I knew there wasn’t any bike-eating rock-gnar except for the places where there was clearly bike-eating rock-gnar. I also learned a little bit about lifting my front wheel to more gracefully ride off of things . . . what a difference that made! That silly bike was so fun, I found myself laughing as I rode away from a few things, entertained at the fact I hadn’t off’d myself in the process!

 

• • By the best alignment of the planets ever, my lovely friend Rebecca Bailey was in town for a work event, which meant that I got to hang out with her in the evenings and stay in her super nice hotel room We laughed at how normal the whole thing seemed, even though she’s a friend from Alaska who’s been living in Canada for a year . . . but then again, why wouldn’t we be in Moab having slumber parties?!!? Sometimes life is altogether too entertaining!

 

• Although the logisitcs of the trip got all funktified, I did get to have some fun family time, and it was nice to combine a personal trip with getting to see them Lessons were learned, so hopefully we can just improve upon the concept in the future!

Okay, now the photos. I didn’t get my camera out for the first few days, so no photos of Porcupine from Hazard down or of the 18Road trails in Fruita . . . sorry Sherrie

 

Beautiful drive from Cisco to Moab . . . I was blown away, and so glad to be doing it at the end of the day – thanks Rebecca for the great suggestion

 

I met a guy who had just painted this picture of the surrounding area – thought it was pretty cool, even if it was on his dashboard so I had to take the photo upside down!

 

Riding slickrock . . . how can you go to Moab and not ride slickrock? This trail is the first time I learned that it hurts to fall on slickrock . . . and that I really need to let up on the front brake sometimes! Good ride overall though, and I had enough energy to go explore the BarM trails that afternoon, after a smoothie of course!

 

Scenic view of the Moab Valley
Look closely to see the bikers

I had met these two guys on Porcupine the day before and was glad to see them again – super strong riders, super fun to ride with!

Happy on my new bike – seriously amazing piece of metal!!!

On slickrock with Porcupine from Hazard down in the background!

Amasa Back!!! I was super glad to get out here. I had plans to meet the fam at noon, so I got up early and left the car with temps of 42 degrees! Oh well, it was super nice climbing weather and I had the trail to myself until halfway back down It was nice to have the solitude, but I was happy to see folks too – sort of odd riding technical singletrack with nobody around to pick up the pieces should the need arise

 

When I looked up and saw the trail disappear in a jumble of rocks, I thought of Sherrie and how much shit she’d give me for considering this a bike ride.

View from the plateau on Amasa Back . . . beautiful morning – so nice to be out there before the crowds and the heat!

 

It was so beautiful up top that I couldn’t make myself leave . . so I messed around with self-portrait features

 

. . . and took so many photos I had to post at least some!

I made strangers take this photo just so I’d have at least 2 of me actually on my bike!

 

There are a few trails in this area that just became legal and I’d be intrigued to ride, but they’re supposed to be a little high on the gnar-factor . . . given my time constraints, lack of partner, and penchant for starting with the classic version, I figured such a ride can wait for my return – gotta admit though, my interest is peaked!!!

 

 

That afternoon, we went to Arches . . . the fam on a car trip through one of America’s finest national parks.

Much more entertaining when you get goofy

 

 

Then it was time for more fun and excitement . . . Porcupine from Burro down – easily one of the best mountain bike rides ever . . . and the fun factor is increased by being able to take a shuttle to the top! The ride has about 1500′ of climbing throughout (and 7000′ descent!) and lots of techie fun stuff to play on, a few sections of fun rollers to fly off of, some super flowy singletrack, some super hairy exposure, and some amazing scenery. I rode this day with a blast from my ski past and the TGR group he’d organized. It was super fun to ride in a group, and I rode a lot more than I had the first time from Hazard down. Again, I was overwhelmed by how amazing, incredible, and FUN my new bike is! She just goes . . . and I just hold on

 

 

Burritos on the way down . . . mmmm mmmm good! Our little group of 5 split off in the front of the pack . . . Kellie doesn’t play well with others and the group of 16 was way too much for me! But, we had a great ride and I loved the lower section (major progress after having emotional events over all the rock drops the first time!).

 

On my last day, I got up super early so I could ride in Fruita before the long drive back to Colorado Springs . . . if I hadn’t run out of gas, I would have had much more time to ride, but as it was I got to explore a fair bit of the Kokopelli’s Trail system (and managed to case it big time on a bit of slickrock – that one hurt, and left a mark or three!). Fruita is definitely a place I’d like to get to know better

 

A trail shot – I really liked this area – was surprised to run into the river and see the lovely views I saw

Overall, I’m super glad to have gotten a taste of Moab and Fruita riding and definitely want to return – next time, I think a southwest road trip would be in order! What I do know is that mountain biking is super rad, and that my new bike makes it almost a whole new sport . . . and definitely ups the fun factor!!! Hip hop hooray

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Well, I spent the morning in Anchorage and rallied back home this afternoon . . . after not being able to decide if I should bail out of the state in search of a change of scene (and sunshine!), I decided to go ponder the meaning of life on Sunburst. Walking uphill always gives me peace of mind and the sensation of increasing clarity, although I would say that clarity is fleeting in this transitional time of year. I was greeted with fairly stormy conditions, although there was enough vis to make the travel straightforward. It was tank top weather, although the wind got a little cold up top . . . I kept with the tank top on principle though, because it is May after all. It’s pretty crazy how this winter continues . . . there is still tons of snow on Turnagain, I skied in nuking wind in midwinter conditions yesterday, and drove home through a blizzard. All the while, it seems like spring should be here . . . the weather has been sub-par for trips and big objectives, the ski area is closed and the energy super mellow in Girdwood, and I’ve been wearing flip flops almost exclusively. I even got out my road bike (but later regretted that decision)! I’m not sure what to make of it all, really.

Windy moment at the top . . . bring on the pink puffball!

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