The Loneliest Monk

Three days above treeline with four 14er summits. Solo for one day and then joined by family and friends for two others made for a great long weekend in the Sawatch.

I am a dad.

From the Forest. I can't wait to meet you.

The latest that Tyler or I had ever been in Colorado. My first time climbing in the San Juan Mountains. And probably the closest either of us had been to real mountaineering. Handies Peak proved to be an incredible challenge.  

Departure time of 3:15pm. By taking driving shifts through the night Tyler, Nicole, and myself were able to arrive in the Sangre de Cristo Range the next morning at 4:30am. After catching a few hours of sleep we donned our backpacks to make the trek to Willow Lake. Our goal? The summits of Challenger Point and Kit Carson Peak.

2,800 miles traveled but everyone of them worth it. From driving through the San Juan Mountains, experiencing the incredible beauty of Zion National Park, the iconic Delicate Arch, and back through the soaring peaks of the Sawatch this trip cemented our love of road tripping. 

Back to Colorado but this time returning with a few summits under my belt. A great 7 days spent exploring the Sawatch Mountains with Tyler and Sean. Five part series below - The Sawatch Sweep!

The Cobb River opened my eyes to the potential of fast water via smaller water ways previously left unexplored. Tracking through Split Rock Creek with Jacob and Chris was a by product of this pursuit. Great time through some new terrain Don't miss Chris's kayak dismount/jump mount.

Fresh off the Big Sioux River I receive a call from my good friend Sean. The Cobb River outside of his home in Mankato is in prime condition. With no need to to unload my kayak I made my way into Minnesota. The Cobb proved to be an absolute blast. Fast water, big drops, and a unique obstacle via a downed tree. Highlights below.

The day started off normal enough.  My buddy Jacob was finally going to get a chance to get to try the kayak he bought last fall and I was excited to introduce him to one of my favorite activities.  To cut down on the commute we were going to do the Grandview Road to Klondike Dam route (7.8 miles). It didn't take long however for Jacob to realize that trips down the Big Sioux are not without incident. The recent patch job on my kayak lasted all of 15 seconds.  With water coming in quick I pulled off at the nearest sandbar.  What a great first trip for Jacob I thought.  We had barely made it 50 yards down the river and my spotty patch job was going to cause us to turn back and go home.  But we were both not ready to throw in the towel quite yet.   After examining the leak we were both doubtful that we had something that could keep water out of my kayak for the next 7.8 miles.  But after after discussing we managed to come up with 3 items th...