The Loneliest Monk

It's a long haul to the mountains from Sioux Falls, SD. Somehow over the past 4 years this drive seems to get easier each time. Guess that we are getting good at getting gone. Colorado - June 2016 below.

Nothing like a long day in the mountains to kick off my brothers bachelor party. A unique experience introducing my brother and his friends to Colorado's high places.

114 days since my last paddle. Lots of hours at the office in between. Sunday was a no alarm clock morning. Pulled out of 5505 at 5:30 am and was east bound to the Iowa side of the Big Sioux River. Head lights of the Kia proved to be just enough light to portage my kayak down to the river bank at Gitchie Manitou State Park.   Kayak and beer stashed I made way south to the Grandview bridge to wait for Tyler. Sunrise from Grandview Tyler arrived right on time at 6:30 am we promptly started our 6 mile run back to Gitchie Manitou State Park. Morning temp was brisk and a nice northern breeze pushed us back towards our point of origin.  Making it back to our stashed vessels we took a minute to catch our breaths and bundle up for the paddle. Tyler's trusted co-captain, Nicole, met up with us for this leg of the journey. We shoved off and my first paddle of 2016 was underway. Glide Below the cliffs at Good Earth Changes on the river are alwa...

With Sean taking a position as part of a Boundary Waters maintenance crew over the summer it did not seem likely that we would be able to continue our tradition of spending some time in the mountains of Colorado together. However, instead of letting this streak die we made a hasty plan to keep it alive. 60 hours, 1,650 miles, 4 breweries, and 1 14,005 foot peak. As is tradition...  

Crazy? Maybe. Sylvie's first trip to mountains at three month to the beautiful town of Lake City located in the heart of the San Juan Mountains. Summits for Dad in the morning and bub lugs in the afternoon with Sylvie. Our first trip as a family!

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.