Hiking and climbing in Colorado - Day 1 of 8
Megan and I left DC for Denver, Colorado around noon eastern time. Our airline Northwest had just declared bankruptcy a few days ago, so I was a bit worried. But my worries turned out to be unwarranted, it was business as usual at the Northwest counter in the Regan National Airport.
Two uneventful flights later, with a stopover in Milwaukee airport (probably the most boring airport in the world), we were in Denver. This was my first trip to Colorado. As our small airplane approached Denver International Airport from the east, I was surprised to see how flat eastern Colorado was, and how empty it was. I had expected Denver to be a huge metropolitan area like the large cities on the east coast. The real Denver was quite different than I had imagined.
Making our way to the car rental agency, we had another surprise. I had reserved an compact-class car for our week long stay in Colorado, but what we got was a Chrysler Town & Country van! This would make road-tripping around Colorado so much nicer than in a Dodge Neon. Megan and I folded down all the back seats, and marveled at how much space we had. We could even sleep in the van! Which was what we did when we couldn't find a good place to camp.
Our home away from home for the next week.
Photo: Megan Dunn
My original, somewhat ambitious plan, was to climb the Standard East Face Route (5.4R, 8 pitches) on the Third Flatiron tonight by the full moon. By the time we picked up some groceries (dinner) from the Wild Oats in Boulder and made our way to the Flatirons, I realized just how late it was, and how tired we were. But the moon was very bright though, and the weather was really nice, not a cloud in sight. I toyed with the idea of push on tonight and do the climb, and I discussed this with Megan. At the end, good sense won, we decided to scout out the approach and descent tomorrow during the day, and then climb it at night.
The Flatirons under the stars
Photo: Megan Dunn
For tonight, we drove to a 24-hour Walmart and slept in the very spacious van.
Megan and Russell the Moose in our mobile tent
Two uneventful flights later, with a stopover in Milwaukee airport (probably the most boring airport in the world), we were in Denver. This was my first trip to Colorado. As our small airplane approached Denver International Airport from the east, I was surprised to see how flat eastern Colorado was, and how empty it was. I had expected Denver to be a huge metropolitan area like the large cities on the east coast. The real Denver was quite different than I had imagined.
Making our way to the car rental agency, we had another surprise. I had reserved an compact-class car for our week long stay in Colorado, but what we got was a Chrysler Town & Country van! This would make road-tripping around Colorado so much nicer than in a Dodge Neon. Megan and I folded down all the back seats, and marveled at how much space we had. We could even sleep in the van! Which was what we did when we couldn't find a good place to camp.
My original, somewhat ambitious plan, was to climb the Standard East Face Route (5.4R, 8 pitches) on the Third Flatiron tonight by the full moon. By the time we picked up some groceries (dinner) from the Wild Oats in Boulder and made our way to the Flatirons, I realized just how late it was, and how tired we were. But the moon was very bright though, and the weather was really nice, not a cloud in sight. I toyed with the idea of push on tonight and do the climb, and I discussed this with Megan. At the end, good sense won, we decided to scout out the approach and descent tomorrow during the day, and then climb it at night.
For tonight, we drove to a 24-hour Walmart and slept in the very spacious van.
posted by Boer @ 9/17/2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home