Top of the Rockies

May 16, 2010 added a new summit to our growing list. Mt. Elbert lies in the Sawatch Range of the southern Rocky Mountains. Standing at 14,433 feet and overlooking the town of Leadville, Elbert is the highest peak in Colorado and the second highest, after Mt. Whitney, in the lower 48. Around 12:20, we stepped onto the summit and surveyed the sweeping views of the Rockies. Denali reached a new high point and Toren claimed her first fourteener. Summitting via the northeast ridge, we encountered nothing but old footsteps and windblown snowdrifts. Fourteeners are generally known for their lack of solitude, with crowds numbering into the dozens. We enjoyed our time alone and thought of peaks in Montana where wilderness remains true to its name. A rant on Colorado to come later, but for now, we are happy to continue on with new adventures.

soft clouds

draping over

weathered hills.

snow caped mountains

foreboding in appearance

alluring with mystery

comforting through experience

closer to the sky

May 2 has come around and brings with it the joy of gropple! I guess winter is not ready to release its grip from the Rocky Mountains. Snow from recent storms still frames the first green of spring. Today was the last day of work at the kennel. I will truly miss all the dogs, especially the ones who ran on my team. Sometimes called Team Bubba, here's a quick summary of the team: Pretzel, Lucy, Sasha, Stormy, Boots, Daisy, Socks, Bubba, Tango, Dozer, Scaredy, Shy, and Digger. Honorable mention also goes out to Aurora, Happy, Heely, Sienna, and Opher.

Sweden will bring an adventurous new path to my life. My first time across the pond and completely on my own, I somehow feel prepared. Almost a month away, June 10 marks my last day in the US for awhile. Stay posted this summer, through flickr and this site, and hopefully you'll have something to spice up your day...

staying human

As winter wraps up here in Vail, CO, our lives are moving ahead. The snow lies only on the highest mountains or in shadows unkissed by the sun. Our final days at the Winterhawk kennel will be busy as we move the dogs to their summer, and hopefully permanent, kennel. It's location is where we ran tours for the last month, on the way to Leadville in an area called Camp Hale. It was a high altitude and winter training site for the 10th Mountain Division duing WWII. Lots of history and a beautiful place to run dogs. Friends, both new and old, are embarking on new stages of life and I wish the best of luck to everyone. A special thanks goes out Betsy, without whom this road in life may never have been explored. Before things get too deep and philisophocial, I'll pass on a quick update:

Toren has a summer job! She'll be the crew leader for a pika study in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Life is hard when you're getting paid to backpack 4 days per week. The job doesn't start till mid-June, so we'll have some time to explore Colorado, drop through Montana, and then head out to Seattle for all the Johnson birthdays. My summer plans include some overseas exploring. A couple dozen job applications yielded nothing except a job offer in Sweden. I'll be heading over there for two months to see if I want to accept a long term position. Work time will be spent restoring an old farm to serve as a base for a racing kennel of 30 dogs. Play time will be spent sailing to islands in Norway to access climbing, sea kayaking the fjords, and backpacking under the midnight sun in Lappland. If all goes well, hopefully Toren and Denali with join me overthere!

I'll keep you all posted as this spring/summer progresses.

let it snow

On the first day of work, the ground around us was devoid of snow. It was also the first day we had to start canceling tours. After getting water from a nearby creek for the dogs, we scooped up about 50 pounds of poop, wondering if this was really what we wanted to be doing. Our time on the farm had hardened our nostrils and as we began to learn how to harness the dogs, we grew excited once more. That day, we took out two teams of 12 dogs for training runs, a 2 mile long run pulling an ATV at 7 to 10 miles per hour. The dogs are so excited that you have to hold on for dear life with one hand as you try to put the harness on with the other hand. Our first day of work started out with a bang as I got pissed on while harnessing a dog and Toren got knocked over into the mud and shit. The weather pulled through on our second day, dumping 4 inches of fresh snow. And that's how it's been for the last 3 days, dumping snow. Shoveling snow off the decks today, our knees kept scraping across the 2 feet of powder now covering everything. Yesterday was our first dog sled ride as "guinea pig clients." Without much of a snow base, it was a bumpy ride, complete with the lack of any real brakes on the sled. Coming around an S-curve, we narrowly avoided an angry herd of Texas Longhorns, only to hit a log, flip the sled, and spill all of us onto the ground. Chasing down the dog team, now without anyone to guide the sled, I had a smile on my face and knew this was going to be a great winter.

out of the frying pan, into the fire

Well, Thanksgiving was fun filled and a whirlwind of activity. Once again, I received requests to start this up again since we don't see many of you Washington folks much. So here we go, round two of the blogging world. Where are we? Right now: Edwards, CO, about 15 minutes west of Vail. What are we doing here? Right now: desperately looking for housing, hopefully starting work tomorrow. Our jobs will be helping take care of a kennel of 120 Alaskan Huskies and assisting with dog sled tours around Vail. Check out www.winterhawkdogsledadv.com for more info and to see pictures, movies, FAQ, etc. I'll put up some photos of my own as I get the chance. It snowed a couple inches last night, was still a blizzard this morning, and turned into a beautiful, sunny day this afternoon. I think we made a couple dozen phone calls today, looked at 6 or so houses, and are hopeful about our housing options. Um, what else? We're chillin' in a coffeshop/bookstore right now, waiting for some peope to call back, so take care and I'll try to be a little more on top of this thing...

the continuation

Apparently some people are still checking this periodically, so I guess I'll continue to update with the pertinent stories of what's happening. The last post occurred three months ago while we were still in South America. Here's a quick recap of what has happened since then: we all returned home safely and enjoyed some well deserved rest with family and friends. Toren and I have been working on my father's farm and dreaming of mountains. We did a lot of pruning in the orchard and found my mom's old tipi, which we have set up and are currently sleeping in it. The garden is almost all planted and we've got baby turkeys and pigs everywhere. On the adventure side of life, we survived Braden's big birthday party over Memorial Day weekend and promptly headed into the North Cascades. We reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan at 5:30 a.m. and made it back to Seattle in time for all-you-can-eat sushi. Rainier was next, but we had some friends coming to round out the team. We rested and did garden work, anxious to be in the mountains again. Ben and Meryl finally made it to Seattle and we piled into the car and drove to Mount Rainier National Park. Meryl had to drop her summit attempt early due to a bout of sickness, but Ben, Toren, and I continued to camp at 8,800 ft. We awoke to a sea of clouds and stars and began our ascent of Mt. Rainier via the Fuhrer Finger. The summit was reached at 2 p.m. and we descend via Disappointment Clever to Ingrahm Flats. We returned to the clouds below the Muir snowfield and found Meryl waiting, happy to see us. A quick stop in Seattle and now we're back in Montana. Posts will occur as the story unfolds. Until then, enjoy the summer weather!