The Phillips Family

It seemed only fitting that we celebrate Jane’s first birthday with our “small group” friends, too, especially since they threw the Baby Party for us last year and were the very first visitors Jane received when she was only a few days old. Living so far away from Jane’s family, we are thankful to have these friends be a consistent part of her life so her circle is a little bigger that her two parents and surly cat.

I was inspired by our summer “Penguin Encounter” in Galveston to have a Penguin Party. Guests were instructed to dress as arctic animals and were served fish tacos and blue arctic punch with ice burg and titanic shaped ice cubes. The girls came over to help cook the food, which made it a really easy party! Thanks for helping us celebrate Jane!

Three Rockhoppers

Two Rockhoppers and a Narwhal

Penguin Snacks (cheddar whales, goldfish, gummi sharks, and Swedish fish)

Partygoers, including an arctic mountaineer, polar bears, a snowy owl, a grizzly bear, an arctic fox, a National Geographic photographer, several penguins, a narwhal, and a polar scientist

My sweet birthday girl, catching her second wind thanks to some birthday cake

A one year old doesn’t need too much hoopla for her birthday, verdad? That’s what we thought the first time Jeremy and I discussed how to celebrate this milestone with Jane. As it turns out, celebrating Jane was too fun to keep it low-key… or to celebrate just once. So we flew down to TX to spend a long weekend in Houston with my family, including Trey, Candy, and Trent. Then we convinced Jeremy’s parents, sister, and our niece and nephew to drive down from Hamilton. And we needed Patsey to be there, too. So our small family get-together meant 19 partygoers. We had my mom’s signature brisket and potato casserole. And Jeremy and Mimi made dessert with chocolate-chocolate cupcakes and a special giant strawberry cupcake for Jane. Jane opened her birthday gifts expertly; dismantling boxes and bags is her main hobby and skill. She has thoroughly enjoyed her new toys, books, and clothes (as have I). She didn’t get too overwhelmed until it was time for cake. That cake, though lovely, was just a little too much, and she didn’t appreciate pink icing on her fingers. (We’ve been practicing since then, and she’ll be ready for next year’s cake).

Thank you, EVERYONE, for making Jane’s first birthday such a rolicking good time!

Jane, your daddy and I are so proud of you and love you with all our hearts. We could not have imagined a tiny girl who would fit so perfectly in our family, but somehow you are the girl we always dreamed of. Thank you for making this the best year of our lives so far. Happy birthday, sweetheart!

You would think that an October post with a title like “Back from the Dead” would be all about haunted houses and zombies, but nope, it’s about our blog.  Slain with a stroke of absent-mindedness, about a month ago I single handedly obliterated our blog of  6.5 years.  I didn’t realize my error for several weeks (you may have noticed a blank page at the time) at which point it was too late to recover the site, and of course, I had no backups to restore it.  I had to break the news to Annie.  Ashes and sackcloth commenced.

After a day of mourning, we were fortunately able to recover it all with a combination of Internet Archive, Google Cache, and my internets handyman TSup.  So we are now back online, as if brought from death to life.  And yes, backups occur daily now.  So with that behind us, we’ll do our best to get caught up with more photos and stories.

In mid-October we headed to the pumpkin patch to let Jane pick a pumpkin.   She was less than impressed and a bit skittish of the whole process, but it was a beautiful day to get out.  We went to a patch between Denver and Boulder, so there was a great Flatirons/Indian Peaks backdrop to the landscape.

I carved a cat for Jane. She didn’t like touching the pumpkin “guts” but did enjoy nibbling on the cat’s whiskers.

One day we drove to Harvey Park a mile away from our house and fed the geese. Annie says the photos are bad because she was afraid one of them was going to get her.

Jane’s hair is getting longer and longer, and with a little rubberband, quite girly.

This is my precious girl who I come home to everyday. She has learned to stand near the door and yell “da da da da da” as she waits for me to get home.

One Sunday we drove out west to Bailey and hiked along the Ben Tyler Gulch Trail. I went on a run while Annie and Jane sampled the variety of rocks in the area. (Only Jane tried to bite them).

October also brought our first snows, but the weather is still rather mild so it melted quickly.

We sure do enjoy the seasons living in Colorado.

In September Southwest had a great deal on airfare to Denver, and I shamelessly asked people to come visit me. Jessica was sweet enough to oblige and took a few days off her THREE jobs to come see us for 4 days. Unfortunately, when she arrived, I was feeling a bit under the weather (more on that later) and was an incredibly dull hostess. I’m still feeling so sorry about that, Jess! But she is nothing if not understanding, and we still got to do the thing we were wanting to do the most- talk, talk, talk. It had been maybe 5 years since I had seen her and it was wonderful to be able to catch up in the same time zone, not phone calls from the US to Germany or sending emails to her in Iraq.

We did at least manage to visit REI and Fancy Tiger, sort of staples when you visit us here. And we had one splendid day of cooking at Kristen’s house with Linda and Chris. Jessica and Kristen whipped up a German lunch for us: spaetzle, purple picked cabbage, and sausage. We spent the rest of the day practicing a Thanksgiving feast with roasted chicken, dressing, pumpkin pie, and carrot souffle. Jessica somehow still had energy to make a pecan pie for our dinner when we got home that night. Phew! Thanks for coming to see us, Jess!

In September Kelly and Stephen took a little vacation to Colorado. They spent their last night in the Rockies with us, and we greatly enjoyed their visit. The first time we had met Stephen had been at their wedding (if you don’t count Skyping once), so I was really looking forward to getting to know him a little better. And of course, it was wonderful to have a little time to visit with my dear friend Twig. We went on a hike to St. Mary’s Glacier and it was gorgeous this time of year, with wildflowers blooming, the river flowing, and a few silly high schoolers sliding down dirty snow. Unfortunately, something was wrong with the camera lens, so none of our pictures turned out great. Come back anytime, you two!

I've never really considered metamorphosis. Just think about it… one body structure breaking down and recomposing into a new body structure with new features and functions.

Have you?

Here's the web site for the film and also a link to the companion book in PDF format.

August was a busy month for us, with my family in town, a trip to Texas to see Annie's family, and the Pikes Peak race. Our last busy weekend of the month was well worth it. I joined a group of friends from church in a fundraiser for the Wilderness Ministry Institute called Project 54. The goal is to have a team summit all 54 Colorado 14ers on a single day. Our group was tasked to climbed South Maroon Peak, one of the Maroon Bells (along with North Maroon Peak), some of the most photographed and iconic mountains in Colorado. These are serious mountains and were by far the most technically difficult 14ers that I've ever climbed. They garnered the nickname “The Deadly Bells” in 1965 when eight climbers died in five different accidents. A sign near the trailhead warns of “downsloping, loose, rotten and unstable” rock that “kills without warning.” Something my mother would've loved to know.

Since we were going to be climbing South Maroon, we figured we would climb North Maroon, as well, and for those that wanted, Pyramid Peak across the valley on Sunday. I felt bad leaving the Annies at home for the weekend, so the Sorensen's graciously allowed them to stay with at their house in Vail with them. More on their weekend a little further down.

After driving together to Vail, I continued onto Aspen and met up with the six other people of the team. Upon arrival at the trailhead and camp site, we saw numerous signs like this posted:

Ignorant of the exact “incident/encounter” at the time, we did our best to keep our food away from the tents and take whatever other precautions needed. After the weekend, I come back to these two stories, which took place in the exact same campground the weekend before. Evidently it was tracked and killed the next day. It was a good reminder that, even though I've never seen a bear in the wilderness, they are there.

Front Range man fights off bear mauling him near Aspen

Bear attacks sleeping climber near Maroon Bells

The next morning came awfully quick and we were on the trail up South Maroon. The trail was steep but the climb was incredible. We encountered a few technical areas of steeper rock, but the summit was not too difficult. The surrounding valleys were so green that they looked like manicured lawns from our vantage point. The best part of the climb was the traverse between the two mountains. There are parts that were low class 5, which typically means roped protection is required, but the climbing moves were within our ability as we moved slowly and carefully up or around each cliff or obstacle. From a distance the mountains look impossible with their steep faces of loose rock, but as we came to each difficulty, a way would become apparent and we kept moving. The longest part of the day was the trip down, where we descended the unfamiliar North Maroon trail, with its own sections of class 4 cliffs, which we had to downclimb (more difficult). Fortunately the rain held off for the day and we were moving down on dry rock. Overall it was a memorable day of climbing with a great group of friends.

Steep climb to the ridge

Looking back up the valley towards Aspen and the rising sun

The sun comes over the Pyramid Ridge

On the ridge

Our first view of South Maroon Peak

Complex and interesting terrain

People in a vertical sea of rock

Lots of traverses…

… and ledges…

… and more ledges…

On the summit with our next destination in the background

North Maroon in the clouds

Beginning the traverse

One of the many obstacles to go up and over

One of the more difficult cliffs, class 5 with lots of exposure

My favorite photo of the day, giving you an idea of the exposure

On top of North Maroon

Sitting by the trail to take a break, and up come the experts

The Maroon Bells

Back at the camp site I decided that two big summits was a great accomplishment, and with achy knees, decided to head back to Vail and spend the day with Annie and Jane on Sunday. We joined the Sorensens for church, then had german food in Vail at Pepi's for lunch. Then it was off to Piney River Trail, a beautiful valley with a great view of the Gore Mountains. It was our first time to see a moose in the wild, a large bull moseying through the shallows of the lake. Annie had a large crush immediately. Collectively over the weekend we saw a moose, a few snakes, a porcupine (that ran up and stole a friend's snack bag), marmots, fish, mountain goats, a hawk, and a pika. I still haven't seen a bear, a mountain lion, or, at the top of Annie's list, a beaver (there's still time, mom). After the moose we hiked a few miles in, where Tom and Kristen dropped some flies in the water, and Annie tried her hand at it, as well.

While I was gone on Saturday, Annie and Jane enjoyed the hospitality of the Sorensens and spent all day cooking with Kristen. They made handmade ravioli with three types of filling (wild mushroom, yam, and spicy pork) and three different sauces (a red sauce, romesco, and a sage-butter sauce). For desert they made a peach tart with quark cheese and homemade dough. Unfortunately I was not around for the feast, but I did get a few leftovers. A big thanks to Tom and Kristen for the hospitality (especially that hot shower Saturday night) and for the wonderful food and scenery.

Our sweet girl

The closest thing to a beaver so far, it's entrance hole

Six years ago I discovered the Pikes Peak Ascent, a race that begins in downtown Manitou Springs, Colorado at an elevation of 6,300′ and ends at the top of Pikes Peak, elevation 14,115′ some 13.32 miles later. I probably spoke a bit too highly of it then as now I can count myself among those who have finished it!

Preparation for the race actually began last year when I ran the Aspen Half Marathon in late September. In order to register for the Pikes Peak Ascent, you have qualify with a particular time on either a half or full marathon. The number of entries for the Ascent is limited and the race is incredibly popular, thus each year it seems the qualifications have become more and more restrictive. Fortunately I was able to run a sub 2.5 hour half in Aspen and eeked into the Pikes Peak registration in March. Within weeks of registering I rolled my ankle and tore a ligament, casting doubt that I would even be able to participate, but by the end of May I was on the trails again and things were looking up (see previous post).

The race was on August 20th in Manitou Springs, so I spent the night with my good friends the Smiths of EMI in Colorado Springs the night before. I was up by 5:00 and at the starting line at 6:00 for a 7:30 start. The race runs from downtown Manitou and goes up the Barr Trail, designed and built by Fred Barr from 1914 to 1921. I hiked the full trail to the summit years ago and ran part of this trail last summer, so I wasn't completely new to the course. But I also spent plenty of time reviewing Matt Carpenter's course description in preparation. Below is a Google Earth image of the trail.

And a GPS path from my watch from the race:

The key to a 13.3 mile uphill race is to not start out too quickly. One of the hardest parts of the course comes early at the “W's,” a series of steep switchbacks that gets your heart and legs pumping right off the start. With the number of runners funneling through such a narrow trail, passing can be difficult, but it serves well to slow people down.

(Look closely and you can see the trail and runners)

Overall the run went very well, even though I was a little down on myself for walking as much as I did. But this was definitely the norm for everyone around me. As I got above treeline, I was hiking, but still felt strong and was carrying on at a decent pace. Coming around one switchback a rescue volunteer even commented, “great pace.” And then mile 12 hit and I bonked. Out of the trees and above 13,000,' I was light headed, weak, nearly out of water with a formidable mile long traverse to the opposite side of the mountain in increasing wind and decreasing temperature. I stopped to get my jacket out, downed some energy gel, and kept moving, but it was slow. An aid station with one mile to go saved me, where I refilled my water and scarfed as many grapes and skittles as I could without losing too much time.

The final mile to the summit went much better, and even as I approached the finished, I picked up the running pace again and finished strong. It's hard for me to approach any athletic activity without some sort of goal or imagined outcome. Ultimately for this race, my goal was to finish. But really the goal was to finish in under 4 hours. Since I don't normally look at my watch during races, as I finished I was aware of my time for the first time: 4:10:11. I had just missed it by 10 minutes!

Now, having downloaded the course data off my watch, I can see just how badly that 12th mile killed me. Going into 3 miles to go, I was 6 minutes ahead of sub-4 hours. With 2 miles to go, I was around 3 minutes ahead. Then, after mile 12, with just a mile to go, I had fallen to nearly 8 minutes behind pace. A 30+ minute mile!

Overall it was a great experience and I'm proud to have finished. Annie and Jane were waiting for me when I came off the bus and it was nice to just sit in the grass and enjoy the day. I came away with lots of lessons and new ways to prepare… for next time?

Hard to to believe, but summer is almost over. Yesterday the high was 58 and on the way to work this morning I could see snow covering Mt Evans. The seasons are a-changing. But running doesn't have to stop, and for the past few months, it has been great. I've been able to stay healthy and take in incredible trails and backcountry. Each took me higher and further and closer to my looming goal of the Pikes Peak Ascent in late August. I only get to run once a week because my body and joints just don't recover like they use to, plus with an addition to our family, priorities and schedule are a bit different. So, I try to make each run count and tick off the best trails and settings that I can find, the longer, the higher, and more remote the better.

One thing that has made running even better the past few months has been my Garmin 205 GPS watch. A co-worker gave it to me when he realized he wasn't using it much. This opened up a whole new world of geekiness for me, a world at which Annie just rolls her eyes. With the watch I can track my course, altitude, pace, grade, and then get back home, download it all to the computer, and quickly open up my run in Google Earth or a nice program called Sports Tracks and look at mile splits, paces, elevation gain… enough maps and running data to keep me entertained for hours!! The maps below or live Google Maps, so you can switch to “Earth” view and zoom around. Neato-mosquito.

Here are a few highlights of the summer:

Green Mountain and Bear Peak, Boulder

Inspired by the great ultrarunner Anton Krupicka, I used these mountains a few times for training. They're located above the highly recognized Flatirons in Boulder. The trails are immaculate and the climbs are strenuous. Annie and Jane came up with me once and walked around the neighborhood and park while I ran. A loop run, just over 4,000′ of uphill, 10+ miles.

A plaque at the top helps you identify the Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park mountains in the distance.

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Sunset over the Indian Peaks

Tour de Lakes, Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park continued to be a place of memorable runs this summer, after last year's amazing run with Jon up Loch Vale. This year's run however was memorable in a different way, namely, that at the furthest point in the run I ran into deep snow and had no trail for several miles. Some say I was “lost,” but I knew where I was. It was how to get to where I needed to go that was the problem. With an epic snow year this past winter, there was a LOT of snow in the park for late June. I asked a park volunteer if the course I was planning on running was open, and he said no, but there was a packed down winter trail that would get me through.

I got up at 5:00am and headed to the Bierstadt Lake trailhead. Views of the Continental Divide and Longs Peak were incredible as the first sunlight came over the horizon. After passing Bierstadt Lake, the trail headed down to Cub Lake, then began to climb back uphill to Fern Lake. A big surprise was Fern Falls, a thundering waterfall that appeared out of nowhere as I rounded a switchback. As the trail continued climbing closer to 10,000′ more and more snow began to cross my path, but the trail was still discernable. Not too much further, however, and the trail disappeared completely underneath serious snow banks, steep and frozen with faint divots of old footsteps. At this point I was lamenting my microspikes hanging in my closet at home and had to make a decision: continue forward and complete the loop through the snow, isolated and without trail but with only 4 or 5 miles of downhill to go, or turn around and run 9 miles back the way I came with lots of uphill. I opted to keep going. Slowly and carefully I stepped across the banks, hoping to keep traction and prevent sliding 75-100 yards down the mountainsides into the trees.

I had brought a map and compass with me, and upon reaching Helene Lake I was confident I could find my way down. With still no trail, I tracked along the river heading downhill, but unfortunately missed the crossing thinking that I was covering ground slower than I actually was. The next few miles were utterly frustrating and at times comical. I still don't say that I was “lost” because I knew where I was and what direction I needed to go, but I was definitely without a trail. My biggest concern was Annie, who was waiting for me back at the campsite, where I should have already been by now. I moved as quickly as I could through the trees, sometimes stepping on solid snow 4′-6′ deep, sometimes postholing in it up to my hip, and sometimes punching through and soaking my feet in running ice water below. The frustrating part was not knowing what the next step would be! A few times I got stuck behind a wet marshy area and would have to backtrack or navigate around.

As I dropped in altitude the snow began to thin out and I knew I needed to make hard to the south to hit the trail. It was a great relief to hear voices and I knew the trail was close. Five miles later I was back in the car, having covered 15.5 miles in about 4 hours and 40 minutes. Not exactly what I had set out to do! But, I was pleased that I was prepared and escaped the situation. I had brought food, water, energy gel, a jacket, a hat, gloves, a compass, a map. The only thing I didn't have (at least I thought so at the time) was my emergency whistle. Annie was not too happy that I had left it, but while cleaning out my pack at home, it was in the pocket I always keep it in. This would had been critical had I taken a fall near Odessa lake with nobody for miles in very remote snowy back country. Overall, a truly memorable run, indeed!

A loop run, about 4,400+ of uphill, 15.5 miles, avg elevation ~9,600′

The sun rising on the Diamond Face, Longs Peak

Wolf Creek Pass, Continental Divide Scenic Trail

While down in Pagosa Springs for the 4th of July, I studied the maps looking for a good high elevation run. I decided to start at the top of Wolf Creek Pass, elevation 10,875′ and run along the Continental Divide. It was a beautiful morning, not nearly as much snow as Rocky Mountain, but I eventually lost the trail in a large snow field about five miles in. Decided that was a good turn around spot and headed back. An out and back run, about 2,200+ of uphill, 10.2 miles, average elevation ~11,500.'

Hessie to High Lonesome to Devil's Thumb Lake

This is a trail that has been on the bucket list ever since last year. I gave it a go last summer, but just didn't have the juice to complete the loop. This year, however, I was ready, and what a run it was. Definitely the most beautiful and satisfying run of the summer. The trail running book from which I got the run said it was the “longest 14 mile loop you'll ever run!” Well, that's probably because, according to my GPS, it was a 16 mile loop!

The run starts in the old townsite of Hessie and follows the trail up the valley into the Indian Peaks Wilderness to the Continental Divide just underneath Rollins Pass. It then traverses the ridge for a few miles, then drops down to Devil's Thumb Lake and back to the start. One of the great things that I've discovered with my new GPS watch is that I can preload a course onto the watch and use it to navigate. Once again I ran into large areas of snow, but the damage was minimal thanks to the little arrow on my watch pointing the way. Spectacular setting. A loop run, about 3,700+' of uphill, 16 miles, avg elevation of ~10,000.'

Old road trestle high up on the cliff, Rollins Pass

Up, up, and more up

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Spectacular trail

Berthoud Pass

With just a few weeks to go til the race, I continued the high elevation running by starting at Berthoud Pass near Winter Park. This was an incredible run because I got to run it near sunset when the light is perfect. Plus it was basically cross-country, trail-less running for miles over wide open Continental Divide terrain. I had hoped to make it to Mt Eva, but with the sun dropping fast I turned around at the saddle north of Flora. Ugh, what a climb back up…

An out and back run, about 2,900+' of uphill, 9 miles, avg elevation of ~11,500.'

Doesn't get better than this

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Mt Evans

For my next to last run, I did the longest, highest, and most sustained uphill running I could find: Mt Evans. The opportunity was perfect because my family was in town and could pick me up at the top. I started at Echo Lake, climbed to the Chicago Lakes, then steeply up to Summit Lake, up to Mt Spalding, then the west ridge to the top of Mt Evans. It was very difficult and gave me a more humble attitude going into Pikes Peak. Though I've driven up Mt Evans a number of times, this was the first time I've officially climbed it.

A one way run, about 4,000+' of uphill, 9 miles, avg elevation of 11,500.'

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(cheerleader marmots on far left)

Lincoln/Bross

For my last run, I continued the 14er training and hit the trail on several that I've never bagged. The goal was to get all three, including Democrat, but I was feeling a little green and opted to turn around after Bross. Democrat looked so daunting from there! It still ended up being a 10 mile run, with most of the run at an average elevation of over 12,000.'

An out and back, about 3,400+' of uphill, 10 miles, avg elevation of 12,750.'

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Aptly named Kite Lake down below

We joined the Carpenters in Galveston for a family vacation in August. It was blazing hot, but my parents had done their homework and found a place right off the beach with a massive pool and a lazy river. It is no simple feat to schedule a Carpenter reunion in between Katie's school, Amy's work, Kara rush, Joel's trip to Spain, and Jeremy's running schedule, but somehow my mom managed to pull it off and get us all to Galveston. Thanks, Mom! The guys started off our vacation on the right foot by cooking all the ladies a gourmet seafood dinner of crab cakes, boiled shrimp, and zucchini-prosciutto tempura (yes, three meats). The crab and shrimp were just caught that day and were DELICIOUS! I'm hoping this becomes a tradition.

The highlight of Jane's trip when my mom arranged for us to have a “penguin experience” in a back room at Moody Gardens Aquarium. We got to meet a cute little rockhopper named Marley who liked to sing and paint and play with bubbles. The other kids in the room covered their ears (Marley was exuberant in her penguiness) and held their noses (Marley smelled a bit fishy), but not tiny Jane! When Marley sang, Jane sang right along with her, and just as joyfully. Jane flapped her arms wildly in her excitement, and Marley did the same.

Jane's other favorite vacation activity was splashing in the pool. For the rest of us, we just enjoyed being with family. We celebrated Amy's birthday at Willie G's, and visited with Trey and Trent back in Houston. Thanks for the vacation, Mom and Dad! We miss you already!