uncrustables

Uncrustable Weekends

moremarsh2 Comments

If you haven’t had an uncrustable sandwich during a hike, you are missing out. And if you don’t know what an uncrustable is, here’s a quick run down. You can find them in a box in the freezer section at any grocery store. They are PB&J sandwiches that are ready to grab and go at any time. And let me tell you, they taste the best at the end of a hike.

This fall, my roommates and I have started a new tradition of going on hikes every Saturday morning. We typically leave the house between 4:30-5:30am in order to get to the trailhead right as the sunrises. This means that Friday nights are filled with intense searches on google for the best hike we can find, researching driving times and trail maps, packing up our gear, and heading to bed early for our long day.

Our first weekend, we went big and hiked Mt Sherman, which is a 14er (a mountain over 14,000 feet above sea level). This was my 14th 14er and I was excited to mark another mountain off the list, and introduce my roommates to these mountains!

Mt. Sherman’s trailhead starts above the tree line so the hike is not very long and it’s considered “easy” especially for a 14er. The elevation will still get you every time though! The mountain face is covered with rocks, so I also highly recommend bringing hiking poles since the rocks are extremely loose on the way down. Overall though, it was a good hike and one of the last really warm weekends to hike at this altitude. (We had an early snow three days later!)

The following weekend, we headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a re-hike of Sky Pond. This is a hike that two of us hiked earlier in the summer but we wanted to go back on a clearer day since it was really cold and rainy on the day we went. Since we had an early snow just a few days before, there were several areas of the trail that were snow or ice packed already.

When we got to the waterfall, we weren’t sure if we could still make it up due to the ice and snow. But we watched a few others go and then went for it. And it was worth it! We made it all the way to Sky Pond and it was beautiful…but very windy! Plus I just love the rock formations found at this lake!

The following weekend was the beginning of the aspen leaves changing color, so we went on an adventure to find some beautiful leaves! We ended up at Herman Lake Gulch. This was a great trail, but I was glad that we got there early! By the time we made it back to the trailhead, the parking lot was packed! This hike was about 3 miles out and 3 back. The first and third miles were pretty tough, but the second mile was really enjoyable. The trail ended at a lake, where we got to enjoy our uncrustables! But the way down was when we really got to see the beginnings of fall colors in Colorado!

The last hike for this post was our hike at Meadow Creek and Lily Pad Lake. This was the best weekend for the aspen leaves and they were absolutely stunning! We chose this trail because of the number of aspens along the trail! The Meadow Creek Trail isn’t labeled that well and it doesn’t really lead to a lake or the top of a mountain, so we went along this trail until we hit an open field and then turned around. The Lily Pad Lake hike is not that long, which is why we added on at the beginning, but it is beautiful!

We got to see some of the most incredible fall colors out there and it was a joy to spend the day in God’s creation with the vibrant colors!

There are many more adventures waiting out there for us, but so far, Colorado has been fun of some great adventures! Hiking may not be restful to many, but it is to me. It reminds me that I am part of something much larger than myself and that I serve a God who is big and who is also in the details of everything. So my encouragement to you is to get outside an enjoy God’s creation! As you do, express gratitude to God for His creation!

Oh also, #uncrustables … SPONSOR ME! 😉

Mt. Quandary

moremarsh1 Comment

Mt. Quandary (14,265ft) was my 13th 14er and 3rd for the 2020 year. I hiked this mountain on July 21, 2020. Our total time was 6 Hours 25 Minutes, with a total HIKE time of 5 hours, 48 minutes. Two of my friends also went with me and we had a great adventure.

We spent the night in Breckenridge the night before, which is a great place to be. It’s only about a 10-15 minute drive to the trailhead from there and well worth it! We started at 5:57am. The beginning of the hike was pretty “easy” for a 14er. It was in trees and had some steep sections, but it was relatively good for the beginning of a 14er. Once you get out of the trees though, it was a pretty decent hike from then on…plus, there are a few false summits.

The best part about this hike was the mountain goat! We named him Billy and he was big and super close to the trail! At one point he did start walking towards us which was a little scary at first!

We made it to the summit by 9:18am and ate our Uncrustables sandwiches …which by now you should know is my go to lunch snack for all hikes. (#uncrustables…sponsor me!) It was beautiful at the top! You could see several lakes from there that looked like glacier water. Then we started the decent at 9:55am, reaching the parking lot by 12:22pm.

This was a great hike, and a relatively easy 14er. It was one friends’ first one and another’s second, but we were all traveling from Texas, low altitude, so it was a great hike for us. There were a TON of people on the trail though, even amidst Covid-19. I was really surprised by the number of people on the hike for a Tuesday! I was glad that we started before 6am and reached the parking lot before 12:30pm though. It seemed like a lot of people started around 8-9am and it would have been way more crowded of a hike.

Another great part of this hike was that after we were done, we only had a 10-15 minute drive back to Breckenridge! Staying in Breck really is the only way to hike this!

If you are looking for an easy first or second (or 13th) fourteener to conquer! The views are great, it’s a popular hike, and it should take you about 6 hours! Best of luck out there friends!