the trip

dang, i feel as if so much has happened recently and in my inarticulate manner i shall try to convey them unpoetically to you

short story --
left lubbock after buying some gear for the trip and then went to palo duro canyon.
stayed the night in palo and hiked the next day
left palo bout 2.30 and then headed from texas -> new mexico -> colorado
currently in northern colorado.


short jaunt up to estes park with the johnson boys
me: i think some food would help you out
noah: i think i could kill a bear now

long story --
i left lubbock after buying some gear for the trip and then went to palo duro canyon. on my way i had to dodge a couple of tumbleweeds that managed to cross the highway (again). got there and bought my way in. the park ranger lady was kind enough to give me a 1/2 off ticket cause there were no ordinary camp sites, only ones with water and electricity and cabins. they had these sites closed because of the winter season. So needless to say i managed to get water (which i used 1/2 a cup total) cheaper than i would have gotten just a campsite.

anyway, i parked my car, packed my small hiking bag and set out for a little adventure. being late in the afternoon i did not intend to go trapsing all over the countryside so i went to the nearest trail and started climbing the hills. Now while dodging wet red clay, and the occasional wind current, i managed to make it to the top of a nice hill only to discover another one taunting me in the distance. this game went on for a little, but boy i got some nice scenery up there. Fighting my camera for one more picture (which i didnt get cause of the timing and battery juice) i decided to give up and told myself i would check the shop tomorrow for batteries i could use to take on my day hike. blah, blah, blah, i started to come down the mountain trying to head for a trail i had seen. side note, this trail dragged all across the face of this cliff so i was bound to catch it at some point, but i wanted to catch it quicker than later, but did not plan this until i had set off into the jungle of juniper and cacti). i finally made it to the trail, and after deciding to head back to camp, the wind started gusting like none other. my guess was that this was the normal hobgoblin of wind coming to tear us away from the canyon walls (or the fact that the sun was going down and the cooler air was falling to the ground creating nice gusts amidst the warmer air).

dang, this really is the long story

set up my tent for the night and grabbed some snacks. tested my cooker, then didnt do much. grabbed an hour of snooze, and then was awakened and didnt go to sleep much until after midnight. man was it cold out there. turns out my sleeping bag isnt as well as i thought it was. and double socks really needs to be triple socks. anyways i managed to get nice an comfy with my jacket round my feet and the hood all cinched up. anyways i awoke later than i wanted, but earlier than i had really woken up at all this semester to the sound of some dudes talking on their cell phone (which had gone on during the night and which contributed to some of my inability to get some shut-eye).

i find that i spend a lot of time on the meaningless stuff, and not a lot on the better stuff (but what did you expect, this is the long version)

woke up and packed my gear in the car. i then put on my hiking boots (which i had failed to do the day prior because i was too lazy to walk 100 yards to change my shoes for boots) and skedaddled on the same trail that i had started out the day before. in the previous trek, i had managed to make it to mile marker .5 and i was bound and determined to make it a bit farther this time. i ended up going that whole trail and then headed to the lighthouse rock formation (the formation that is trademarked by palo duro [which means 'hard wood' after the juniper trees there]). met up with the boyscouts that camped down the way from me and then went all the way back to camp. total journey took about 3-4 hours and a distance of 10+ miles.

left palo duro round 2.30 and decided to try my luck heading to colorado. i crossed over to new mexico as the sun was setting on the serria grande mountains (b-e-a-utiful), and then headed to colorado from there. i only saw colorado in the dark this first day. the great winding roads, the speed limit of 75, the threat of ice on bridges, what more is to love?

anyway, eventually get to the house and crash. get up after breakfast and head to estes park. great view! on the way saw a couple of ponds frozen over and the streams in the valleys were peaking out from under the ice. absolutely beautiful!!