New Babies!

Annie & Frankie

 

Yesterday I brought home the latest additions to our flock, Annie & Frankie.  Annie is a Buff Orpington and will be the larger more docile of the two.  Frankie is an Araucana and she will lay blue/green eggs.  For now, Frankie is a bit larger and enjoys the occasional peck at her "sister".

 

 Glamour shot!

Show me that attitude - Look over your shoulder girls!

The color is orangeish due to the heat lamp hanging above them.

 

Annie (left) - Frankie (right)

Jim put a small clock/thermometer in with the girls to keep track of the temperature. (91 in this pic.)

They initially pecked at the buttons - Training to be the next "Tic-Tac-Toe" chickens!

 

Well, they are about a week old and survived the stress of coming home and the first night in the bathtub.  They will live inside for about a month before we transfer them to their own little coop outside.  We just have to see how fast they grow and get their big chicken feathers.

 

"Chick" back later and watch them grow!

Colorado Trail Series

Colorado Trail Series

Day 5 - Part 3
Camp at Taylor Lake

Elevation:11,650 ft

The skies cleared and the sun came out just in time for us to enjoy our early arrival into camp that afternoon.  I loved getting to camp early.  It gave us time to leisurely do our chores and then enjoy some relaxation time before stuffing ourselves into the tent for the night.

We have camped here before.  As I mentioned in the last post, Taylor lake is a short drive from our house.  Then an easy 2 mile hike in from the parking area.  So we have the perfect camp spot picked out.  We can see the lake but are tucked in the low manzanita brush and pines so tightly that others can walk with in 20 yards of our camp and not even notice us.

 The tent is tucked in between two twisting pines and the branches provided a natural clothesline.  No laundry here though, the lake is shallow and the silty shore clouds the water quickly when disturbed.  In fact, filtering water was a chore that took much longer than expected.

 

I had some time to work on the pine needle basket project I had brought along.  Remember in December I posted the anniversary gift for Jim?  It meant a lot to me to be able to create this during our time together.

Jim had a chance to clean and air out his heels.
Who said this hike was all fun and games?

 I also had time to prepare an amazing dinner.

Chicken enchilada stew over rice with FRESH avocado and corn tortillas.

 

 I was digging in while Jim was busy documenting the dinner.

Once again my loving husband was in awe at my back country culinary skills.  As I mentioned in the first post he thought he was going to starve on this trip.  With all the planning and food preparation that I had done prior to our departure, I was happy to see that food was a comforting factor at the end of our day.  Food can lift the spirit and sooth the soul.  I believe it was worth the extra bit of weight to not have to suffer through a foil bag of dehydrated mystery bits when my muscles ached and my hands shivered.  A bit of chocolate and a glass of wine (notice stainless steel wine glass by my foot?) to round out the evening then off to sweet dreams under the stars.

2 Days left on the Trail
Will you come back to join us again?
 

 

Colorado Trail Series

Colorado Trail Series

Day 5 - Part 2
Highline Trail / Indian Trail Ridge to Taylor Lake

Hiked: 6 miles
Elevation: average 12,000 +/- ft.
High point: 12,310 ft.

Only 6 miles to go until camp - Oh, did I mention it averages 12,000 feet above sea level the entire way?  Over rocks, up and down short steep inclines and declines, ON the spine of the ridge line ( not around it) with high winds whipping around our heads. Let's throw in the thunderstorm moving in from the West with visible sheets of rain and lightening strikes.  Ok, I admit it was a bit nerve wracking for me but I would do it again in a heartbeat.  This section of trail "Highline Trail" is also listed on some maps as "Indian Trail Ridge".  It is accessible from the Taylor Lake / Kennebec Pass parking area, just a short drive from our home.  We have access to go back to it as a day hike anytime.  I can't wait to revisit it this summer when the monsoons aren't threatening us.

~click to enlarge photos~

Another sign assuring us we are on the right path.  There are other trails in this area that head West and not South so it was nice to have the intersections marked.  Only 4 1/2 miles to water and camp!  Until then it's goodbye trees and hello exposure.

Looking Southwest at Sharkstooth Peak and the impending storm.

Add another rock to the cairn. 
It's not always clear where the trail lies, especially when the snow is still on the ground and there are no trees to nail signs to or blaze.

 Looks like we might be in for some rain.

Nice trail.
Ankle twister for sure.

The trail along the spine of the ridge.
The "trail" was about 4-6 feet wide.

 Down to the East.

Don't Fall!

Down to the West.

YAY!
The first view of Taylor Lake.
The end is near.

More crazy exposed narrow trail sections.

Jim pauses at the breathtaking site of Taylor Lake below and a final rest before the crushing descent.  Lewis Mountain and Columbus Basin in the background.

 

 Downhills are my thing!

So I took the lead for the last section of the day.

 

In most of the pictures it may look like I was in the lead, but in reality Jim was scurrying up the climbs and waiting for me to catch up.  We leap frogged up and down and across the ridge line all afternoon.  At one point we hunkered down in some low bushes for a snack while I panicked over the sound of thunder and the approaching storm.  Amazingly, the storm skirted to the south of us and we never experienced anything but wind that day.  I wonder how far we could've seen on a clear day?  I can't stress enough the love for our hiking sticks though out this section.  With our balance compromised by our packs, the wind and the rough trail conditions, it was glorious to have extra points of contact.

 

More pictures from camp to come...

Stay tuned!

 

Colorado Trail Series

Colorado Trail Series
 Day 5 - Part 1

Dry Camp to Highline Trail Connection

Hiked: 2.25 miles
11,520 elevation

Day 5 was actually only about 8 miles of total hiking, but as before when the mileage is low the amount of pictures climb higher.  Day 5 is broken into three parts to accommodate all the glorious views we encountered along the way.  So join us on this day that was the highest average elevation of our entire trip.  I hope the pictures leave you as breathless as actually hiking with us would!

*as always - click to enlarge photos*

Sunrise in camp

A leisurely morning to stretch in the streaking sunlight.

It was brisk to be streaking in the stretching sunlight.

 

 Jim wasn't the only one stretching.  Maybe someday this little tree will grow to bear the mark of the Colorado Trail.

 

Scores in the trees is one of the ways the CT is marked, as you can see from this ancient gash.

 

Leisurely morning = Hot breakfast

Left over sausage and polenta from dinner the night before was just what we needed to fuel our morning.

 I guess Jim saw this coming before I even thought about it and got the camera ready.  For some reason as I approached this tree, I thought it would be a good idea to try to go under instead of over it.

 

Well Newton was right and gravity is a pretty strong force not to be reckoned with, especially with a big heavy backpack on.  I found the clearance was less than it appeared and after knocking my pack on the tree, I was knocked flat on the ground.  Laughing hysterically from my ignorance, I failed to produce the strength needed to get up.  Then every time I did muster the gusto I raised up with such force as to only hit the tree again and be slammed back to the ground.  Ohhhhh My!  This lasted way too long (15 min maybe) before Jim finally braced my feet for traction so I could Army crawl my way to the other side.  Needless to say, Jim learned from my actions and effortlessly climbed over the tree.  I was too tired to take a picture of how it should have been done.

 

A climb was the first thing on the agenda this morning and a side trip to a look out that was once the original CT route.  It was replaced by switchbacks in 1990.  Thank goodness!  Looking back to the North from whence we came just days ago.

 

 On a trip like this you tend to eat like a Hobbit; first breakfast, then second breakfast, first lunch then second lunch.  We enjoyed our second breakfast at the look point.

 The first "HIGHLINE TRAIL" sign.

Done climbing for the morning, we would start a wonderful traverse through the trees before we would eventually climb above the treeline.


 One last sweeping veiw to the northwest.

6 more miles in Day 5 to post and the veiws get better,
so stop back soon!

 

A Day Around The House

Sometimes it's nice just to stay home and get a few things done.

 

Usually I make this uber long to-do list and add to it as fast as I cross things off.  My days off are hardly relaxing when I decide to get stuff done.  However, yesterday was different.  I slept in.  I am usually a get up and get to it person.  Jim says that on the days I sleep in I sleep past my productivity.  True, I suppose on most days I can do more by 8 or 9 a.m. than most people do in an entire day.

 

Yesterday, I let the day flow in an organic unorganized energy and still managed to get a few things done.  I uploaded a TON of photos and have blog posts drafted up waiting to be finished and posted.  I baked two loaves of sourdough.  I roasted the last of the turkeys that we slaughtered last fall.  I worked in the garden beds with a little help.  I cleaned out the chicken coop.  I played with the BB gun.  I drank some wine.  I read part of a book.  I knit a bit.  I just relaxed!

 

 Me & "Cheep" labor working the garden beds.

Thanks for the help Scrappy & Cocoa Bean!

 

A portable dog kennel and a few sheets of metal roofing for shade/rain protection worked great to protect our girls in the front yard while they tilled the soil for me.

 

 Jim even got the garden / yard work bug.  Trimming dead branches off the pine trees with extreme amounts of caution - since he broke his collar bone 5 weeks ago.

Be Careful, Honey!

 

 Thanks to the handy user friendly design of the chicken coop I built a year and a half ago, cleaning is a breeze.  One side of the roof lifts completely off and I simply use a cat litter scoop to clean out the coop.  It's as easy as a litter box!

 Last fall I transplanted some horseradish roots.  Of course, I was given these roots the day after I had read an article stating that you should transplant horseradish in the spring not the fall.  Well, I followed the directions and stuck them in the ground anyway.  I have tried unsuccessfully to transplant horseradish before but I think it worked this time.  Anyone recognize this as a horseradish sprout?  (The lighter green sprout in the background is lettuce from last year.)

 

Jim challenged me to a BB gun competition late in the afternoon.  How could I say no?  He holds up the final results on the target looking slightly chagrined.  I was pink, he was blue - 5 shots each.

 

 

Well, thanks for visiting our corner of the globe. 

 I hope you had a relaxing Sunday too!

Colorado Trail Series

Colorado Trail Series

 Day 4
Blackhawk Pass to a Dry Camp
(below Cape of Good Hope)

Hiked: 16 miles
Camp: 11,060 elevation

Day 4 was a loooong haul.  We had "a long way to go and a short time to get there..."  Ok, bad lyrical movie reference and kudos to those who get it.  Actually, we had from sun up until sun down to make the hike but it was a longer mileage day and we had to stop to filter water in the mid-morning.  Enough water to last us that day and the next, for tonight would be a dry camp with no water source until camp the following day.  Let's see....... water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon, hiking is a sweaty physically demanding activity, altitude is a dehydrating factor, hydration is the key to good muscle recovery..... yeah, let's just say there was a lot of water to be filtered and carried for the next two days.  Buck up and carry on!

As always click to enlarge photos!
 

Thank goodness the highest point of the day was first thing in the morning.  As I might have mentioned before, I don't do steeps very well.  Looking back down towards the cozy little stream side camp we left, you can see the switchbacks of the trail that tried to break me before I was even fully awake.

Jim was waiting at the top to document my arrival.

 We paused to catch our breath and I took the camera for a while.
Here's Jim in all his glory with the rising sun behind Blackhawk Mountain (12,681ft).

 

 Lots of traversing today.

 

 Sweeping views.

  

Finally a bit of shade to rest in.

Downhill is not Jim's favorite. (his knees don't like it)

The remaining hardy wildflowers were so beautiful in contrast to the tender frostbitten leaves around them.

 

Salt Creek Trail Intersect

Yay!  An actual sign to judge our progress by.

By my best interpretations of the guidebook, we were 3.25 miles from where we were planning on making camp.

A little dance of joy to celebrate!

But not much time to linger, calculating the amount of daylight we had left buy the lengthening shadows we had better keep moving.

Whoa! 

Looks like we had some company lurking about the woods with us.

A fresh mountain lion print in the mud.  There were quite a few tracks but this was the best one we could get a picture of.

 

Camp!

Best use the flash on the camera 'cuz it's officially dusk!

 

We found the well used campsite as described in the guidebook just as twilight was wrapping it's way around the trees.  Settling into our campsite routines, Jim got the tent and beds ready while I bundled up and made dinner.  Exhausted, we eat by light of our headlamps and crawled into our bags for the night.
 

We no sooner fell into the deepest of deep slumbers when we both sat straight up to the sound of a bunch of sorority girls screaming as in a horror film.  I looked at Jim and matter of factly stated, "Coyotes."  He replied,"Yep, killing a rabbit."  With that, we flopped back down and instantly back to sleep.

 

End of Day 4

3 Days Ahead - 43+ Miles Behind

(Our trip was officially more than halfway over)

 

 

 

Chicken Cam!

Happy Easter!

Nothing says spring like fluffy little chicks.

So here's a look back at when we bought home our two youngest chickens last year - Scappy and Cocoa Bean.

(not so fluffy, as they were already getting their adult feathers in - more that awkward teenager look)

 

 

 

Say Goodbye to winter, girls!

The snow is gone and spring is sprung here in the mountains.

 

Hope everyone is enjoying to change of season's in their own little corners of the world!