twosmallcones

Whoa. So all the sudden it’s a reality that we are moving back home to Idaho and all the adventures we had planned here in Colorado need to happen ASAP. So what to do? Cram in as many as possible of course! We’ve been running around the state squeezing in as much time at our favorite hangs as possible with an emphasis of spending time with our great friends. It’s getting down to our last week here and everything we do seems to be our “last” this or that. Today may have been our last trip to Clear Creek Canyon for quite a while. Although we didn’t get the sending temps we have come to expect there this time of year, we had a great morning testing ourselves on some new routes.

Our last trip to Shelf Road was a complete success. Chris made it his last stop as well before moving back home to Pennsylvania, Matt and Adam made it down and Kari and Nate were there as well. As a crew we had an excellent first two days climbing in the shade of “The Vault”. Robyn and Adam both dispatched 12a’s, Nate re-bolted “The Gem” (5.12d) and I was able to eek out a send. Overall it was a pleasant couple of days lounging in the shade after a short hike from camp. Day three was a heater but we made the most out of it with some cool warmups on the Dark Side and Kari had some excellent links on The Raw and the Roasted (5.11c) out at the Gym. Unfortunately the conditions weren’t on our side and the afternoon held in the heat all the way up till our hike out. Shelf Road was one of the first places we climbed in Colorado and quickly became one of our go-to crags when the temperatures dipped. We also have Shelf Road to thank for introducing us to Nate and Kari. On our very first day at Shelf, Nate and Bob saddled up next to us and struck up a conversation and the rest is history.

Another place we will miss that we said a formal goodbye to was our garden plot. Although far from dried up we will have to clean out our plot this week. Seems a shame since everything is still producing but it’s the way it has to be. To celebrate we had another little gathering to cook some good food and drink beers under the gazebo.

Another item on our list was Hallett Peak. As decedents of the man for which it was named Robyn and I felt compelled to see the top of the iconic peak that towers over Rocky Mountain National Park. At first we thought climbing one of the technical rock routes would be the ticket but these leave you shy of the summit and they’re not what William Hallett was all about. Instead we hiked the long way around and scrambled to it’s true summit.

Once on the summit we continued to hike around the back way to Glacier Gorge via Walker Glacier and down to the main trailhead and back to our car. A great long hike and a cool way to spend one of our final weekends in Colorado.

Last but not least this ends my stint with Avid 4 Adventure, the kids summer adventure camp I have been working for over the last 2 years. Now, not only can I tell you 46 riddles but I am all hip to the new slang, dance moves and songs of 7-12 year olds these days. Look out! Avid taught me a lot about working with kids and it was a pleasure to watch and learn from some of the best adventure educators in the country.

I would say this is also the LAST twosmallcones post from Colorado but that would be a lie. I have antelope camp photos to post and Robyn has a post lined up as well. This week is sure to fly by.. Robyn’s last week at work, I will be packing and by Friday evening we will be camping in Wyoming to start our trek back to Idaho via Mary’s wedding in Big Sky. See you all very soon!