The shape of things

As you all know, I was on vacation last week in the Rocky Mountains. We had a great time. We ended up not going to the winter park mountain biking extravaganza and opted for free fun of hiking all over the park.

For most of the hikes I wore my nifty GPS to track how far (and fast) we were hiking. It came in handy when you think you can't make it any more and you realize that Odessa Lake is only a half mile away! :) I love this site called "Gmaps Pedometer." If you've never played with it, you're missing out. Basically it uses Google maps to map out your run, walk or hike and it tells you the distance and the elevation gains.

So here is a quick overview of our hikes from last week. (I've included a few pictures from each hike I've mapped. Good fun. Here we go:

First Hike: To Ouzel Falls. This was our "acclimate" hike where you go out slow and easy to adjust to the high altitude. It was a very nice hike. I've included a picture of me by the falls, up close and personal. And one of my husband talking with a marmot. Very cute little furry guys found all over the park. The hike was about 6 or 7 miles there and back. We started at an elevation of 8,500 feet and got up to 9,764 feet. (Click the pictures for bigger size)

Second hike: Odessa Lake, Fern Lake and the pool. The second hike we went with our friends Justin and Erin. This was a long all-day hike. We got a late start, but had a great time and luckily no afternoon storms cut the hike short. Here's the highlights of the hike: We hiked about 8.5 to nine miles on this trail. We started at an elevation of 8,100 feet and got up to 10,045 feet. Nice elevation gain.

Third Hike: On our last day my husband and I got up semi-early (for vacation at least) and drove up Old Fall River Road to Chapin Pass. This trail starts at an elevation of 11,000 feet so you can only imagine how quickly you can get winded on this hike. Unlike the other trails, it was difficult to map this one because it's off the "beaten path" so I guessed and this is my estimate - we hiked about five miles up to 13,000 feet. Wow. We wanted to go farther and summit both Mount Chiquita and Mount Ypsilon, but dark storm clouds kept us away. When you're above the treeline like that you're a great big target to lightening.

This was such a great vacation. Thanks to my healthy lifestyle I was able to hike all these beautiful trails and enjoy the breathtaking views. Trips like this are the best because you're being active and having a great time doing it. Try to make your next vacation an adventure! Happy hiking.

As I'm sure you've noticed I've kept to my promise of 4-6 posts a week. I hope you all enjoy them.

For the next 8 days I will be here:

Estes Park Colorado. My husband and I leave tomorrow morning (early) and we're spending the week there hiking, biking, shopping, hanging out, kayaking, etc. Here's some of the things we'll be doing in picture form:

Our bikes will go up the chairlifts at Winter Park and then we get to ride on down. It should be amazing!  Here's a small look at the mountain we'll be riding on...

To find out mroe about Winter park click here.

I love our trips to Estes Park (we go ever summer and winter, we got married there this past winter!). We always get to do so many active things like hiking and biking etc. and they are always so much fun that you forget you're working out!  

If you cannot go that long without great health, diet and fitness information I will give you a very worthy alternative. Check fitsugar.com as often as you want. Always great content, advice and general fun. Have a great week.