#slow&curious

[slowcurious-blog]

Trip Report: Black Ridge Trail Round 2, April 2016

Well, we did it again. And it was great this time too! The Tandoori Hike Club, which regularly meets on Sundays, met at the local Trailhead Coffee and rolled up into the Colorado National Monument to re-tackle the Black Ridge Trail after a week of rain and even snow.

Fortunately, today was beautiful! We set out and rapidly gained several hundred feet, after which my heart was pounding and my lungs were burning, but in a good way. Shortly after beginning the trail you cross from Colorado National Monument land onto Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and then you spend the next three miles or so in said BLM land.

Today was gorgeous, as i’ve mentioned, and there are great views of the Grand Valley from all sides. After about two miles you reach a really cool natural rock bridge, and here i turned around to do some exploring elsewhere while the rest of the club continued on.

I turned back and went slowly, soaking in the great day and scenery, and when i made it back to the junction of the Black Ridge Trail and the Fruita Dugway, i took the latter for a half mile to explore. The Fruita Dugway is an extension of the Black Ridge Trail and was, 100 years or so ago, one of the primary routes from Pinyon Mesa down to the Valley. I didn’t go far, but the trai was lovely.

I then turned around and headed back to the Visitor’s Center, bought a sticker and talked about backpacking in the Monument with a staff member, sent a postcard, and met up with the rest of the Club after a short time.

Gorgeous day, gorgeous hike, great friends; that’s what it’s all about!

[slowcurious-blog]

Trip Report: Kodel’s Canyon, March 2016

The Tandoori Hike Club tackled Kodel’s Canyon in early March, during an uncharacteristically warm streak.

some history: the Tandoori Hike Club was founded in 2015 by most of the folks you see here, though not all; we would hike, and then go for food at the local Nepalese place.

anyway, on this particular day we took the trail that started behind the bathroom, or as my Australian friend Candace used to say, “The long drop.” ugh, but so accurate!

not too much to say here, this hike was about being with friends in the desert, which is one of my favorite things.

[slowcurious-blog]

Trip Report: Fruita Paleo Area, February 2016

ah yes, the beautiful desert in which i live. i love this place, and sometimes even the browns and greys are worth it. this is from the day after we got back from our vacation (which will be a forthcoming post, have no fear) and i needed some alone time and my roommates who went on the vacation with me needed some no-Andy time. 

the Fruita Paleo Area is near the entrance to Devil’s Canyon, Pollock Bench, and other famous local hikes. it’s the remnants of an old paleontologist’s dig, with a legit former dinosaur quarry as part of it. i wandered around both on and off trail for some time, soaking in all the scenery. while we were away, the snow had mostly melted and the days were beautiful.

there are a huge number of trails of all stripes you can take, and they all lead to different locations. i just wandered around and made a big, two-hour loop. it could be much longer or shorter, though. whichever you’d prefer.

[slowcurious-blog]

okay friends. let’s talk frankly about being a fat dude on the trail. there are many facets to this, but today we’re going to talk about hiking in groups and some of the difficulties therein.

one of the problems i run into frequently with my friends in the Tandoori Hike Club is the problem of pace. i have decent endurance, i can keep going for a long period of time, but i’m really slow. i mean, REAAALLLLLY slow, like average pace of <1.6 miles an hour slow. most of my friends are fairly quick, so we often run in to the problem of what to do with that.

i haven’t found the perfect solution yet, admittedly. i usually feel guilty about being slow and encourage my friends to go on ahead, hike at their preferred speed, etc; but then you run in to the problem of the fact that you’re out hiking with these people because you like them, but you end up spending all your time alone or away from them! i literally ran into this problem today.

so, fellow big dudes (who may someday read this), let’s make a resolution: if people agree to hike with us, assume they agree to hike with us because they want to hang out with us, not because they want to set some land-speed record. stop apologizing for being slow and live it up with your friends. hike at your best pace, push yourself a little but not to the point of pain or discomfort, and enjoy the scenery and the company.

remember: smiles, not miles.

[slowcurious-blog]

Trip Report: Devil’s Kitchen, Februrary 2016

there are lots of Devil’s whatevers in nature, apparently. our fore-bearers weren’t terribly creative sometimes. anyway, this is Devil’s Kitchen, not to be (but frequently is nonetheless) confused with Devil’s Canyon. this particular hike is within the Colorado National Monument, and is definitely a local favorite.

in February, around here anyway, it sometimes warms up enough to be serviceable for outdoor fun for a few days. this was one of those cases, though as you can see it was a bit muddy!

i ran into one dude wearing those ridiculous Vibram toe-shoes... he had a really nice camera though, so I shouldn’t judge. other than him, i was alone on the trail which is very unusual. 

so, this was how i spent my Valentine’s Day. (ladies, i am single indeed). i joked later that my date this year was a reasonably photogenic pair of hiking boots, the bottom picture. it was a good date, better than many i’ve been on!

conclusion: have gone before, will go again. there’s a lot to see, and nothing says, “Thank God I can finally get out of the house!” like hitting up the Monument.

[slowcurious-blog]

Trip Report: Corn Lake, twice in January

not so much a hike as a walk along a paved trail somewhere in nature, this is an amalgamation of two “hikes” taken in January. Corn Lake is a state park, but it’s not particularly rural or wild.

pro-tip: park off of the D Road parking lot and walk into Corn Lake, avoiding the entry fee. if you start there and go along the trail to the aforementioned lake then back, you can do a nice four mile loop, which i did later solo in the snow.

nice enough for training purposes in the winter, but far from my favorite place. might be worth checking out if you’re into paved trail walking, jogging, or running.