Roadtrip part 2- Mountains

After passing out early post-beer tasting, we got up early Thursday morning for a hike. I'm not really sure what me and Cole were expecting but I don't think we quite expected the intensity that was to come!

Vanessa took us along the Loveland pass (curvy cliff road to the mountains) and towards a hiking path she found in a book about the best Colorado hikes. I'm not going to lie, it was tough! But we were doing pretty well up the first hill (a long, steep climb). From there, there were 2 peaks to climb, one to the left and one to the right. The peak to the right was supposed to be steeper and harder, so we decided to do that one first then assess how we felt.

The climb we did wasn't really a straight climb-- there were lots of steep ups and downs, and lots of rocks to climb too! We were feeling pretty beat by the time we got to the final peak, which was a short climb but pretty much straight up. Vanessa and Zach went right for it, but me and Cole sat down to take a short break. As we were sitting there, we noticed a ton of clouds rolling in. After feeling a few rain drops, we decided to forgo the last short climb. We waited for Vanessa and Zach for a bit, but once it really started pouring we headed back.

Cole the mountain man

Just a little SNOW at the top of the mountain! In August!

MARMOT! Or some other kind of woodland creature. 

Still laughing--this must have been before the HAIL started.

On the way back, which wasn't short or easy at all, it was basically thunderstorming around us. The rocks and ground were wet but we managed OK. It also started hailing at one point, since we were at 13,400 ft!!!! And we were completely frozen.

When we finally got back an hour later, we hopped in the car and drove a few miles down the road to Idaho Springs for some grub. However, since we were frozen and wet, me and Vanessa went to a store and I bought a new long-sleeved shirt, and changed into that and some of Vanessa's long underwear she brought along. I felt a million times better!

The four of us went to a place in Idaho Springs called BeauJos Pizza. Luckily for me, they had a vegan tofu pizza with soy cheese, and it was amazing. Dry clothes + food made my day so much better after getting soaked and hailed on during the hike!