2010 Mancation

This year the annual guys trip was officially renamed the "Mancation". The 2010 Mancation was an epic trip through southwest Colorado including backpacking, river rafting, and mountain biking. We had the largest group yet, with people coming from Colorado, Utah and Washington.

Eric Johnson, his brother-in-law Mike, and Dave Koenig

We started off with backpacking and two more 14er ascents - Mt. Harvard and Mt. Columbia. Thursday afternoon the first group drove up to the trailhead and started hiking at about 4 p.m. There were 10 of us in all, but different groups came in sporadically. The hike to Horn Fork Basin is about three miles and a nice walk. Weather was on our side and we set up camp near where the trail splits to go up Columbia.

Mt. Columbia in the background


The river is close by to most of the campsites and we had a relaxing evening. During the night the rest of our group trickled in, the last ones arriving at about 1 a.m. (unfortunately they had missed their flight, coming in from Seattle - more on that later). Wake up was at five a.m. and after breakfast everyone started hiking up.

Morning light on Mt. Harvard

Harvard peak in the distance

Scott Lindsey

Alan Welch

At 12,900 feet on the shoulder on the way up Harvard. The traverse and Columbia can be seen in the background.

Approaching the summit of Mt. Harvard

The hike up Harvard is well marked and you get some great views of the surrounding peaks. At about 13,000 feet some of the "just came up from sea level" group weren't doing so hot, and slowed down significantly. A few hundred feet later the vomiting started, and two guys decided to head back down. I was feeling it in the lungs and legs and thought, "just hiking Harvard will probably do it for me today". I didn't think I would have the legs to complete the loop, and felt ok with that. There's some fun rock scrambling to get to the Harvard summit, but no real exposure. I made it to the summit to find the rest of the group there, by now well rested. Mt. Harvard is the third highest peak in Colorado and the fourth highest peak in the lower 48 states.

Summit of Mt. Harvard - 14,420 feet

Harvard summit

The whole group on the summit of Mt. Harvard

The weather was phenomenal! Bright blue skies, warm and sunny, and NO WIND! I could have hung out on the peak for hours, but after a short rest I was feeling pretty good and decided to complete the loop. I wasn't too worried about hurrying, as there was no threat of rain, and we continued on. The hike to Harvard summit took about three hours.

Coming down Harvard

The traverse

We took a left when approaching the ridge and hiked down the grassy hill to the meadow between the peaks. From here on out there aren't any real trails, but with good visibility the route isn't too hard to follow.

Lunch break between the peaks

A friendly Marmot on the trail

When we got down near the meadow we rested for lunch and re-filled our water bottles in the stream (a nice bonus). That descent was about 2,000 feet before heading back up.




There was some nice flora on the route, and I plugged along. My legs were feeling it at this point and the going was slow.

Columbia peak finally comes into view!

Near the summit of Columbia there is some more fun bouldering - no exposure, just fun climbing. I got to the summit and joined some of my buddies who had waited. Again, the weather was perfect. 75 degrees, sunny, and NO WIND! I don't think I've ever been on a 14er summit with no wind, and I could have stayed there all afternoon.

Mt. Columbia summit - 14, 073 feet

Mt. Columbia summit

We were well aware what was awaiting us on the descent, and I was somewhat dreading it. It was steep, short or no switchbacks, loose dirt and rock, and did I mention steep? We descended 3,000 ft. in about a mile and I still have purple and black toenails to show for it. The trail seemed to go on and on...and on ...and on. I finally made it back to camp and was pretty spent by then.

My new BD tent!

The whole hike took about 10 hours, but admittedly I wasn't going too fast - it was too nice of a day not to be on a 14er. If you're really moving it could probably be done in half that time. The last of our group came in about an hour later, and there was a great sense of accomplishment. It was an outstanding hike and an epic day. Dinner tasted extra good that night and sleep came quickly.

The next morning we got up early to hike out and onto the next adventure -whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River.

The group

Dave Koenig and J.R. Brockman

The Arkansas is know for fast water and good rapids. We rafted the Numbers section of the river and again had a beautiful, sunny day. The water was chilly but the sun dried us out quickly. We even took a dip on a calm stretch of river.

Our raft got stuck a few times, as water level was a little low.

After some strategic paddling and leaning we broke free!


We only had one "man overboard!", as J.R. got thrown out on an intense rapid. No injuries were sustained and we had a good laugh about it.


We stayed at a motel in Salida and after a recovery day went on to the next adventure - mountain biking the Monarch Crest Trail.

Monarch Crest is considered one of the great single track rides in Colorado. A 30 mile ride which gains over 3,000 fee elevation with almost 6,000 feet of descent. The trail crosses the continental divide and the views are spectacular.



I lagged behind for most of the ride, so the majority of my pictures are self-timed.

Again, another beautiful sunny day

Rest stop

There were some pretty technical sections and I had some good spills, banging my knee up pretty nicely. It ended up being a phenomenal ride and one of the best I have ever done.

Thus ended the 2010 mancation. We went all out this year and had an epic trip. My body is still recovering but it was worth every ache and pain. It will be hard to outdo this years trip, but the planning for next year is already underway.