Mt. of the Holy Cross

My first 14er adventure in two years.  We decided to tackle Mt. of the Holy Cross.  After a few hours of sleep we left Denver at 1:30 a.m. and started hiking at 4.  11 1/2 hours later, 5,500 feet climbed, bruised shins, blistered feet, and sore ankles, we made it back to the trailhead.  There was off routing, bushwhacking, endless talus enduring, and overall exhaustion.  We made it, however, and the difficulty made it all that much more adventurous.

 Setting off at 4 a.m.

The hike up

 First view of the summit as the sun rose - a little bit daunting but beautiful

 The summit within reach

Mt. of the Holy Cross - summit at 14,005 feet

Scott Lindsay, Dave Koenig, me, Justin Arbuckle, JR Brockman

 Amazing view from the summit

Resting at the top - ready for the trek down

4th of July

We took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park to celebrate the 4th of July.  We did a short hike to Alberta Falls and the kids were troopers.  The park is beautiful and every time we go I wonder why we don't spend more time there.

 The patriotic crew trying not to squint

 Lance is becomomg quite the poser

 Alberta Falls

Camping

I took the three older kids camping at Lake Wellington with Dave Koenig and his three boys.  The kids had a blast.

 Rachel and Grant hung out together the whole trip.  They were constantly running off to "find nature"

There weren't a whole lot of bites - or patience - but at least they're getting casting down.

 Does this remind you of someone who doesn't want to have their picture taken.  Is Russell the next Stan?