the path less traveled

after a whirlwind of a weekend, although now that i think about it, it wasn’t that eventful, here i stand on a monday’s eve. a tenmile range ridge run was in order, but promptly rescinded by the offering party. “how rude”, little stephanie tanner would say. instead, this occasional partner decided to make a solo and failed attempt. let us rewind. janet’s cabin required a resupply of provisions and i had signed up for the adventure. it’s located in the middle of nowhere and is part of some (ski/snowshoe) hut system spread across the backcountry. i’m not usually keen on backbreaking labor under the sun, however another participant of this 2-night excursion convinced me otherwise. well that of course fell through due to some faulty heli parts. really? i think there may be a saboteur amongst us. it’s currently postponed until lord knows when. so that freed up the weekend for tenmile, which became a snub, which then freed the weekend for nearly anything my heart desired. 14ers it would be.

i planned to climb the castle/conundrum combo this summer. then a hiking partner was obtained and it was soon decided that the conundrum hot springs should be incorporated into my original plans. however, plans changed and i took the window of opportunity in weather and freedom and decided to just take care of business. and why not squeeze in as much as possible? i wasn’t planning on shav/tab until next year as a way to even out the difficulty levels during this goal of mine, but what the hell? might as well take care of four birds with one stone. friday night i was up until midnight planning the four, then i was up at 3 a.m. to make the TH near poncha springs by daylight. i must say, i’m such a great planner. shav/tab TH, trail, mountain 1, mountain 2, mountain 1, TH, aspen, castle ck TH, spot to camp, wake at dawn, mountain 3, mountain 4, meet eric and caitlin, screen down, break camp, TH, aspen, el mirador margarita, dos chips y salsas, smothered beef burrito, cheese enchilada, dos pacificos, and manning taking care of roethlisberger, all within the exact hour i estimated from friday night. beautiful.

Mt. Shavano 14,229'

Tabeguache Peak 14,155'

view from car camping along castle creek

dinner

not too shabby indeed

trying to watch tron on my laptop. pretty lame and luckily the movie didn't work.
resorted to pen and paper instead

Castle Peak 14,265'

Conundrum Peak 14,060'

i’ve now climbed 37 14ers and i hope for more to come this year. hoping the season can push into october. as for the hot springs, it’s still there.

but I digress. here i stand shuffling boxes out and down, and out and in, and out and in, and up and in. it’s okay though. i have board members and each is being attended to. being fed. from the outside, it wouldn't appear this soul is healthy, but i can say with confidence that i'm good, really good. broke, but good.

today at work was so great. this week they are celebrating the achievements of all employees across the globe, and i guess i’m buying into it. the morning started off with delicious, free sugary (not sugary-free) breakfast treats. these are all things i love very much. in the free sugar line was an out-of-town exec and he asked if we were going to sit and eat. he sat and we chatted about SCUBA (my lack of) and work stuff in progress. he seemed interested and even remembered my name during our convo. later in the morning during our global all-hands meeting (10k employees), he mentioned me and my boss by name as an example of how we are creating greater network efficiencies (i.e. $$ savings) and projecting a bajillion dollars this year of reoccurring savings. my face went some shade of LVLT red. keep in mind, i’m the only e-propa at the co. i got a fair amount of, shall we say, attention, after the meeting was over by my peers.

these guys are worth millions and millions, and i had a doughnut with one of them!
awesome leaders, they are.

then it was back to sugary delights in the cafeteria. all told, i consumed 5 cookies, 1 blueberry muffin, a blueberry doughnut, no lunch, happy hour w/ chips y queso, and no dinner thus far. and what do you know, I found another bajillion dollars today that we can save. at least, i’m about 85% it can happen. good day. back to boxes. and imaginary friends. hey, calling all imaginary friends…..

how exciting to hear that my uncle paul would be in (near) town on holiday from texass with his girlfriend janet. i was so happy to be able to introduce them to little katie. i don’t remember much of uncle paul. i remember palm springs and just his image. and him i guess. i do remember him as a person, but no real events that i can access from the faulty memory banks. he’s my surviving uncle and i’ve missed him greatly. he and janet and katie hit it off nicely. i’m sure they thought highly of her and she really liked them i know. although she thought uncle paul was being bad when a fox came out of the bushes and he started feeding it his leftover sausage pizza. he had katie throw some pizza and i could tell she wasn't into it. eventually she began to sternly tell him to stop. i don’t think he heard. the fox sure loved it. best pieces of pizza all day i’m sure. her and i talked all about the lessons to be learned from such an event.

closest i've been to a fox. it was practically eating out of our hands.

i had been up the night before to visit them both at their posh breck suite overlooking the CD and breck. not too shabby and i would have like to of stayed a night.

NE view of the CD from their room



pretty dope

 

it was really good seeing him. katie and i had a blast taking in breck and the creek. and the candy stores!! vanilla/milk chocolate fudge and cream cheese frosted sugar cookies with sprinkles and m&m white chocolate bark and caramels and raspberry caramels and on and on. it was a sugar junkies ball and we were king and queen for a day. the “hike” along the creek was a blast. i feel 5 years old again when i’m with her. go figure. jumping from boulder to boulder and dipping feet into the slimy creek moss was pretty awesome. i wish her and i could hike every day after school. she wants to go back to breck and i can’t wait to take her.

my darlin'

summit county has a lot to offer, although boulder county is just next door. in the end, i was so happy we could bring a few chambers together. and darnit it all to hell, i don’t think we even got a picture of the 3 of us together. pathetic ethan. well hopefully a reunion will happen in the near future. are you reading this kristy? let’s take care of it together. let’s just make sure it’s NOT in texass.

but I digress..boxes, and more, boxes. this isn’t easy by any standard. i’m constantly thinking about katie and weston. weston in particular. no, both the same. chapter one is so hard on them and frankly, i don’t even know because i’m not there. things will settle and become better. if things aren’t good then adjustments will be made. it’s not that simple of course but that’s the approach i’ll take. later chapters for them will be tough but no worse than my own at that age. it’s hard. each of us is being affected by this madness in uniquely painful ways. this is all on my mind, all of the time. very stressful days these are, but somehow i’m able to manage it where any outward expression or release of the stress is minimal to non-existant. bottling it up? i don’t think so. lacking the emotion outright? no. it’s not apathy. impossible as it seems, i do care and feel. the path isn't always easy one but i'm confident it's the right path. this allows me to sleep at night. not everyone will sleep at night and not everyone will understand, but we are on a path together and it truly is the best path.