South White Peak Success

Basking in the sun at the top of South White Peak.  Click on the photo to view more pictures from this hike.

We were on such a high after reaching the ski resort summit that we decided to try our hand at South White Peak again.  Also, the weather couldn't have been better.  The wind was very mild compared to what we usually experience when we start this hike at Cuchara Pass.  I was even able to hike most of the day in just a T-shirt!

View Hike 2013-02-05 10:37 by kartoffeln on Breadcrumbs

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Though similar in elevation to the ski resort hike, the 7.3 mile hike up South White Peak was even more grueling.  We changed our approach this time following a ridge up to the tree line then cutting to the back side of the mountain before tackling the steep incline through the woods to the top.  The first portion of the hike follows cattle trails up the foothills.  The recent mild weather and sunny skies yielded freshly melted snow making the first portion a slippery trek through muddy cow poopy terrain.




We had a break once we reached the trees and prepared ourselves for the ever increasing slope.  Once we entered the forest on the back side of the mountain things got really sticky.  We decided to hike up the exposed piles of boulders instead of tackling the snow packed slopes.  Avoiding putting our snow shoes on, we climbed up lichen covered rivers of rock that seemed to be pouring down the mountainside.  After getting to the point where we had to lean forward to avoid falling backward the rock flows ended and the deep snow, protected by the dense vegetation, began.  With snow shoes on we navigated up the final steep slope to the top where it was only a few hundred feet to the clearing at the peak.

Disco Fever

Finally we reached the clearing which turned out to be a massive rock field.  We had been viewing this spot through an old surveying transit from our back porch thinking that it was a nice open meadow at the top of the mountain.  The homogeneous color of the rock was deceiving from afar, but we still managed to have a nice rest at this rocky summit.

The Third Time's The Charm

Click on the picture for more photos of the hike.

The telephone at the old lift station.

Attempt number three and we finally made it to the top of the ski resort.  Yay!!!  The weather was beautiful even though it was a bit chilly and windy at the top.  The biggest obstacle in reaching the summit was the strange mix of terrain.  The switch backs alternated between deep drifted snow and bone dry cobbles making it extremely frustrating and time consuming to have to constantly stop and put on or remove our snow shoes.  At times when we could see bare ground ahead of a snowy patch we'd chance it by leaving our snow shoes off and more often then not ended up thigh deep in snow.  It was a bit eerie on the way up listening to the chair lifts squeal and clang as they swung above us making us ever so mindful of just how convenient the lifts once were. I never seem to think we are going to make it all the way, but sure enough we rounded the corner to find the abandoned ski patrol shack and lift station at the top of the mountain.  There was even a lift chair left perfectly perched at the top for us to have a rest on.  We made our descent straight down the ski run instead of using the switch backs.  By accident, meaning I fell in the deep snow, we discovered the sport of butt sledding.  That's right, butt sledding.  Given an adequately steep enough hill one simply sits down, leans back, and enjoys the ride.  This new sport kept us happy and entertained all the way down the mountain.

View our hike to the top of the ski resort by kartoffeln on Breadcrumbs

Cucina Aber

One of the best dishes that I even ate twice while at Cucina Deli in Salt Lake City, UT was their spaghetti pie.  Mmmmm mmmmm good.  Dean gave me the recipe verbally while at the deli one day and I decided it was time I give it a shot.  Now there were several substitutions that had to be made due to what we have in stock here at the condo, but all in all it turned out swell.  I was pretty worried that I'd end up with a pie plate full of loose spaghetti on my hands but the thing held up nicely.  I really think this will become a go to dinner dish for us.  

Boil up some spaghetti until it's just underdone and prepare the filling.  I chose to use spinach, onions, mushrooms, black and green olives, and ham.

Add the filling along with two beaten eggs to the prepared spaghetti and mix.

Place the whole concoction in a greased pie plate.  It looks a lot cooler if you use a spring form pan like Cucina Deli and display it as a stand alone pie. 

Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese, or in our case extra sharp white cheddar (that's all we had). 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Top with pasta or marinara sauce.

Thank you Dean Pierose and Cucina Deli for the inspiration!

Eagle Soar

What a day. We went on a killer hike this morning--equal parts killer on the body and awesome. I wanted to scope out the route up to the South White Peak nearby us here, to make sure the stream crossings weren't bad and there weren't any fences guarded by high mountain cults. So we made the hike, which turned out to lead us through the most amazing high mountain meadow I may have seen. You have to walk for a long while along a steady downhill grade which is pretty boring, and shows you no scenery that you can't see from the road. But then near the bottom before you hit the creeks, you crest over a hill and the view opens up to this meadow nestled down between the Dakota Wall and White Peak. Couldn't have done it better in the Alps, if you ask me. If you come to visit us, we will be picnicking there (assuming there isn't 3 feet of snow on the ground). Yes, Kaitlin, this means you.

A very convenient log. 

It was a pretty brutal hike though, it took us 2 hours to hike 3.5 miles, I guess probably because we ascended about 1200' through the hike. I really think, though, that it mostly seemed hard because we had to walk uphill back to the car. Must remember, always park at the low spot... It will be a pretty epic hike once we tack on the extra 500' of elevation to hit the summit. Also as a side note, we saw a shitload (yes, I did intend the pun) of Elk scat. Probably at least 15 piles of it, some pretty fresh. Now just to find the damn things themselves...we have yet to see any wildlife up in our area of the mountains, just tracks and signs.

View Hike 2013-02-02 10:43 by kartoffeln on Breadcrumbs

So the hike was good and all, but then the day gets even better. We had to go down into town for some things--namely a cross-cut saw so I can manhandle some trees for our fireplace. Speaking of not seeing any wildlife in our area, they apparently have a monopoly on the wild things down in the valley. On our drive there and back and around La Veta, we saw no less than 33 mule dear and 1 bald eagle. Yea, thats right, a bald eagle just hanging out in a cottonwood tree. I don't think I've seen a bald eagle for like 15 years, and never one in this area. I had no idea they even lived in the mountains. Shows how much I know about our national symbol.

And to make things even better, Lauren is downstairs making me some spaghetti pie. (Never fear, I'm sure Lauren will elaborate on this later.) How can my day get any better?! Some beer and desserts? Yes!

I bet if that deer in the left front could talk, it would sound like Al Pacino. 

We Were Cold...

So I made a meatloaf:

Venison Meatloaf: 1 lb. of venison, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, onions, garlic, egg, and cranberry cinnamon bread crumbs (we're still working on loaf I made last week).

And Jay made a fire: