Colorado -Take II

Colorado - Take II 

 

 

The Peaks Trail

Breckenridge, CO to Frisco, CO

12/8/12

 

10 miles, 3 hours & 40 minutes

 

28 Days to Africa

 

Good fortune continues to shine down upon us as we prepare for our grand adventure and the Kilimanjaro Challenge.  We are less than a month away from departure for Africa, and we continue to be surrounded by such kind and generous friends and family.  This past weekend we were able to make a return trip to Colorado for a second go at training above 10,000 ft altitude.  Deb and Greg were presented with an unexpected opportunity to stay at a friend's cabin in Breckenridge, CO.  Since we had airline vouchers for volunteering to be "bumped" from a flight on the way home from the last Colorado trip that were sufficient to cover the cost of this flight, we couldn't pass up the offer.  Thus, for the cost of a rental car, food, and a cleaning fee, we were able to make another trip to the land of thin air and sunshine.  

 

After arriving, getting settled and going to bed on Friday night, we set out on Saturday morning for a hike that would take us from Breckenridge to the neighboring town of Frisco, CO. The hike is called "The Peaks Trail" and it is a 10 mile long trek through trees and over streams along the mountainside. A light layer of snow contributed to the majesty of the trek without significantly slowing our pace or dampening our enthusiasm.

 

Ten miles of hiking gave us time to cover the familiar conversations about our excitement for the African journey ahead of us, our commitment to being as prepared as possible for the challenge and the day-to-day activities of our lives that we don't always have time to share during the hectic work week.

 

 

We were happy to have the trail predominantly to ourselves.  There were tracks to indicate that others had traveled portions of the trail, but aside from pine squirrels and a few birds we saw little other evidence of activity along the trail. 

 

The terrain for the trek was gentle in comparison to our hike up Mt. Elbert in October.  The altitude was above 10,000 ft and there were portions of the trail that did require some steady inclines.  But, it was nothing quite as treacherous as our previous hiking experience in Colorado.  That being said, it was not a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.  The temperature was cold and periodic snow flakes and gusts of wind reminded us that we were in training mode.

 

 

Our hike ended in the town of Frisco, which Deb joked is where the people of Breckenridge move to when they age.  She based this statement on its proximity to the interstate and the fact that she likes to pull Greg's leg about such things upon occasion to keep him on his toes.  One of the great features of connecting the communities around the Breckenridge area is a free shuttle bus that connects the various local towns to one another.  It was at one of those stops that Deb and Greg each enjoyed a bag of Raisinets while waiting for the bus to take us from Frisco back to Breckenridge.  Once we were back in Breckenridge, we hopped aboard a free Gondola from the town up to the top of Peak 7 where we had parked the car at the trail head for The Peaks Trail.