Catamount Trail

After spending some time looking at trails in the Colorado area, I came across Catamount Trail.  The trail is located in the little town of Green mountain Falls, CO.  Pass. The trail took me 3 1/2 hours to complete the 6 mile round trip only stopping for picture and a snack stop. Elevation gain of 1,700 ft the highest point being 9,200ft at Catamount Reservoir.

The trail was rebuilt in 1997 and rated "moderate".   To get to the trail head you will need to park on Hondo road and hike about 3/4th of a mile to get to the trail head.

The trail head starts out a bit rocky with a few tight switchbacks and scales up the side wall of Slot Canyon.

The first mile up the side wall was a little bit of a work out.  If you can scale up the Incline then this would be just fine for you, but the steps are a little steeper.

You can see Ute Pass just thru the trees right before you get to the top.  Which will slope downwards toward the Garden of Eden. 

There is a little stream that you will pass by just before the Garden of Eden.  I saw little fish swimming down stream. 

Since it is still very early spring, the meadow was not in blum, I would like to go back and see it in full blum.  The meadow is sourded heavy rock walls of granite boulders.  It was windy, but down in the medow the rock walls kept the wind out.

Rock walls in the Garden of Eden

 After you pass thru the Garden of Eden you will find yourself passing thru some large boulders along the stream.

You will approach a dirt path, you will want to take the trail that leads slightly down wards then up to the Catamount Reservoir.

The reservoir was still slightly frozen over but the views were still stunning. You are looking at the back side of Pikes Peak. If you look very carefully you are able to see the house on top of Barr Trail

”I run in the snow, rain, wind and heat. I run until I cannot run anymore then I run some more. I run thru the blur of tears, the aches and pains and then I keep going. I have more running clothes than some running stores, I know Fartklet does not mean like it sounds. I go to bed at 9pm; I get up early just to do it all over again. Why do I do this? Because I am a runner and that's who I am"

It can happen to you, be careful out there

I write this blog with a heavy heart, because there is a story that has made national news (Good Morning America Video)  and it has been bothering me. This is a fellow Colorado blogger that I follow, Beth from Shut up + Run .

Her cousin, Sherry Arnold went out for a morning run on Saturday, January 7th in Sidney, Montana and never returned home.  She is a wife, mother of three, cancer survivor and a high school algebra teacher.  Her shoe was discovered Saturday afternoon near a route that she runs often.

Sidney, Montana is very close to the border with North Dakota, so if she was abducted, it is possible she was taken over state lines.

I know I have followers in North Dakota, so please pass this information along and keep and eye out.

Please say a prayer and/or send a good thought to Sherry and her family. Please pray/wish that she is okay and that she is not suffering. Please pray/wish for her safe return.

Certainly if you have any info or tips, contact authorities at 406-433-2210.

This could happen to any of us, be careful out there and like my father always told me "be aware of your soundings, and know where you are going"

Where is the commitment?

I hate the gym this time of year, this means that the gym is supper crowded in January little less in February and then in March it will return to my normal dungeon of sweat and solitude that I have come to know and love and I can resume my routine without interruption, but HELLO, where is the commitment?

Don't miss read what I am saying.  I support anyone that want to start the New Year off with a good resolution to loose weight, get in shape, or just "try new things". The hardest step is the first one out the door, let alone getting to the gym, hopping on the treadmill walking/jogging net to the guy/girl who t'mill reads 10+ miles and a pace of 6.8!

According to CNN a long-term study by University of Washing found that only 40% of people who stick to their resolution d0 it on the first try.  The rest had to try multiple time; 17% finally reached their goal after more than six attempts.  Those that stuck with it should be congratulated.

Just because January is here and you say you are going to do something doesn't mean that it will just magically happen.  There is no magic that is sprinkled down on everyone at midnight that makes all the things you say happen.  You have to want to put in the time and the effort, you have to want to stick with it,  If not you are setting yourself up for big time failure.

Believe me when I say I've been there.  I had many broken resolutions, failed commitments, unanswered promises, missed deadlines.  I used to be 42 pounds heavier and couldn't run to the end of the block.  The day Mom was diagnosed with Cancer was the day I decided that I would stop making excuses for myself and just get out there and do it.  End of story. PERIOD!  No matter how hard it was I kept going, I pushed myself thru the pain, the tears, anger and each time I did it, it got easier.

Just remember slow and steady wins the race, and although only 40% of people stick to their New Year's resolutions, there is no reason why your have to become one of these statistics that do not stick with it.  Write down your resolutions, take each day as it comes and don't become too disappointed if the results don't come as quickly as you expected.  If you stick to your plan, you'll get there eventually....and it will all have been worth it.

Good luck with those resolution today and all year long.

Miracles Do Happen Every Now & Then

I generally don't blog much about my Mom and her condition.  Mostly because I don't want to give incorrect information and also, if I write it, that means it is real.  However, today is an exception.

I have been hesitant to write this blog and have been sitting on it since early October.  I thought about how to write this and believe in what I am saying.  Perhaps this will help me believe that this is real, and miracles can happen.  We have been given so many bad answers, when something is good happens, it is hard to believe that it is real.

But first the history.....


May 2010
Mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer (EC) and would have to undergo triple round chemo for six months. This means she would be taking chemo pills two times a day and every few weeks she would get a chemo transfusion. The oncologist advised the family that Mom would get very sick, very fast.....and she did.



December 2010
I made the trip back to California for Christmas, because I didn't know where this roller coaster was going to take us. If I didn't and something happened to her I would never be able to forgive myself for not making the time to be with her. When our plan landed in SJO I was so nervous I though that I would throw up!  I had not seen her since May and not knowing what she would look like scared me. I would not let her see that I was scared or worried. I felt that I needed  to be strong for her. She had been strong for our family at the hard times and we needed to be strong for her.  She had just finished her six months of Chemo and had gotten the news that even with all they had done, she was still not a candidate for surgery and every three months they would monitor her tumor(s) with Positron Emission Tomography Scans (P.E.T.). 

March 2011
Three month check up went well.  The P.E.T. scan showed that the tumor(s) had not spread, grown or shrunk.  She was still not a candidate and that things were still just "statis quo".  Mom was regaining her strength and had returned to work. She works at an Elementary School with children that have special needs.

June 2011
With the one year mark behind us, things started to return to normal. Mom was getting stronger and with summer on the way things started to look brighter.  In May, I flew out to San Jose, to celebrate her birthday with diner at her favorite restaurant in San Fransisco. To commemorate her one year mark, I ran the Bay to Breakers in her honor.

October 2011

I had just gotten news two days before my Marathon that her third three month check up brought back new results.  The P.E.T. scan showed the tumor(s) were not prevalent. This means that when she was injected intravenously with contrast, the tumor(s) would "glow".  In her case, there were no masses glowing on her scan. So a few weeks later she was scheduled for an endoscope . The endoscope results showed that her esophagus was inflamed and that there are a few lesions.  She needed to go on medication for a few weeks to help her esophagus become uninflamed and then the endoscope would be repeated.

December 2011

Six weeks passed and the endoscope was repeated.  Her results showed that there was no cancer.  Yes you read that right, there is NO cancer! However results show that Barrett's Disease is present.  This is not a life of death disease, but this does mean that she will need to be aware of what she eats as not to inflame her esophagus.  At this time, she will continue to get P.E.T scans every three to four months and endoscope's biannually.

My opening for this blog reads:

If you have cancer, if someone you love has it, even if you are a grunt like me-it's a long march. It's not going to be over in a day. During the toughest miles, you find out you're all alone, but at the same time, you feel incredibly connected. You learn that you're capable of doing things you never could have imagined. Running makes you try, in it's way, cancer makes you try too.

Running makes you try, makes you fight thru the pain, teaches you not to give up, pushes your body to its limits, but most of all it makes me feel connected to Mom.  She is half of me and when I run I can feel her pumping thru my veins, so I feel like she is with me.  Mom and I reached our destinations that we set out to do.  Her's to kick Cancers Ass and mine, to finish the Marathon. It was not easy and it was hard, sometimes you feel alone and lost, but somewhere deep down inside of you, "it" finds you.  "It" gives you strength when you have none, gives you courage when you are scared, and when you need it most, "it" is there. We all have it, but only when you are pushed to your limits is when you will find it. It's then you realize that you have done something that you never thought you could do.

25 Interesting Things About Me

1. I like to put fresh lavender next to my bed, I believe it makes me sleep better
2. I am a certified life guard, but I have a fear or lakes, oceans and the deep end of pools
3. I will run my first Marathon in October
4. I believe in ghosts and spirits, but not heaven or hell
5. I wore my hair maroon and blond for three years
6. I am a licenced Emergency Medical Technician, but cannot say the word ambulance
7. I prefer to be given a potted plan, than a bouquet of flowers
8. I have lived in all the states that start with the letter "C"
9. My favorite smells are clothes after they come out of the dryer and wet cement right after it starts to rain
10. I don't like my food to touch other foods on my plate, it messes with the flavors
11. I like to drink my coffee at room temperature and through a straw
12. My normal hair color is brown and it is curly
13. I believe everything has a meaning in life
14. I have to always have a napkin when ever I eat something even if I don't use it
15. I love dogs, but hate the smell of a dog
16. I have one tattoo on my hip, and will get another commemorating my marathon, it will be om my right rib cage of a running girl
17. I think that Halloween should be a Holiday, it is my favorite day of the year
18. I believe in reincarnation
19. I love to shovel snow?!? The cold air on my face some how makes me feel fresh and relaxed
20. Running in cold air is hard for me, I can't breath in cold air (asthma) but I love to run in sleet
21. Nothing feels better than slipping into bed right after it has been made, the tight sheets make me feel like I am in a cocoon
22. When I was in Kindergarten I asked the kid next to me to write my last name (maiden)  "because it was to long to write on my own"
23. The only numbers I know off the top of my head in my cell phone, are my home, My work and my parents home number
24. My Dad taught me "I would rather be an hour early than a minute late" to this day, if I know I am going to be even a minute late, I get anxiety even before I show up

And finally...

  25.  I am stage 2 cervical cancer survivor.