Engineer Mountain

 {September 13, 2014}

We had a little family camping get together at Haviland Lake near Durango, CO a couple weeks ago. During our get together we decided to take a stroll up Engineer Mountain. However it was anything but a stroll. Reed and I have been up Engineer a couple times but we have never been to the very top because it can be quite sketchy and we weren't completely sure which way to go. But this time we made it to the tip top! We tracked a little over 6 miles, 2500 ft in elevation gain reaching a total of 12,973 ft at the summit. It was a beautiful day for a hike!

Starting to get super steep. From this point on it feels like it is straight up but the views just get better and better.

He is just a little insane.

Right about here it got a little scary and I was worried about getting back down on the way back. The rocks were pretty slick to hold on to and this is where I contemplated my life and thought about turning around.

But this crazy guy right here told me to keep going... so I did.

Finally made it to the top!

Definitely worth it! Feels like you are on top of the world and can see for forever!

Part of the crew {Bryce, Jess, Preston, Adam, Paige, Reed and I}

Sure do love this crazy man!

Definitely cool to officially check that one off our bucket list! And definitely a beautiful sight to see.

Highland Mary's Labor Day

 After working Labor Day weekend I told Reed that we needed to get out and do something fun Labor Day before heading back to work and school on Tuesday. What better place to go than one of our favorites Highland Mary Lakes near Silverton CO. We left the house super early so we could get to the trail head early. We took our day packs with our rain coats just in case, a light lunch, our camera, then we hit the trail. It was a perfect, beautiful day for a hike.

The trail is a little over 6 miles to the lakes and back but we decided to do a big loop around the lakes to get a good view from up above. Our tracker said we did a little over 8 miles and gained over 2,000 ft. in elevation. We got up to about 12,500 ft in elevation. It was definitely getting harder to breathe but the views made it all worth it. 

It felt like we kept climbing forever and ever. 

This is the peak that we climbed to the top of. 

I only almost fell off the side of a mountain to take this picture of Reed. 

Can't beat these views. It is just amazing how beautiful this world is and the only way to see it is to just get out there and see it. 

Of course Reed had to play in a snow patch we found. 

It felt like you could just see for forever. 

The lakes on the left is where the Highland Mary's trail takes you right up to. So you can see how far out and above we went to get this view. My legs were sore the next day but it was worth it and these pictures don't even compare to what it's really like. 

As we were hiking up a ridge my phone randomly received a text and made the noise. We were completely in the middle of nowhere so it was crazy that I got service all of a sudden. I decided to call my friend Sarah and make her jealous, I mean share the views with her since she couldn't be there with us. That's what friends are for right? :) Someday I'll be at home with my kids and she will return the favor. 

This is where we stopped to have some lunch before hiking, I mean running back down. The water is so beautiful it's unreal. We saw a few other campers but I was surprised there weren't more people there for a holiday weekend. 

It felt refreshing to be able to have this experience with my love. Even though we have done this trail several times this time felt different than all the rest.  Nothing beats getting some time away from the distractions of the world to clear your head and recharge. It's amazing the beauty this world has to offer us if we just take the time to take it all in.