Entries about challenge

Looking Back

2020:
Well, that was an interesting year.
There was some things that were new and crazy like the pandemic and my truck getting stolen and totaled. Meanwhile other things stayed the same just like any other year with camping, hiking, biking, running, volleyball, moving, and road trips.

Most activities this year was somehow affected by COVID related news, including working remotely for 41 weeks of the year. I had several concerts, events, and international travel cancelled. The trips would have been to Italy, Croatia, Austria, Canada, and the Cayman Islands.

However that allowed me to take more US based trips. I was able to check out a lot of National Parks included Rocky Mountain, Colorado Monument, Dinosaur Monument, Arches, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons. Plus had the time to see a lot of family, friends, and enjoy hobbies (all at a distance of course).

Well, here's the review:

Activities

Things that happened in 2020:

Big Travels

• Egypt - February
• Israel - January
• North Macedonia - December
• Turkey - November

Quick Trips

• Arches National Park & Moab, Utah - June
• Ashley National Forest, Utah - May
• Crested Butte, Colorado - September
• Colorado Hiking - April
• Colorado Monument and Dinosaur Monument, Colorado - May
• Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming - August
• Iowa - May and October
• Leadville and Lake Turquoise camping, Colorado - July
• Long Beach visit, California - June
• Montana camping - August
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming - August

Challenges

• 14er hike - Elbert
• 14er hike - Sherman
• 14er hike and FKKT - Shavano and Tabeguache
• Ultra run - Rocky Mountain Continental Divide Trail Loop

Events & other activities

• moved to downtown Denver - February
• had 4Runner stolen, along with all my camping and outdoor gear, to be found a week later totaled and trashed by drug addicts - August
• concerts: none
• races: none
• volleyball, biking, running, walking, hiking
• Denver Travel Show
• Prudence turned 3 - August

previous year reviews:

• 2019
• 2018
• 2017

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

As I continue to add 14ers (14,000+ ft elevation peaks) to my accomplishments list, I have to venture farther from Denver. For Shavano and Tabeguache, I had to wake up at 2 am, to drive to the trailhead, so I could start around 6am.

The peaks are near each other, so I hiked up Shavano, then down to a spot between them and up to Tabeguache peak. On the return, I had to repeat the trail back up to the summit of Shavano and back down to my car at the main trailhead. It's kind of like 2 mountains for the price of 3.

I also set a FKKT. That is a tongue-in-cheek play on the FKT world. FKT stands for Fastest Known Time, where super athletes continue to out do each other for a run, hike, paddle, or other challenge to get the quickest time along a set route or set of goals. FKKT is much more fun and less serious. It stands for fastest known kilt time; which is doing one of these adventures while wearing a kilt.

As far as I know, this is the FKKT for a Shavano hike. Also the FKKT for the Shavano-Tabeguache-Shavano route. Since I doubt anyone has ever claimed that before, it's probably also the FFKKT (first FKKT) for those routes. And to go one step further, it doesn't seem like anyone has ever claimed a FKKT on any route anywhere, so this is a WFFKKT (world's first FKKT). And that's as far down the rabbit hole that we need to go. Too many acronyms can make one dizzy.

Since fun is the key concept of FKKTs, there are very few formalities around them; there is no need for exhaustive documentation and proof. The recommendation are that you should proclaim on some social site that you set a FKKT. There needs to be no research before or after about a legitimacy of a claim; which leads to a fantastic situation where multiple people can hold a FKKT at the same time with blissful ignorance.

Therefore, without further ado. Here ye, here ye. The following shall be known:

• I have set a FKKT on a Shavano hike
• I have set a FKKT on a Shavano to Tabeguache to Shavano hike

My times are estimates of the following. From the trail to the summit of Shavno was 1 hour 54 minutes. Later (after going over to Tabegauache and back) my time from the peak to the trailhead was 1 hour 25 minutes. Total up and down time for Shavano was 3 hours 19 minutes. For the full route to Tabeguache and back was 5 hours 59 minutes and 30 seconds. That is a sub 6 hour time, which is unheard of. But mostly it's unheard of because no one has ever talked about a FKKT record before.

Additionally, these are all inclusive times, including two stops to remove rocks from shoes, eating and picture breaks on each summit (twice on Shavano), a long chat with a former national park service ranger from Montana since I'm planning a trip up there soon, and a pause to help some lost hikers on the way down. However with FKKT's being more about the enjoyment at a chill pace, I am not worried about removing some that to figure out the real moving time / pace.

I hope to set and hear about more of these FKKTs. Enjoy !
Link to my official 14ers.com trip report : https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=20519

Trip Map

Map/list of all the peaks that I've "bagged".

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
14ers album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

Had a relaxing week of camping near Leadville, Colorado at a campsite near Turquoise Lake. On one of the days, we decided to hike up a nearby 14er. It happens to be the highest in Colorado, 2nd highest point in the lower 48 states for the US. And Prudence decided that she wanted to do it too.

Trip Map

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
14ers album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

Time to start off the Colorado summer with some camping & 14er hiking.
Decided to find some dispersed camp sites in the woods near the east side of Mt Sherman. Had some delicious fire cooked supper and then got some sleep. A early wake up and short drive to the parking at the trail head was just after sunrise.

Then it was a quick hike up some rocks and snow to the saddle between Sherman and next door neighbor Mt Sheridan (a 13er). We hit the peak of Sherman, celebrated and decided to extend the day by going over the Sheridan. It was a very cool experience. There was no one else on the mountain (unlike the packed Sherman) and there was a journal in a water proof container that we got to add our names to. There was a huge wind break built out of rocks on the top, and on one of the sides, there was a window of sorts that looked back towards Mt Sheridan.

Got to slide down some snow and make our own path down the rocks on the way down.

Trip Map

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
14ers album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

link to the related Norway post from my time in Oslo

overview

My first sailing journey.

I headed from Oslo to Svolvaer in northern Norway, above the arctic circle. This is in the Lofoten region consisting of a pensinula and lots of islands sticking into the north Atlantic. It has a long history of islands, sailing, fishing, incredible natural environment, and fjords. Myself and a small group spent a week on board a sailing catamaran.

We checked out several fjords; which of course are long, narrow, deep inlets of the sea between high cliffs typically formed by submergence of a glaciated valley. The first and most impressive was Trollfjord. The last and equally beautiful was Ulvagfjord. The entire landscape of the region is unique with the dramatic rising of steep cliff walls onto rocky and jagged peaks. All of this is wrapped in a vibrant green coating of trees and moss and shrubs. On the few areas that are a bit flat are the coastal towns, the occasional sheep farm, or even a few beach sites. But since the locals thrive on the fishing industry, you'll see lots of harbors, ships, fish drying racks, and water based businesses.

One of the nights, we spent glamping in teepees. Even woke up at 2 in the morning to catch glimpses of the northern lights. There we also got treated to an amazing meal from a local chef - cod and mackerel caught that day, some herbed potato mash, and the worlds best cake for dessert (it's actually named that; search it and be amazed).

Another couple of days were filled at the town of Henningsvaer. It's an artsy and hipster town, that got a bit of viral Instagram fame for it's soccer pitch on a rocky island. There's also several art shops, local craft and clothing stores, and a brick oven and sauna pub to spend time at. There's even about 25 posters around town that provide information on the history; most in Norwegian but they also have a code to scan to get translations.

Near the very end of the chain of islands is the town of Reine. It has a few places to check out in town, but the real draw is the hiking and views around the town. Despite some strong winds and rain, we trekked up to the top of Reinebringen to be amazed at the sight of islands, seascapes, towns, and mountains. The entire drive on Lofoton is covered by the E10 highway. If you take it, you can find some hidden lakes, fields, additional hiking, and some surf spots.

Recommend:

• glamping on Skrova island
• Reinebringen hike and views
• Henningsvaer sights
• Trollfjord and Ulvagfjord
• fresh caught fish

Trip Map

related:
Copenhagen Denmark
Malmo Sweden
Stockholm Sweden
Oslo Norway

Relive Video

A hike around the fjord

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
or for this Lofoten trip: Norway album
some of my favorites:

The dramatic landscape from the water - sailing to Trollfjord

The dramatic landscape from the land - hiking around Trollfjord

Ulvagfjord

rainbow during a sail and a hot tub with a view once we got to a destination camp on an island

Our glamping site with multiple beach options

The famous Henningsvaer soccer pitch and a sunset with some pizza

A lonely but picturesque church in the countryside and some local beach graffiti art

The stair hike up Reinebringen

The view of Reine and surrounding towns and islands from near the top of Reinebringen

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Gray's & Torrey's

These twin peaks are a somewhat close drive from Denver, but I heard horror stories of the road leading from the highway to the trailhead. If you don't have a high clearance 4WD, then it's another 3 miles each way before and after your hike. These are a couple easier hiking options, but I didn't ever want to add 6 or more miles of gravel road walking. Now that I have the 4Runner, Chris and I decided to knock these peaks off the to do list.

A semi early departure of about 5 am got us to the road. It certainly was rough, but did see some lower cars made it up part of the way. They must have some adventurous drivers. We got near the trailhead for parking and saw quite a few people had camped there over night. Good idea for future trips. The most used path up to either peak is straight forward and has a consistent up hill grind. There's also a Kelso Ridge route option that gets more into class 3 to 4 rock climbing, but we decided to wait on that for a future trip.

The most exciting part of the trip was on the way down. We had to cross a snow field. Previously hikers had crossed and worn down a path, enough so that we could slide down part of it but on a gradual descent section on the trail. We thought that was it, but next saw some people just off the trail, sliding straight down the mountain in a valley. What I came to learn was 'glissading'. Before I knew it, Chris jumped into the snow and started sliding down too. So I followed. It was slick, steep, and scary. We slid for several hundred feet, and then dropped off a ridge and onto an even steeper part. It took a few minutes to probably drop down 700-800 feet of elevation. Quite thrilling, and only ended up with some soaked pants and jackets.

Relive video of the hike

Grays & Torreys link: https://www.relive.cc/view/vr63JEV23dO
Blanca link: https://www.relive.cc/view/vRO7GpVG5KO

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
and 14ers album

the moon is still out

the sun is on the way

view farther into the Rockies

celebrate

at the top

an easy section to walk/slide down

the steep section we glissaded down - you can't even make out the few little specks of people at the top or the path we slid down

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

After a lot of races in 2018, I only agreed to one this year. But it was a tough one. It's in the mountains near Leadville, Colorado. It starts at over 10,000 feet of elevation, climbs up and down several mountains, one of which gets over 13,000 feet of elevation.

The views were absolutely amazing. That's one of the main reasons I still get out and challenge myself with these runs, despite limited training time and some injuries. Seeing the mountains and open sky as you run through forest and up gravel roads until they're closed by snow that's still around in mid June is sweet.

Relive video of the hike

link: watch my race

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels - festival and races album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen