Movin' on up, to the east side...

From Funchal (pronounced Foonshal) we've traveled to the east side of the island, to the small town of Santana. We've traded sounds of the city for the quiet rolling, terraced fields of vineyards and other local crops. It's much more peaceful over here. We're staying in a small hotel with a few hectares of vines that are just starting to leaf out. We are perched high on the cliffs that drop dramatically to the coast. Our room has a gorgeous view of the ocean, we have all of our windows wide open - waves and crickets are all we can hear.

We went for a walk along the coast earlier and started down a steep path to the ocean, just to realize that it was only an access path for local farmers to attend their small vineyard located precariously halfway down the cliff. They were very friendly and were working to clear it today, probably because the vines are coming alive for spring. Awesome views though.

Then we returned to the hotel and were checking out the old wine press and tasting room and stumbled upon a free Madeira wine tasting...oh darn. It was a perfect pre-dinner appetizer for us.  We've both really come to like Madeira wine in the last few days, it isn't popular in the US but I think we will continue to enjoy it from time to time.  It's a fortified wine, which I knew nothing about, but it is actually quite tasty!

On the drive over we stopped in Camacha and visited a wicker factory. We purchased a nice breadbasket and visited the strangest herd of animals I've ever seen. 

Tomorrow we are tackling the three highest peaks of the island. We have had beautiful sunny weather since we've arrived, but March is the end of the rainy season so I think we should bag those peaks while the bagging is good!  I can't wait to get some altitude...

A hikers paradise.

I think Madeira may be one of the best places for hiking we've visited. There are just so many trails. Everywhere. And there are buses to many of these trails and levadas. Levadas are the reason a lot of people visit Madeira but there are many non-levada hikes as well. There are peaks over 6000ft (which we plan to tackle later this week) and hikes along the coastline, which we did today.

Yesterday we did many touristy activities. 😄  We rode up to the Monte neighborhood in a cable car, hiked a levada up there (more on that later), had lunch with a great view, and took a wicker toboggan down the hill - only powered and steered by two Portuguese men!  This used to be a very real way they got down the hill here, but as Marco from our guesthouse said, they only go half as far and charge twice as much now. Ha!  We also took a tour of the Blandys Madeira Wine Lodge after our toboggan ride. Yum.

The Levada dos Tournos:  we started out under the cable car house on a well worn trail. It led away from the chaos and into the woods. Just a bit in, we crossed a pretty impressive bridge over a fairly fast running river.   You can see me perched up on the bridge below.

We wound our way up to the levada, passing a long abandoned house on the way. Everything is in bloom here right now. The flowers are spectacular. 

Before the start of the levada, there is this warning sign.

And rightly so, check out that drop off next to Toms foot!

We spent quite awhile along the levada, weaving through the forest. 

We finally switched back to the "trail". I say that in quotes because this area had burned recently and since the ground cover was decimated and trees killed, this is a slide area. We were honestly happy to finish the trail only seeing a fist size rock fall next to us. You can see the fallen trees below. Between the trees, drop offs, and stinging nettles over growing the trail, the last mile was interesting.

Today, we picked up our rental car that we will need to get to our next stop tomorrow. We leave the big city on the island (Funchal) and head to Santana on the east coast, definitely more rural.

Since we had a car, we decided to go out to the Sao Lorenco peninsula for a hike today. It was gorgeous and we had beautiful weather. High dramatic cliffs and rolling hills.

Our target is that far off summit. 

We've hiked no less than 10 miles a day for the past 3 days. My brain says this is paradise. My legs say they need a light day.  Bah, what do they know?

We're tired.

With a combination of my Madeira Hikes book, and a recommendation from Marco at our guesthouse, we chose what we thought was about a 9 mile walk for our first day on Madeira. This was made up of a 6 mile hike along a levada (ancient drainage ditches that Madeira is known for), a stop at a glass platform over a 1500 foot sea cliff and a return trip via the seaside promenade.

We had an awesome breakfast at the guesthouse, leisurely got ready for our day and caught the 1130am number 96 bus to Estreito, a small town about a thirty minute ride away. We found the start of the levada hike after a short climb up a very steep street and were immediately surrounded by vineyards. Madeira wine is made here and there are many small, family size vineyards that dot the countryside where we walked today. It is the very beginning of spring, so there aren't any green vines, pruning is still happening.  But it was beautiful. We walked next to the winding levada for just over 2 hours. 

Flowers are starting to bloom and they all seem to be very vibrant in color.

Tom walking next to the levada on his right. 

After many miles of small hamlets, valleys and terraced fields, we came out of the levada and found the sea cliff platform (glass-bottomed so not for those afraid of heights). Quite the drop.

From here, we expected a few mile walk/stroll along the seaside promenade. NOT.

The first part was beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of this portion, but we walked among terraced vegetable and fruit fields for a mile or so, straight down, down down.  Drop offs everywhere and with everything just starting to grow, it was very green. Really interesting and beautiful.  Well I take that back. I took one picture. I like to call it "Creepy baby on a stick".

Then the not so interesting part started. Basically we alternated between being on the seaside promenade, then the promenade disappearing, us hoofing it back up a steep hill to find a passable road, then finding the promenade again. This went on, oh, for about ELEVEN miles.  When a local guesstimates the length of a walk, never trust them. Want to know why?  Because most of the time, they don't walk the routes they're recommending.

Tom got to test out his stellar elliptical skills along the promenade. 

And more good news, we found a Madeira wine tasting house along the way and stopped in for a bit.  

We definitely don't regret a bit of the walk, but 17 miles on a recovering knee, and Tom wearing his Chaco sandles makes for two tired tourists with some aches and pains - but it was beautiful, we saw a good portion of this area of the island and we certainly earned the dinner we woofed down tonight.

15K, my arse, Marco. 

Tomorrow?  Hopefully more hiking, although maybe a bit less of it. 😄

Steamboat and backcountry.

A few weeks ago, my hubby and I went to Steamboat Springs for a weekend of skiing...and snowboarding for him!  Our passes cover a few days there, so we try to go once a year for a change of scenery. We didn't hit great snow this time, but we still love the area. They have wonderful tree skiing, which we take advantage of for most of our runs.

In the trees:

Bluebird day:

We also decided it is finally time to try out backcountry skiing (splitboarding for the hubby). So, we booked an all day intro with Colorado Mountain School out of Estes Park and went this past weekend. Unfortunately, I hurt my knee a few days back, and wore a brace yesterday but the instructor had to modify the day a bit for my gimpiness, so while we learned tons about the important things:  avalanche knowledge, how to pick your lines/locations and basic skinning techniques, we didn't get tons of skiing in. So that'll be our next step and I cannot wait. Riding a lift is super easy, but both of us long to leave the crowds at ski resorts behind and enjoy the solitude of the mountains.

Tom in transition between skinning and boarding:

We also had my favorite weather in Colorado recently, freezing fog and hoarfrost.  The front range was caught in the clouds for a few days. Lots of moisture and really cold. This makes for frosty icy trees. It's surreal, the clouds dampening the sound, clouds surrounding you and everything you look at is covered in beautiful frosty shapes:

Here's to hoping my knee injury (TBD) won't hamper our hiking in Madeira. We planned to hike the heck out of the mountains there. Crossing my fingers...

Winter in Colorado.

Winter is one of my favorite seasons. Here in Colorado, winter is a true wonderland. We try to get up and ski/snowboard as much as possible and we also get out to hike or trail run as well. With the right equipment, you can be just as comfortable in the winter as you are in the summer. Sometimes even more so, IMHO. 

Anyway, that's what we've been doing. Playing. We are headed to Steamboat Springs for a weekend soon and I'm really looking forward to it. We have hit some monster snow weekends up there and we are definitely hoping for some fresh powder.  We've also decided it is time to try out backcountry skiing/ski touring. We are signed up for a full day lesson and I cannot wait!  Don't get me wrong, riding lifts makes for a full day of downhill, but there is something attractive about no tourists, near complete solitude and amazing views.

Also on the horizon is a nice, long trip to Madeira and Madrid. Madeira is not only known for their wine, but also for their insane amount of hiking opportunities. For those of you that may not know where Madeira is, it is an island off the coast of Morocco that's actually owned by Portugal. It's very mountainous, green and beautiful.  We plan to hike as much as we possibly can, and maybe sneak in some mountain biking, depending on the weather.  Madeira is subtropical so it should be in the 60s and absolutely perfect for exploring. 

Also, we have a cat!  We both said "never again" on a cat in the house, but Ellie needed a friend and we are hoping he keeps the mice population down near the chicken coop!  Ellie and Fred have built a good relationship in a short amount of time. Go pets!

 Some pictures from our winter so far!

And I had a great visit with an old BFF in Florida. We haven't seen each other in far too long. 

We found the snow!

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to head to the Boston Mine trailhead to see if we could bag any peaks. Needless to say, since it has been so dry in Denver, we underestimated the amount of snow above 12000 ft. There wasn't a lot by any means, but when snow has obscured the spaces between large rocks, and created some very slick conditions, more gear is needed. Normally, we would go a bit more prepared with micro spikes and poles, at least. But it has been so warm in Colorado this fall...so we missed out on the larger peak, but we had a great hike on and off trail in some beautiful late fall weather conditions. 

The trail started off through thick willows, it was not very well defined and headed upward quite heftily. It was in the balmy low 20s when we started. 

Pretty soon, what few trees in this area thinned out and we headed up into a valley, following a very faint trail. Ahead, Tom and Dallas saw an albino pika!!  Unfortunately, I did not. Bummer. Clouds obscured all the higher peaks, as you can see. That cloud ahead is hiding a centennial peak. 

We decided on a lower peak after realizing that without some sort of traction on our hiking boots, getting up the large field of talus to the the taller peaks would be agonizingly slow. So, we started up and off trail, heading for a lower summit. 

One of the boys crossing the ridge to the summit. 

One of my favorite pictures below, Tom taking in the incredible view. 

It was really beautiful up there and we were the only people around. The ridge to the left below is what we considered tackling, but as I said, we were a bit unprepared this time. 

We headed back down with cold faces and fingers and decided to check out the old mine buildings. 

Through the cabin window, the sun popped out for a few minutes on Jacque Peak, across the way. 

All in all, a nice late season hike above tree line, it was nice to be snowed on, since it's November!  Pretty soon, full on winter gear will be required when exploring in the mountains. Not to mention, it's almost time to dust off the skis!  Wahoo!!

Pacific Peak - strike 2.

My friend Andi and I set off to try to get one last 13er before the snow flies out here in Colorado. We'd attempted to get this particular peak a few weeks prior (see "Cold and Rainy"), so when the weather looked chilly but clear, we decided to take another crack at it.

We met nice and early one Sunday morning and headed for the Spruce Creek trailhead just south of Breckenridge. It was a 4wd road, but a relatively easy one. After parking at what we thought was the trailhead, we headed off into the trees on a good trail. The trail started out winding through early morning forest, passing many ponds and along the way, we startled some wildlife - deer, birds & other invisible scampering creatures, probably because we were two of the first few folks on the trail that day. The trail eventually came at the parking lot we should have parked at earlier, as it turned out we could've went further on the 4wd road and saved probably 30-45 minutes of hiking, oh well.

After that parking lot, the trail started to climb in earnest. Up up up through trees and winding around the creek. This area also has a lot of old mining equipment, some in ruins, and some in very good condition. Below is an old miner's cabin and the top of a pulley system.

After a good bit of climbing we leveled out for a bit at Mayflower Lakes - a smattering of smaller lakes that were almost perfectly still in the morning calmness. The sky was just SO BLUE that day. Quite a contrast from all the late fall colors of brown, yellow and orange we get in the Rocky Mountains.

Between the Mayflower Lakes and Mohawk Lakes the trail, of course, climbed higher, topping out at around 12,100ft for Upper Mohawk Lake. Such a beautiful setting - there were some backpackers enjoying the solitude, fishing and hot camp coffee at these lakes. We also were lucky enough to see a mama and baby mountain goat. One of the camping couples had 2 dogs and that mama was keeping a super close eye on the canines. Her kid obediently laid by her side the whole time she stood over it and watched. It really made me wish I had a much better camera than my iPhone. They were on top of a huge rock (of course) and were highlighted from behind by the morning sun. It really is a moment I'll remember forever, so majestic and still - I could've watched them for quite awhile if we wouldn't have had a lofty goal still looming ahead of us.

So, we left the lakes and headed up (of course) into the final basin with an unnamed lake. Below, you can see our target, Pacific Peak, in the distance, just saying hello above the ridgeline. We had quite a climb ahead of us, but the weather was holding. For now.

All over this area were very cool rock structures and smaller rocks. The black ones below were something I'd never seen before.

Then, we arrive at the crux of the route. Probably 1000ft of severely steep, loose rock, topping out on the ridge below the final pitch to Pacific Peak.

We started to scramble up this gully, sometimes struggling to get a good hand or foothold. It is rated difficult class 2, but in some areas, it was approaching easy class 3. There wasn't any really exposure on this slope, but it was steep and unstable. There were large boulders intermixed with a lot of small scree like rock. On and on we went as the clouds built quickly in all directions. We stopped a few times and surveyed the weather. Lightning is always a huge concern above tree line, but we fully realized we were also on a steep, already slick (icy in some areas) slope that would become a lot more challenging if it was wet.

The larger boulders provided some good handholds on the way up!

The view on our way up.

You can see the clouds building in the background here.

So, when we were level with that upper left snowfield in the first picture of the slope, we called it. We didn't want to, but we did. We realized that we had another 1/2 hour of scrambling (or more) before we reached the ridge, then probably another hour until we summited. At that point, the rain looked closer than an hour and a half out.

Needless to say, we were disappointed to turn around, but we feel we made the right decision - and we did get rained on as we descended on the trail - justified decisions are always the best.  :)  This climb will be squirreled away for next season, and maybe we'll approach from the opposite direction so we can easily bag both Pacific and Atlantic Peak a bit easier.

So, we slid/hiked back down the steep slope and made our way out of some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen this year in our great state.

 

Just beautiful.  Seriously, amazing.

 

 

I arrived back home to see Tom diligently working on extending the chicken run roof - last year, the ladies were stuck with a relatively little area of snow-free ground during some of our larger snowstorms.  They will love this new addition!!