On The Loose...

Summer Update

2010-09-11T13:33:00.001-07:00

Evie at 14,333 ft atop Mt Elbert

Well, it's been a long, fun full summer of getting after it.

Now it's September, we are back in school, and I figure it's high time to catch people up on what we've been doing:

One of the great things about teaching is the fact that, during the summer, you have the time to do whatever you want. Some folks work to make more money, some people travel. We go to the mountains.

Big highlights of this summer:
Spending a month back east visiting family.
Evie's first night in a tent (she was afraid of the dark, poor thing!).
Taking Evie up Mt Elbert (highest point in Colorado).
Taking Evie on her first backpacking trip (3 days, 2 nights) in the Indian Peaks.
Finding new climbing opportunities at places like Lily Lake.
Hiking with my brother, Charles up onto Long's Peak.
Starting to trad climb again in Eldo and other places like Potash Rd in Moab.

It's been a great learning summer...our goal was to figure out how to backpack with Evie (success!). I will write another post on the ins-and outs of carrying the usual backpacking load, plus another human being and all of her cloth diaper stuff! We also learned that it's great to have a huge family backpacking tent, but that it kinda sucks to put up and take down every day, that babies do just fine in the backcountry, and that poopie diapers are gross, whether you are at home with running water, or in the backcountry.

Until next time, I hope you have an adventurous week.

Neversummer Yurts Memorial Day Weekend 2010

2010-06-12T11:00:00.002-07:00

Chris reserved the Clark Peak Yurt, one of the Neversummer Nordic Yurts for Memorial Day Weekend (and Chris' birthday). We went up for a fantastic weekend of spring corn skiing (and slogging), snowshoeing and enjoying the beauty of the mountains.

It's funny that, right when all of the resorts are shutting down, the Colorado snowpack is becoming safer and more fun! The spring backcounty snow is AWESOME! I'll focus on the baby stories here and let the ski video speak for itself.

It was a 1.5 mile trek into the yurt...so this was Evie's real first backcountry trip. I must say, the backcountry yurts and cabins are ideal for your first forays into the wilds with your little one. While I'm sure Evie is going to be fine in a tent this summer...it has been really nice to ease into having her with us outdoors by having a heated area where we can fumble with diapers, change clothes, etc. without worrying about her getting too chilled.

Evie is now much bigger and stronger. (It's amazing how much changed over two months!) I was much less worried about keeping her in bed with us (I was still a little worried). She slept between us and stayed warm even when the fire in the woodstove went out in the middle of the night. we brought one of our 0 degree bags and my homemade Rayway quilt. The sleeping bag stayed in the backpack the whole weekend..the quilt was plenty warm for us.

Still rocking the cloth diapers...I see zero need for disposables so far in the adventures we have had!

Sylvan Lake March 5-7 2010

2010-06-12T09:42:00.001-07:00

Playing a little catchup here on a rare rainy day in Colorado.

In early March we took a trip up to Sylvan Lake State Park near Eagle, CO for a weekend of XC skiing, attempted BC skiing, snowshoeing, and enjoying winter with friends. It was Evie's first big trip into the "backcountry" (the cabin was all of ten steps away from the car, but we were miles out of town) and she took it in stride.

We had a fantastic group of friends. We spent most of the days exploring the trail that runs around the lake. Chris, James and I attempted to do some backcountry skiing. But it ended up being more "backcountry cursing while thrashing through hip deep snow and scrub trees" than anything really downhill. Good practice though =)

At night we sat in the cozy cabin, played games, planned gardens and drank beer. Evie slept in a pack and play which kind of worked. However, since the bed of the pack and play was so close to the ground, she got rather cold hands and feet during the night. We had to put her mittens on for the second night and finally brought her into bed with us.

The Ergo has become the carrier of choice for us. Evie is right against your chest, she stays stable and warm and is easy to check on while you hike.

Although we had a few disposables with us, we didn't need them...the cloth diapers were fine for this trip.
Here are a few pics from the trip...we are hoping to step it up a notch next year and perhaps hit one of the 10th Mtn Division huts!!!

First Snowshoe!!

2010-02-25T17:12:00.004-07:00

This weekend was Brenda's birthday. She has been wanting to get out into the mountains since before Evie was born. With the difficulties involved with being pregnant and then having a frail newborn...we haven't ventured out onto the snow at all this winter.

With Evie getting bigger and stronger every day, we decided it was time to take her on her first snowshoe!

Our friend, Chris, found a great local trailhead right outside town and we went! The day was cold, with wind driving the falling snow into our faces. But Evie stayed warm in the Ergo on my chest.

More after the break

The trail wound up a narrow-walled valley formed by a tiny creek that we had to ford a few times during the hike. Evie slept most of the time, but did wake up hungry about 1/2 mile in. We cleared the snow off a nearby rock and Brenda used the changing pad from our diaper bag as an impromptu seat. Evie happily fed, with one of our jackets draped over her to keep the snow off and the warmth in. After eating, she snuggled back into Dad's chest again and we were off.

We ended up hiking for two hours...probably covering close to two miles. At the end Evie had slightly chilly cheeks, but didn't complain once as she rode along with me. It was a fabulous day and helped bolster our confidence about sharing our adventures with our newborn.

We're looking forward to our next adventure!!!

Evie Videos up on the Picasa Page

2010-02-20T08:16:00.002-07:00

We've uploaded some videos of Evie's first month.
Check them out here!

Cutest baby Evar!

2010-02-16T18:11:00.001-07:00

And now we present week 5 pictures!

Evie Week 4

2010-01-28T16:41:00.003-07:00

I should have had this link up a while ago..sorry!
Evie Week 4

Evie Week Three

2010-01-24T19:53:00.001-07:00

More Evie Pics are up on the Picasa Page!

Rededication...

2010-01-14T08:27:00.002-07:00

New year...new life...The beginning of the calendar year is a time when, almost universally, we look back on our accomplishments of years past; and look forward to how we can better ourselves this year.

For me, I look back and see the reason we moved to Colorado...the mountains. We were drawn to Colorado by the amazing opportunities for exploration and adventure to be found here. With Evie's arrival, I realize that the most important thing for me, is to get back to getting out there. And taking her with me. It's our hope that she will grow up to love the mountains like we do..and to share in the adventures to be had.

So, I'm rededicating my free time to the mountains. It's time to get back to climbing...and moreso..to get back to the reason I started climbing...to take what I learned at the crags and bring it to the mountains.

Our personal family motto (not the Parker/Douglass motto) is On The Loose...I want to make sure I'm living up to that =)

See you out there!

She's Here!!!

2010-01-02T17:23:00.001-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen....at long last....The star of our show has arrived!!! Yvonne "Evie" Rose Parker was born on 12/30/09 at 8:18PM. Her Mama was a superstar and all three of us are resting and recuperating at home. It's funny...you always hear parents gush about their kids and, to be honest, I always thought they were hamming it up a bit for the audience. I now know the truth, and I can tell you that my Daughter is the most beautiful, most perfect being on this planet. We are looking forward to sharing so many adventures with you....stay tuned!

Let it Snow!!!

2009-12-27T23:57:00.003-07:00

Is there anything better than a white Christmas? How about one spent sledding with 2 and 3 year olds!? We spent Christmas eve with Charles and Natalia, and Chip, Holly and the boys and while dinner was being prepared (by the temporarily sidelined 10 months pregnant Brenda) we got in a few runs on their new sled!
My highlight was a very slow and controlled fall while on the saucer sled with William. As we sat back up you could tell he was exhilarated..but a bit ratttled. This two year old turned to me and said "You ok?" We quickly laughed it off and trudged up the hill...by the time we got to the top, he was already asking for his next ride!!!
We also saw the hints of a burgeoning alpinist in Foster as he told me he liked climbing the mountain and how he wanted to go climb more mountains with me!!!

Wind's A-Blowin!

2009-12-19T21:44:00.001-07:00

We're getting a little stir crazy as we wait for Baby to come, so I took my brother up for his first multi-pitch rock climb today. Eldorado's Wind Tower lived up to its name as we climbed the 3 pitches of Wind Ridge in mid-40 F temperature. Poor Charles' feet were freezing and he had to take them off at each belay to bring the color back to them. Pretty amazing to this New England kid that we are able to rock climb at all less than a week away from Christmas!! We climbed great...about1.5 hours bottom to top and then about 45 mins on the descent. All this with a partner who hadn't tied in, nor belayed in almost two years! Way to go Charles! It was fantastic and so much more fun since I was with my brother!

O Christmas Tree....

2009-12-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Baby is almost here!!
We got a permit this year from the Forest Service to cut ourselves a Christmas Tree.

It's Baby's first trip into the mountains (though they probably didn't realize it at the time!)
Brenda did fantastic on the short (1/4 mile) but steep uphill hike to the cutting area. We hunted around for quite some time until we found the perfect one!

It was really nice to get out and play in the snow...all could think of was how much fun this will be next year when Baby can help us choose the tree.

It was fun to be a logger...though our hippy sentiment did cause us to turn down a really great tree; It was growing by itself and was beautiful and full...we didn't have the heart to cut down a tree that was obviously going to be successful. The tree we cut was from a closely bunched stack and it's removal will let a lot of light in to the trees nearby.

New Blog

2009-12-01T14:58:00.004-07:00

We are now 38 weeks pregnant!!! As we expect the arrival of our newest family member..I thought it would be nice to share our experiences with you.