Anna and Jude in a paddleboat on Keystone lake
We have had a great time up in Keystone. For our second vacation week the kids did all kinds of activities. There was more camp, hiking, tennis, a golf lesson, some time on the lake and just relaxing at the condo. It was a work week for me so Marcy spent time with the kids during the day. We put the kids in camp on Monday and Friday and to our surprise Jude liked it almost as much as Anna.
Anna showing her form after her golf lesson
The golf lesson on Wednesday was a big hit and not just because of the donuts at the end (although that helped). When I arrived to pick them up they begged to stay and hit more balls. Jude went off to the putting green and Anna showed me what she had learned on the driving range.
Anna took a stand up paddle boarding lesson on Lake Dillon
Saturday was a big day at least for Jude and I. While Marcy and Anna had stand up paddle boarding lessons Jude and I decided to tackle two 14ers in one day. We got up early and were at the trail head at 7:20am. We hiked up the lightly traveled south route to Grays. This was Jude’s first 14er he did exactly two years ago but we did the very popular north route that time. This time we virtually had the trail to ourselves.
On the top of Grays Peak, the first time we summited
It was a tough climb to the top of Grays but we did it in 3 1/2 hours. Then it was on to Torreys. This 14er lies only 0.8 miles from the top of Grays and it is popular for people looking to do two 14ers in one day. Which is exactly what we did. We arrived at the top of Torreys at 11:50am. It was hard work but we were both doing ok. We sat down and had a quick lunch looking out over what seemed like hundreds of miles of mountains.
On top of Torreys Peak, our second 14er of the day
What I didn’t think about much was that to do Grays and Torreys by the south route, we had to summit Grays on the way back. This was hard. I was already pretty tired and it was a hard slog back up to the top of Grays. Jude on the other hand was doing great and he had to wait for me on the way back up Grays. It was slow going on the way down, particularly the steepest part near the summit. And then the last hour I was really hurting and we had to go slowly. We made it back to the car around 4:30pm and my watch said we had been hiking for 8 hours 45 minutes. I was completely exhausted but happy to have done it. Jude was fine although his feet were a little sore.
Anna during her record breaking 1,000 pogo stick jumps
We were sad to leave when we packed everything up this morning. It was a great couple of weeks and we will miss the mild weather, the lack of traffic, the peace and quiet as well as the beautiful mountains. As I was packing the car Anna decided to get out her pogo stick and she made it to 1,000 jumps for the first time.
Jude teeing off at Harvard Gulch
Jude and Anna have been really into golf after their lesson. They both wanted to play after we got home so I took them to our local par 3, Harvard Gulch, and they had some fun before a thunderstorm ended our round early. Then it was back home to watch the final major of the year.