hiking with a purpose

so usually i hike a lot in the summer...so when my good friend and college roommate Merilee Newsham, wrote to me about a challenge to raise money for a special project to help Mustard Seeds & Mountains (the non-profit organization she works for) build a new youth building - i jumped on board. my idea was to ask people to sponsor me per mile i hiked over the summer and into the fall months. in the summer of 2003 that would have amounted to over 650 miles of hiking, the summer of 2005 over 75 miles, and this summer...let's just say i didn't get out hiking as much. (total to be given later)

i have an excuse...or reason...or whatever else you might call it. THE 2006 WORLD CUP!!!!!!!! instead of using my days off this summer to hike 14er's or the other hundreds of trails in colorado, i spent my days off watching live soccer from Germany. it was an amazing summer...my store manager even gave me off the days i requested and other days scheduled me around the game times ;-) thus the reason the total given later will not be as much as i had planned.

here are the recaps of my hikes:

1. hiked with a group from the church up to a falls area. not too much to see as it was early spring...and my camera broke. so no pictures ;-(
Total Miles = 5

2. hiked with my friend riccara and present roommate and friend jess. we went to the Colorado Sand Dunes in southern colorado to go hiking and camping. it was a very fun 2 day adventure.
we hiked up the sand dunes in the middle of the day...very HOT!!!!! and then we hiked a little the next morning. we also did a little hike to see a falls.
Total Miles = 7














3. i hiked grays peak with my paretns, sister, brother-in-law, and then friend now boyfriend. (gasp) we had a great time...and this time the camera did not permanently break...it just fell and would not work for a few days. grays peak is about an 1hr. from denver. it is the front range of 14ers and can be seen on a clear day from denver. this was the second time i had hiked this mountain...and great once again.
Total Miles = 8

4. went hiking with my cousin when she came to visit me from Chicago. we drove to Indpendence Pass (the highest road in North America 12,000 something and on the continental divide). we spent some time up there hiking around..it was a great start and then a storm rolled in on us and we ended the hike in hail.
Total Miles = 2

5. went to aspen area and hiked around the Maroon Bells. some more 14ers. i was extremely tempted to try a summit but did not plan in advance for that. instead enjoyed a nice hike to a lake where it began to snow on us. very beautiful area and will definately be revisited to summit some 14ers. (hopefully next summer...the plan is to take 5 days and summit at least 3 in that area) for more info on Colorado's 14ers, click here.
Total Miles = 5

the final mileage is 27 miles. so if you read this blog and feel like being really nice...go ahead and send a check to Mustards Seeds & Mountains, PO Box 686 Northfork, WV 24868-0686

i know the lack of pictures is a real bummer. i tried to post 5 more, but for some reason the internet hates me today. i spent over an hour figuring out my wireless connection before i could even get started. i love technology.

happy hiking!!!