Strange Day @ 11 Mile 17Aug18

I hit 11 Mile Canyon late on Fri AM on the way to Summit. It was pretty crowded and I had already missed the trico hatch and fall by 11:11am or so (see how I did that). Undaunted I fished the immediate open spot directly below the last bridge. I fought 6 fish on drowned tricos and PMD nymphs but went 0 for 6 as to landing... so strange. The fishing was surprisingly good at a perfect 100cfs here - the catching of these strong fish was not as good for me this day. The stream "shut down" about 1pm and I headed out for Tomahawk for lunch and a afternoon run at some more fishing. Weather did not hold out and I just left for the Nest after lunch. Weirdest injury - I reached up into a willow to retrieve my flies once and jabbed someone else's old fly deep into my arm - and when I yanked it out, the hook broke off in my arm - I had to perform surgery to retrieve the embedded piece. Sheesh.

Too, my foot tractor wading boots failed again in a way similar to last time. This before a full year elapsed. I'm taking them to Patagonia for warranty replacement. But first I glued them back together to get another week or so.

Light & Lite @ 10 Mile Ck 15Aug18

Eschewing Pumphouse due to the drive and desires, I ran over to 10 Mile Ck and loaded the 1 wt for a bit of fun with the tinies. I hiked down from Officer's Gulch a 1/2 mile and fished back up through the plunge-pools. I caught a half doz on #14 stimi and BHPT dropper and actually turned over a couple of bigger fish on the top fly but didn't close 'em - whether that was them or me, who's to say. Here are smaller examples actually - I stopped taking pics after a couple were landed and I started to get bigger hits (but not bigger landings). Thin water, small fish, no fishermen, fun...

GR8 New Restaurant - Aurum 13Aug18

On S&A's last day in Summit we dined at the, just 2 week old, new restaurant Aurum in Breck. It was one of the best new spots of recent memory. Very worthy - we shared plates of Korean chicken thighs, hamachi sashimi app, heirloom tomato crostini with prosciutto, fried zucchini, and brussel sprouts. Food was super tasty and modern; service was excellent; vibe was modern and hopping; setting was cool mod in a older Breck house; wine list was pricey but decent (beer was scant); front patio was chill. Happy hour brings prices way down and is highly recommended.

Most Excellent Brandi Carlisle Concert @ Red Rocks 12Aug18

We laid pretty low on Sun AM and hosted David & Leslie Moss (friends of S&A from HS) briefly at the Nest for a bit - but then braved the Sun PM traffic to the Front Range to catch our Brandi Carlisle concert at Red Rocks. The traffic prompted us to take the full alternative route beginning in Georgetown and ending in Idaho Springs - this is a non-I70 local roads only path alongside the interstate. It worked fine and moved a consistent 35-45mph vs I70 which was slow and go. We arrived at 6pm and were corralled to the lower south lot and just got in - meaning we met our friends Jim & Mary at the seats rather than their tailgating spot in the north lots. The concert was excellent despite the backup band, Shovels & Rope, not being our cup of tea. Brandi and the twins and the entire Carlisle band was tight and sounded great at Red Rocks. Awesome harmonies. She even included a french horn on some arrangements and a 4 piece string section on most songs as well as accompanying singers, the Secret Sisters, on a couple. Kala & I agreed this was the best concert we've seen in years - Brandi kicked ass on a gorgeous summer night in the Rockies. Crappy pics in the dark as typical from my iPhone.

Summit Co Brewery Bikery 2018 11Aug18

We took out of the Nest @ ~9am and arrived at Angry James to assemble the team and bikes for an full assault on the breweries in Summit Co. We departed AJ's at 9:40am bound for Breck Brewing 18+mi away - we targeted opening at 11am but I was comparatively slow to my mates climbing Swan Mtn so we were a bit late arriving to some awaiting our arrival. The half-bikery challengers were undaunted and drank full pints as specified while the full Bikery crew tastes 5oz pours. First brew in the belly had us heading downhill to Broken Compass then on to the new Hiline Brewery in Frisco. Most of the climbing was done by this point - woohoo. We left Hiline for Outer Range (still the best micro-brewery in Summit) and then across the dam to Pug Ryan's. We visited the venerable Dillon Dam brewhouse next. The team was talking food so Steve & I ushered the crew onto Baker's Brewery, where Cory poured us a just tapped watermelon saison  and then on to Angry James', where we hung for a bit and enjoyed some organic veggie concoctions and stellar beers. Thanks SteveG, SteveB, Jason, Yoho and studman Dave for the fun of a full climb; thanks too to Scott, DavidG and Kelly for some brews on you and the descent. Awesome 2018 BB event IMO. Here's some evidence ~ 40 miles & 2Kft vert & 1 gallon of beer per person over 8 breweries - gr8 fun.

30 Mile Spin To Breck Prep Ride 09Aug18

S&A and we took a spin out to Breck from Dillon Marina today - >30mi and 1Kft vert should be a decent prep for the Brewery Bikery this weekend. We then had decent lunch at the Tiki Bar on the lake.

Shrine Mtn With Moss & Gordon 08Aug18

We hiked to Shrine Mtn out of Vail Pass today with Mark & Tina Moss, who are visiting from NYC and are childhood friends of Steve & Anne. It was very crowded so good we left somewhat early, but it was a very good 5 mi & 1K ft vert simple hike with great views and strange rock formations. Shrine is so named as it is the perfect viewpoint for the cross on Mount of the Holy Cross (see background of team selfie). Kala and I have packed that wilderness before and Matt & I summited on a two day pack & peak trip there. I included a shot of a ship rock with Uneva Pk and the Gore Range in the background (we hiked it earlier this week). We finished at Park Hyatt @ a fun happy hour followed by a bad free concert in BC, and then decent beer and food at Dillon Dam. Worth noting too is the entire hike was captured on Kala's Apple Watch with her ghetto duct tape fix ~ this accompanied by boot blowouts on the trail needing ghetto fixes. Very nice day with old friends.