I LOVE SUNDAYS! Over the years, It’s the only day that I have that I almost always have completely off, and have the WHOLE day to enjoy! Even with my old job, I had saturdays off, but I would work real late Fridays and sleep half the day away, so Sundays were my only FULL day off. With the new job, I work half days on Saturdays, so again, Sunday is my Funday! I actually really do try to find something fun to do, and not just sit around the house (as much as I would like to sometimes lol).  Sundays become long run days occasionally, but until Marathon training begins, I can do whatever I want! And now, I have Mondays to recover – because you never know what I’ll get into.

A few sundays ago, I went rock climbing outside for the first time, which was a blast! But until I get more practice in and get my own gear, I’ve been finding other things to do on Sundays. This last sunday, I hiked my first Fourteener!!!

WAIT. What? I’m from Colorado, lived here 99% of my life, and I JUST now hiked a fourteener?? Yeah, that’s what I said. I’ve been to the TOP of a few fourteeners, but I’ve never hiked one. Sad I know.

Yesterday, I conquered Mt. Bierstadt. With an elevation change from the trailhead of 2,850 ft, I reached the top and took in the view from 14,060 feet! This 14er is only about an hour out of Denver, up through Georgetown and the Guanella Pass – a very beautiful part of the state. (For Coloradians wanting to go: Exit the Georgetown exit from I-70, head through the town. Follow signs posted for Guanella pass and you’ll eventually, after about 12 miles, run into a couple of parking lots, mostly likely full, so park along the street!) The trailhead starts in-between the two parking lots. There is another way to access the peak from the other side, but we took the West Slopes trail.

Mt. Bierstadt is right next to Mt. Evans, and you can do both in one day (it’s a 10 mile roundtrip for both peaks and goes along the sawtooth ridge connecting them). The hike we did ended up doing was about 7 miles roundtrip, and after getting to the top, we saw the Sawtooth Ridge and decided to conquer Mt. Evans on a different day, from the other side! You can actually drive to the top of Mt. Evans, but that’s no fun, so we’ll probably start from Summit Lake or something.

Great hike! It was a good day for it too. Not too hot, not too cold. I hiked with my friend, Theresa that has run with me in a few of the races I’ve done. The hike felt pretty good; sure it was tiring, but turns out runners’ legs are great for hiking! After completing this, I think it would be a HUGE and awesome goal to do all the 14ers in Colorado… One down, 52 left!!! Who’s ready for a hike!? Seriously though, I would love to do all the mountains, it just might take me awhile!

We rested and ate lunch at the top while we took in the views. I found the Mt. Bierstadt cardboard sign and fixed the old “7” to a “9.” We took our pictures, then passed the sign around. On the way down, we got caught in a rainstorm; which wouldn’t have bothered me except for the lightning! Seeing it strike across the valley made me want to sprint to the base. Here’s some more photos from the hike! Enjoy!

What did you guys do for SUNDAY FUNDAY!?