We are having such a great time visiting our daughter in Colorado Springs, as she is as avid at sports and conditioning as ever! On Sunday, our first day; we went to a site at +8000 feet; from the Mennonite camp ground to the Crags. It was windy and the trail was alternately muddy and snow-slushy. I was missing my Nordic poles, as they did not quite fit in the luggage. I quickly found sticks to substitute for them, but even so, I noticed my heavy breathing on the videos we made near the top.

Tuesday we found a closer site which was thrilling (scary) to get to - it promised an impressive falls at the end. We followed the Cheyenne creek to the summit on trails that looked like deer footpaths. It was over an hour in the process and we huffed and puffed the entire way. Since this is March, I presume the trails are not well marked yet for the better-weather crowd. Luckily I found a pair of Leki poles for $2.99 at Thrift which were just the right height - approximately elbow height - which made me a player in this excellent adventure. We were seriously in the aerobic zone after the first mile. At the summit, we congratulated each other and took pictures, then cast lots on who knew the best way back down to the base camp. It took 3 attempts but we did manage to get back to the car and have an even scarier drive back down the mountain. It was an excellent adventure. Better than that, it really taxed me to the extent that I have regained my confidence in keeping vigorous as I get older