While Memorial Day Weekend is the kick of to summer for most up at the yurt you never know what season it will be. Some years you can drive all the way to the yurt and some years you still have to hike in, and this years frequent and heavy spring snows brought the snowpack well above average for the season. Fortunately I don’t mind the higher then average snowpack because one of my new hobbies is white water stand up paddle boarding (White Water SUP) and all that snow is shaping up for a great paddle season. Memorial Day weekend also happens to be CKS Paddlefest weekend in near by Buena Vista Colorado and I was excited for the first Yurt / SUP weekend of the summer but not looking forward of hiking up and down the mountain all weekend. Fortunately the the first evening after the surfing comp the hike up was and easy one mile hike from the lowest drift blocking the road.
Driving back up to the yurt after CKS Paddlefest in Buena Vista Colorado. It recently snowed and the evening light made for some amazing colors.
End of the road Friday night. Its about a mile hike to the yurt from this point.
Leaving the trucks behind. I was pretty excited to break through another drift so we were able to drive a little closer.
Tyrel hiking along the road to the yurt.
Tyrel walking around the fence by my driveway the snow in the cul-de-sac is still knee deep but should be gone soon.
The following morning brought with is sunny skys and warmer weather as we headed down to spend the day in Salida with my mom and step father.
The sunny side of the yurt gets warm in the morning light and leaning against it helps fight off the cool air as you enjoy the morning.
Leaving the yurt to head down to Salida for the day. Still some snow from the night before.
Tyrel walking across a large drift while headed back down into town from the yurt.
It has been a snowy spring but the sunny side of the deck has stayed pretty clear.
Saturday evening Tyrel and I had a couple beers and found some entertaining ways to pass the time.
Sunday we headed back to Buena Vista to watch a couple events and so I could run the Fractions sections of the Arkansas River for my first time.
After a long Sunday I was excited that we were able to break through another snow drift allowing us to get within a half mile of the yurt.
The day before Memorial Day we were able to break through another drift and could drive another half a mile up the road to the “The Big Drift”. The drift was still about 7ft high and it is always the last to melt. At least from here its an easy half mile hike. The summer I put up the yurt this drift did not melt until the 4th of July, while the earliest I have seen it melt was the first weekend off May.
Memorial Day before driving back down to Golden I headed to Johnson’s Village for the annual Race To The Grill fun race on the Milk Run section of the Arkansas River. I was able to borrow a really long 14′ paddle board for the race allowing me to get third place in the Mens SUP and win this sweet CKS Paddlefest trucker hat 😉 What a fun and crazy packed weekend! Happy Summer and happy adventures!
Solid turnout for the Annual Race to the Grill
I got third in the fun run race to the grill with my paddling friends Scott Powers and Alex Mauer.
Sweet trucker hat for my winnings from the Race to the Grill.
