Breckenridge, Colorado Day 2

Drew began day 2 with a 6 hour hike... (Drew typing): Situated above Breckenridge lies the 10 Mile Range.  There are a series of 10 peaks aptly named peaks 1-10.  The entire range lies above 12,300 feet.  The highest peak, Peak 10 (13,633 feet), makes up the south and west border of the Breckenridge ski area.  If you are interested in finding out more information about this area, visit this blog.

My goal was to get from Breckenridge to the top of Peak 10 and then head north and cover at least peaks 7-10.  The above picture is of Peak 10 as I pulled above the treeline about 12,000 feet. You can barely make out the switchbacks as they wind up the mountain on an old jeep road. 

The above picture is from the summit of peak 10 looking back south down the summit ridge and you can see the switchbacks better.  4,000 vertical feet and 2 hours and 20 minutes later I was on the top.  The wind was blowing 30-40 mph but it was already probably 55 degrees at 8 a.m.

Looking North from Peak 10, you can see Peak 9 just below, and Peak 7 is the last discernible peak in the distance.  I stopped after Peak 7 and dropped back down 3,500 vertical feet cross country to Breckenridge.  I was able to run the last 2 miles or so once I got on the ski runs and bike trails.

Self portrait from the summit of Peak 10.

Video from the summit ridge of Peak 9.  Off in the distance a small orange flag sits atop the peak.  You can get an idea of the wind in the video.  Several times the wind almost knocked me off my feet on some of the summits. 

This audio on this clip is almost indiscernible due to the wind but it is of the summit ridge of Peak 8 and then panning back to Peaks 9-10 from which I came.  Thanks to Kelli and Avi for letting me have the morning in the mountains.

Meanwhile Avi and I (back to Kelli typing here) took a more leisurely approach to the morning! We ate breakfast at the hotel...I let Avi eat fruit loops for breakfast, and she was so excited. I also made her eat a banana so she could say she had some fruit. She obliged.

Next, we wen to the Mountain Top Children's Museum in Breckenridge. It was really cute and had many different play areas that Avi really enjoyed...

like dressing up...

and flying a helicopter...

and for sure her favorite, playing with the "snow." It was really cool and felt really neat.

She also enjoyed pretending she worked in a restaurant, and I had to eat porcupine! The girl is funny.

We ate lunch at a really cool pizza place called Fatty's where Drew joined us after his hike.

In the afternoon we rode the gondola lift up to the top of one of the mountains. It rained on us while we were up there, but it was still fun to look around and enjoy the scenery.

And, Drew and Avi ended the day with time in the pool and hot tub. She loves the hot tub!