Pike's Peak Photos

Oops! I am very very very late in posting these photos from the Pike's Peak climb. It went much better than I thought. I made it in the first half of the group and although it was very hard, it was very beautiful!

My day started with a 3:30am wake up and a van ride to the trailhead. Miles Zuniga (Fastball) who had played a set for us in the hotel lobby the night before (much to the chagrin of the wedding party who had reserved the adjacent space in the bar), sat next to me in the van and we chatted about guitar practice discipline and songwriting stuff and a bit of personal get-to-know-you kind of stuff. It was kind of cool to have a rock star conversation when I was too sleepy to be nervous about it. If I had been smart, I would have gotten a picture...but did I mention it was not even 5:00am?

At lunchtime, I arrived just a few minutes off the leader pace--at least that's what they told me. We had a nice long break here for food and rest and music. A folk singer played a few familiar songs and then John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light played. I was soooo impressed by them. They are really fantastic and to see a cello being played in the middle of nowhere with a beautiful view is an experience I won't soon forget.

I left with the first group from lunch because I knew I would need to go slower and didn't want to fall to the very back. When I couldn't keep up with the leader pace, I fell back but was still quite a way ahead of the next group. I was all alone in between and it was very solitary--in a good way. I put the Alarm on the ipod and thoroughly enjoyed that phase of the climb.

Speaking of the Alarm, I am in this video though you can't see me. I can make out Mick Thomson who was standing right next to me during this show back in January at the Gathering.)

When we got to the summit, Chris Carraba from Dashboard Confessional played us a few tunes, and it was pretty good. "Vindicated" was my favorite since it's the hit and the one I recognized. I confess that I'm not too familiar with DC.

The ride down was actually the hardest part. I made the mistake of sitting in the back seat of a large van on a long and winding downhill climb. My new friend Alan, who grew up in Wales til he was 9 and the only other Alarm fan on the trek, offered support, but I was just trying not to embarrass myself by hurling. I must have looked greener than my shirt.

I went to the after-party at Red Rocks and admit to being "not disappointed" when Brett Dennen could not perform due to the late arrival of the party bus and his impending stage time as opener for Michael Franti. We were entertained by an 8 year old named Jordan, who plays very well! After the party in the Rock Room, we walked the prayer flags down to the stage through the crowd where they were hoisted up to fly just before Michael Franti and Spearhead took the stage.

This was a fascinating experience for several reasons:

1. It was quite a trip walking through the crowd at Red Rocks at a Michael Franti show where many people's experience was, um, enhanced. They thought the pretty colors of the flags were irresistable and were dancing around us touching the flags, etc.

2. Usually, when I sneak through the crowd at Red Rocks to get closer to the stage, security gets involved.

3. It is fascinating to look up at the crowd from the Red Rocks stage. I felt a sense of sadness that I probably will never be able to sing from there to a full house, but it was nice to see what it might have been like.

4. Most importantly, it was moving to know that we were carrying the names of so many cancer survivors, cancer victims, and those whose fate is still undetermined to send up prayers for them.

That's the report, folks. Thank you again for all your support and encouragement. I can now say I've climbed a 14'er in memory of my friend Bryan and for a great cause.