After a great time with my friend in Park City and the craziness of Outdoor Retailer was over, I headed to Boulder, Colorado to attend the wedding of some good friends. I had 5 or 6 days to play before the wedding and planned to fill my days with as much climbing, hiking, cycling, and hanging out with friends as possible.
I am sad that I did not make it to Boulder in time for the #COTweetup. I can blame a blown out tire and cracked windshield for that. It sounds as though the gang had a great time though and I can only hope to climb with everyone sometime in the near future. Anyone from #COTweetup- I have a bunch of #BACON lip balm that I was hoping to give you all so drop me a note if you still want one!
After spending almost 11 days in Boulder, here is my David Letterman style Top 10 reasons why I fell in love with the place:
10. Neptune Mountaineering: Being a gear head, I had to make a pilgrimage to this Boulder Institution! I loved the knowledgeable staff and of course the cool old school gear and photos of the mountaineering museum.
9. Climate: The high-desert climate of Boulder means warm summers with thunderstorms, mild winters and a distinct four seasons.
8. Dog Friendly: Boulder appears to be a dog friendly town-they are everywhere! One thing that frustrates me about Northern California is that dogs are allowed on a limited amount of trails. The trails in and around Boulder and Colorado in general seem more dog friendly. Next time Lola gets to come on the roadtrip!
7. Beer: There is nothing better than coming off the mountain after a great day of hiking or climbing and drinking a tasty cold beer from one of the numerous microbreweries in town.
6. Food: Great food everywhere from the farmers markets and the huge Whole Foods on Pearl that sells pizza by the pound to the Himalayan restaurant downtown.
5. Cycling: Boulder was voted Bicycling Magazine’s 3rd best city for cyclists with bike friendly streets and 120 miles of surrounding trails. I had great rides around town as well as on some classic routes such as Old Stage Road and Lefthand Canyon. And don’t forget the Thursday Cruiser rides!
4. Climbing: There are so many places to rock climb around Boulder that I think you could pick a different spot everyday of your life and not cover them all. My über climber friend Cheryl took me climbing up the First Flatiron as well as in Boulder Canyon. I had a blast.
3. Hiking: Not only are there great hikes in and around town but in less than an hours drive you can be in the gorgeous Indian Peaks Wilderness or Rocky Mountain National Park.
2. Outdoor Companies: Boulder is a hotbed of innovative outdoor companies such as Trek Light Gear, Outdoor Divas, Sea To Summit, Sender Films, Scarpa North America, Sierra Designs, Kelty, Mountain Sports Media, the OIA itself…. I could go on and on.
1. The People: I have some great friends who live in Boulder and I had such fun hanging out with them for the week. Also, everywhere from the top of Bear Peak to the Indian Peaks Wilderness I met extremely nice, outdoorsy, intelligent people.
Thanks to everyone for a great 11 days in Boulder and now I just have to figure out how to get back soon!