Trying Again

I have moved back to Aspen and will be doing a blog on this ski season. So if anyone is reading this blog, you can check it out here: http://joeysaspenyear.blogspot.com/     

Pause

For now, while I try to figure out where to go or what to do with this blog, you can check out this blog I am doing on the Insanity workout.

http://insanityworkoutprogression.blogspot.com/

Also my photography website has moved here:

http://jbjohnsonphotography.artistwebsites.com/

Apologies

I realize I haven't posted in anything in such a long time but I have been so amazingly busy this summer with trips to Denver and also 12 hour work days. I have managed to finally get my photography up on a website and am super excited for it.
JB Johnson Impressions is now running and feel free to browse. Hopefully this will get my photos out there for more people to see and buy possibly. 

Mt. Elbert

I hiked up Mt. Elbert today with a couple of new friends, and believe me, when the book says it's an easy hike, it lies. It took us 4.5 hours to get up and then 2 hours down, but only because I pulled up my reserve and practically ran down the mountain. I was DONE. The hike starts out almost immediately uphill and there are about five switchbacks in the woods before it continues straight up. There are two small straight stretches. After that it gets steep. After it gets steep, it gets steeper and then so on. There are two false summits, so once you think you are at the top you see in despair that you are not. It was definitely more along the lines of mountain climbing though, rather than a hike. We had some pretty clouds below the mountains today so the views were spectacular and once we were at the top it cleared up long enough to get some good photos. Here is the Everytrail link for the hike. Mt. Elbert  was named after a Colorado governor in the 1850's and it's the highest peak in the Rockies, and second highest in the continental US. The highest is Mt. Whitney in California and then Alaskan mountains blow both of these out of the water.

Just coming out of the treeline with clouds still below the summit. 

In other news I got my bike fixed and am back to riding to work and home, so all in all I am kicking my own ass lately.

View from the top. 

Summer

Summer is starting to become insane. Between squeezing in my friends, work, and all these fantastic things to do, I may not get much sleep. I went rafting down the Colorado on Memorial Day. It was so much amazing fun. Just a bunch of friends hanging out, boozing down the ice cold river. Believe me it's cold. I obviously didn't get many pics since it's water and well...me, booze, water and electronics are disaster. I'm surprised I made it home with no bruises. That in itself, is an accomplishment. I did get some more photos of Colorado in the summer though. Here are two of my new favorites. I will be getting some photos this weekend of Aspen itself and will try and post some early next week.

Fountains in Aspen Square

Hiking and Biking

I almost kicked my own ass today on the bike, getting in 25.5 miles going from Basalt to Aspen and then back to my house. Most of that is uphill and man it's a kicker. I am super happy with the way biking is getting my body back into shape though. Pretty soon, I'll be in bikinis every day. I have also been keeping up with the hiking. Ashley and I did a tough one, Arbaney-Kittle in Basalt that is immediately uphill and uphill the whole way. Not much of a break on this one. The view at the top was worth it though. It always is.

Top of Arbaney Kittle looking out at Mt. Sopris.

I am seriously hoping to get to all the hikes we listed and then a couple more. I discovered one hike near a lake up here that requires ropes to climb up, so now I'm DYING to go check that one out. Maybe even next week if I can find someone to go with me. For now, here is one of my new favorite photo's that was actually taken at work. I do have a rough life.

Sore

Yesterday I rode my bike 23 miles total, 11.5 into town and 11.5 back home. I also did a 4.5 mile hike with my friend Ashley up to some old cabins on the Hunter Creek Trail. Plus nine holes of golf. This is the first time I have played golf for real and I wasn't great, but I wasn't awesome either. Maybe with enough practice I could be the next golf pro. I am super sore though. I woke up this morning and from neck down to about my knees hurts to move. Nonetheless, I managed to get my place mostly cleaned, through out some old clothes, and I will be biking to Basalt as well today. We'll see how long I can keep this up.