Well, I’m taking orders for my 2010 Colorado Calendar. If I can get 25 or more orders, the cost will be $20.00 each (plus $4.95 for Priority Mail shipping). If I don’t get 25 orders, then they will be $25.00 each + shipping (I get a discount for bulk orders). If you’re local to Colorado Springs or I can send by inter-office mail, you can skip the shipping cost. I’d like to place the order at the printer by 12/30/09. I will need to have all payments prior to placing the order this year, unfortunately, as I lack the funds to pre-order them.
Let me know if you’d like one! 
On October 17, 2009, I decided to make my first run at an October summit of a 14,000-foot peak. Since Pikes Peak is practically in my back yard, I figured it was the most convenient one. I started out at The Crags trailhead at 5:00 AM and summited just after 10:00. Unfortunately, since I’m writing this four months later, I don’t recall enough of the day to write a detailed trip report, so I’ll just post some of the photos that I took. I remember that the day was absolutely perfect in every single way, though. The last time I hiked up Pikes Peak in August, Cari, Mark, Barb, and I were met with some pretty nasty conditions — including a rain/snow mix at the summit. Mark and Barb made it to Devil’s Playground before deciding to turn around. They were able to pick Cari and me up from the summit afterward, so I didn’t really count it as a summit.
Views of Colorado Springs from the summit of Pikes Peak
A monument to Katharine Lee Bates who was inspired to write “America the Beautiful” after visiting the summit of Pikes Peak. Most people believe that she wrote it on the summit, which isn’t true. After visiting the summit, she returned to her room at the Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs and penned the historic song there.
Yet another summit shot
Panorama looking east from the summit of Pikes Peak
Panorama looking to the northwest while descending The Crags trail
Zoomed-in panorama looking toward the northwest to the Sawatch Range and part of the Front Range
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