Blue Lake

Today, J and I did another hike with our friend Casey.

Yes, we are going a little hike-crazy.

This hike was the hike to Blue Lake from the Mitchell Lake Trailhead in the Brainard Recreational Area outside of Ward Colorado. It culminates at Blue Lake which sits in the middle of a ring of peaks. It was windy and cold when we arrived but we enjoyed the view and found a sheltered area out of the rock found everywhere along the top.

J has more pictures because the whole hike was beyond beautiful and so lush and green, but he still has to go through his. This is one I took and sums up the spot...

Click to enlarge.

Once again, I only tracked the ascent, so total mileage was 5.2 miles.

Created by My Tracks on Android.
Total Distance: 4.20 km (2.6 mi)
Total Time: 1:43:46
Moving Time: 56:35
Average Speed: 2.43 km/h (1.5 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 4.46 km/h (2.8 mi/h)
Max Speed: 6.48 km/h (4.0 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 3201 m (10502 ft)
Max Elevation: 3461 m (11356 ft)
Elevation Gain: 372 m (1221 ft)
Recorded: Tue Sep 13 10:03:46 MST 2011
Activity type: Blue Lake


View 2011-09-13 10:03 in a larger map

Hanging Lake/Spouting Rock Trail

On Monday J and I drove up to Hanging Lake Trailhead, just a few miles east of Glenwood Springs as we have been chatting about going for a while now.

Turns out it is one of our favorite places in Colorado!

We only GPS'ed the first half to conserve battery, so our total distance was closer to four miles.

Thanks to J for his contributions to the pictures. :)

Total Distance: 3.15 km (2.0 mi)
Total Time: 1:14:19
Moving Time: 17:07
Average Speed: 2.54 km/h (1.6 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 11.04 km/h (6.9 mi/h)
Max Speed: 13.70 km/h (8.5 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 1845 m (6053 ft)
Max Elevation: 2211 m (7255 ft)
Elevation Gain: 486 m (1596 ft)
Max Grade: 36 %
Min Grade: -4 %
Recorded: Mon Sep 12 11:01:52 MST 2011
Activity type: Hanging Lake


View 2011-09-12 11:01 in a larger map

Halibut with White Peach-Tarragon Salsa

This is adapted from the book Bringing It Home, a collection of recipes from American chefs by Laura McIntosh.

As the last of summer is winding down...here is one of the last light, summer-y dishes for this year! 

The original recipe calls for you to dredge the fish in flour and pan fry it. We baked it, as we tend to do.

Ingredients: 3 white peaches
1-2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
3 limes
1 tbsp cracked peppercorns
12 ounces halibut fillets (we used frozen)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 shallot, diced fine
2 tbsp butter, divided

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place frozen fish fillets in a buttered 9x9 pan and salt and pepper to taste. Cut up 1 tablespoon of butter into small pieces and place on top of fish evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes until fish it cooked through and flakes.

Cut peaches in half and remove pit, slice half into segments and place in medium bowl, add tarragon, lime juice, and peppercorn. Lightly toss together. In a small saucepan saute the shallot in the remaining tablespoon of butter. 

Plate fish with shallots on top. Serve with salsa.