The loop is 26.2 miles long.  We did it in three days.  We got down there on Thursday night and camped.  On Friday we left from the trailhead at the Albert Pike Campground (the same campground that was hit by the flood back in June) and headed to the Little Missouri Falls.  We only did about 8 miles on the first day.  This part of the trail is the easy part.

After this we went over several ridges that have high elevation and are full of switchbacks.  We got over all but one or two and left those for the next day.  This part of the trail was about 9 miles.  This part was rough.  It was the most difficult hiking I have ever done and pushed me to my limit.

Then the last day we had breakfast at the summit of one of the mountains and then finished out headed toward winding stairs.  This part of the trail had a couple of caves and was really cool.  The trail ends climbing Albert Pike.

My pack was full on this trip – probably about 40 pounds.  The trails is almost constantly near a river, creek, or stream, so we were able to have plenty of water the entire time.  We had two filters with us, so we filled up our Nalgenes pretty fast.  We ate dehydrated food.  The best was the breakfast – the breakfast skillet was awesome and then the granola with milk and blueberries I would eat any time.

Overall this trail was awesome and pretty difficult.  I lost track of the number of times the loop crosses the rivers and streams.  It was very cold during the night and pretty cool during the day.   We are hoping in the future we will get a chance to do the Eagle Rock Loop Marathon and do it all in one day.

Hope you like my pictures.

I have another hike coming up pretty soon (in a couple of weeks).  It is going to be much easier and a lighter weight in my pack (probably just take a day pack).  Looking forward to it and I am sure you will get to hear about it!

Each day will feature a different mission project of the General Board of Global Ministries supported through The Advance, the designated giving arm of The United Methodist Church. Through live webcasts, streaming video, online chats, and other media, you will learn about these amazing ministries that are changing people’s lives.

And by visiting 10-Fold.org daily and registering your interest, you’ll be able help secure tangible support for each project. It’s easy. With one click, you can trigger a $1.00 donation each day of 10-Fold, up $10,000 for each project.

Be a part of a movement that multiplies God’s work, be counted, and help create an effect that is 10-Fold in good works.

http://www.10-fold.org – RSVP to the event on facebook here.

(yes that is a Diet Snapple Diet Peach Green Tea – also awesome)

I made salsa the other day.  It was pretty delicious.  Thanks to David Riddile and his blog The Spice Search for the recipe.  The green one is a roasted tomatillo salsa.  Oven roasted the ingredients and then mixed it up – Awesome on fajitas.  Then the red salsa is called Enfuego Red Salsa.  It was pretty decent.  This one was pretty spicy compared to the other one, but it also had more jalapeno and a Habanero thrown in there to kick it up a notch!

Check out more of their YouTube videos here.

This is awesome!
Everybody is responding to this different style really well.  The first week we talked about prayer, then we talked about fasting, then simplicity, and then solitude… (and that is as far as we have gotten).  Each week we start with some intro material on the spiritual discipline for the night (this is done by me).  At this time I basically give an overview of what that particular discipline is and give some scriptural references and a little explanation on how it works.  After that it is open.  There has not been a silent night.  I am amazed at the things people know and share.  During this time the people at Awaken have been sharing life experiences, things they do, places where they find the spiritual discipline in the scriptures, struggles, and helpful tips.  Every week I learn something new and usually come away with a different way to look at or practice these spiritual disciplines.  The conversation that is going on has always stayed relevant and continues and continues.  This open source format it really exciting and has been great at Awaken.  I am sure we will be using it more and more in future in other ways. 

If you want to come check it out — feel free.  Awaken is always open to everybody.  We have a few more weeks left and here is what we will be talking about.  Tuesday nights – Worship begins at 8:00pm.
March 16th – Service
March 23rd – Worship
March 30th – Celebration 

I saw this state trooper the other day on tv… This state trooper looks just like Kevin Millwood.  I know The Big Kat is no longer a Ranger, but it was fun to see this!
 

The pictures above include the view I woke up to (my backyard), a snowboarder that was snowboarding down the median of the street on a big hill (he was kind of bookin’ it too), my snow angel (which somehow did not win the competition it was in…, me creating a snowman, tiny snowman without head, and then finally that is an 8 foot igloo that my buddy Ben Wood built.

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