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Join us, Saturday February 18, for a MODERATE 3 mile hike/snowshoe at the Betasso Preserve, just west of Boulder. So, is it a hike or a snowshoe? Only Mother Nature knows for sure. But, we will provide all who sign up an update letting you know what kind of footwear you’ll need a few days before the event. We have snowshoes we can loan you if you need them.

This hike has gradual ups and downs dispersed throughout the loop.  Saturdays are hiker-only days so no need to worry about dodging the mountain bikes.
MEETING TIME AND PLACE: We’ll meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Betasso Preserve trailhead. To get to the trailhead, take hwy 36 to Boulder (turns into 28th St. in town), and take a left on Canyon Blvd (1 block after Arapahoe).  Note your mileage when you cross Broadway. From Broadway, you will drive through Boulder Canyon for about 5.2 miles until reaching Sugarloaf Rd on your right. After turning right on Sugarloaf Rd, take your next right on Betasso Rd.  The entrance to the Preserve will be on your left; parking lot, shelter with picnic tables and bathrooms. We should be back to the trailhead by noon.
HIKE LEADER: Jason King will lead this hike.
CANCELLATIONS: There is unreliable cell phone coverage at the trailhead, so if you sign up and need to cancel, please call Jason by 9:00 at 303-819-8207.

DOGS: Leashed dogs are allowed on this hike.
Be comfortable, be safe! Be sure to bring:

1. Shell jacket (and pants)

2. Extra clothing (fleece, poly pro, wool top, hat and gloves). No cotton!

3. Water

4. Trail snacks/lunch

5. Boots with good traction. Yaktrax or similar ice grippers may be helpful. Or, just bring snowshoes.

6. Sunscreen/sunwear/lip balm/sunglasses
We can loan you snowshoes if you need them.
To sign up for this hike, please fill out the form below and hit “Send.” The form will go blank, and you should see a message that says your message was sent successfully.
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Join us Sunday, January 22, for an EASY hike along Marshall Mesa, south of Boulder. This hike is approximately 3 miles long, with an elevation gain of about 300 feet. We’ll meet at 9:30 at the trailhead. We’ll be back by about 11:30 or 12:00. This trail is suitable for running shoes.

DIRECTIONS TO TRAILHEAD: Drive south from Boulder on Broadway. Turn left at the intersection with Marshall Drive CO 170. Park on the right in the trailhead parking area for Marshall Mesa.

Be sure to bring:

1. hat/gloves

2. Extra clothing

3. Water

4. Trail snacks

5. Sunscreen/sunwear/lip balm/sunglasses

Dogs are allowed on this trail.

This hike will be led by longtime LBL participants Barb Schwendler and Dan Zack. If you need to cancel, please call them at 303-682-2426 no later than 8:00 the morning of the hike.

To sign up for this hike, fill out the form below and hit “send.” The form will go blank, and you should see a message that says yoru message was sent successfully. (more…)

Francie's Cabin retreat

All of our retreats are special, but there’s something even more special about our winter trips. Maybe it’s the beauty of untracked snow. Maybe it’s the winter light. Whatever it is, you don’t want to miss it.

Francie’s Cabin is particularly suited for a winter trip. It’s one of the easier huts that we go to — just under two miles, with 900 feet of elevation gain. Our caring volunteers will be with you every step of the way. Once we get to the hut, you’ll have a chance to warm up by the wood stove. Your overnight gear and delicious meals will await you. Finally, Francie’s Cabin has a SAUNA. There’s no better way to melt away your cares and aches.

This trip is full, but we are still taking reservations for the wait list. People on the wait list frequently get a chance to go on the trip, so don’t give up hope! If you’re interested, but unsure whether you’re up for it, please give us a call at 303-808-2339, and we’ll help you figure out whether this is the trip for you. If you know you’re ready, you can register by filling out the form below. Once we receive your registration, we’ll send you a few forms to fill out, including a financial aid application. Your registration is confirmed only AFTER you return the completed forms along with your $35 payment (or financial aid application, if you need a scholarship — we believe that money should never be a barrier to your ability to attend one of our retreats). (more…)

(Note: you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.)

Live By Living’s first cancer survivor retreat of the 2011 summer season reminded us again and again why we do what we do. Our destination was Francie’s Cabin, a beautiful log cabin south of Breckenridge. On Saturday, July 16, after a round of introductions, 14 intrepid trailblazers began the steep trek up the Crystal Creek trail.

Among our group were some truly undaunted survivors who either had never been hiking, or had only hiked a few times. Two in our group had severe hip arthritis, to boot! But we just took our time, resting as necessary, and we reached the hut in little over an hour. Everyone was delighted to see the beautiful gable that graces the front of the cabin as we rounded the last bend in the trail. Most people passed the afternoon reading and relaxing, or getting an aromatherapy massage from Nicola, one of our volunteers.




After dinner, we enjoyed the gorgeous sunset off the front porch.








A few minutes later, someone shouted, “Look! it’s a bear!! Right outside the window!” And sure enough, a good-sized black bear was exploring around the hut. We managed a fuzzy picture of him in the dim light. We made sure to shut the doors tight, and after several hands of “Dutch Blitz,” people retired to their rooms and drifted off to sleep. No one had nightmares about bears, but on Sunday morning, a few people said they had been kept up by an intermittent noise that sounded like grating or huffing. We couldn’t imagine what it could be. This was a mystery that would not be solved until much later in the day . . . .


After a breakfast of pancakes, we set the tone for the day by listening to a short passage from “Awake in the Wild,” a book by Mark Coleman about meditating in nature. The passage illustrates the profound beauty we can experience by being patient, still, and mindful in nature. It also highlights how the natural world offers many lessons that we can apply in living our own lives fully. In the passage, a young woman describes how she spent hours watching an eagle. At first, she couldn’t understand what the bird was doing as it circled its nest, seeming to drop something, then return to the nest. Then, she could scarcely believe what she was seeing: a mother eagle teaching her young how to fly by pushing them out of the nest, allowing them to fall a bit, then scooping them up and returning them to the next. Each time, the mother would allow the eaglet to fall a bit farther as it learned to use its wings to power its own flight.

With our intention to pay attention to our surroundings, we set off for our hike up the Crystal Creek valley. The wildflowers were out in abundance, from paintbrush











to columbine















to Old Man of the Mountains, a sunflower that, we learned, is also called Compass Flower because it always points east instead of tracking the sun.

With this year’s abundant snow, there was still a lot of runoff, and the creek we had skipped across the previous summer was far deeper. To reach our goal, we had to cross a wobbly bridge consisting of two green logs that bent with every step. This was a new experience, for sure! But with our volunteers and friends to help, everyone made it across safely.

We were rewarded for our courage with the thing that has delighted visitors to Colorado for decades: Snow!! In the Summer!! Shahada, our first-time hiker, thought this definitely beat 98 degrees in Denver!

After a brief friendly snowball fight, we continued up the valley to the lovely Lower Crystal Lake, the ruins of an old miner’s cabin, and the imposing presence of Father Dyer Peak.

After dinner that night, we once again heard the grating, rasping sound that had kept a few hikers awake the previous night. We organized an expedition to trace the sound to its source. Under the front deck, we found the culprit: a porcupine who found parts of the cabin quite tasty. Mystery solved, and earplugs firmly in place, we enjoyed a quieter night.

Sunday, Wendy showed us that high-tech wicking fabrics can be fashionable as well as functional.












After the final group photo, we headed down the trail with some hew friends, new experiences, and new perspectives. Thanks to our volunteers: Jo, Nicola, Steve, Elaine, and Stephanie. And thanks to our intrepid trailblazers: Shahada, Coleen, Wendy, Alison, Anne, TeHsing, Donna, Joyce, Ben and Barb.

“Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus

Up in the mountains, the aspen have long since turned, and with this week’s snowfall, the last few hardy leaves are likely all on the ground.

But there’s still time to enjoy beautiful fall foliage along the Front Range.















More than other seasons, perhaps, fall leads us to reflect, to take stock of where we are in our journey through life. Summer’s blossoms are gone, our garden harvest is over, or almost so, and the trees are shedding their leaves. These changes in the natural world around us stimulate us to think of those who are no longer with us, and of our own mortality. Such reflections can take many forms.

Perhaps we feel the sharp pain of the loss of a loved one. We may feel alone. But if we look at fall more closely, we see that the autumnal changes in nature are not an end. Instead, they are just a part of the cycle of life. This year’s leaves began as sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and perhaps a few minerals from the soil.




As the leaves decompose, they become nutrients for next year’s growth, or the year after that. Where there was a flower is now a seed, waiting for the wind to transport it to a patch of dirt where it will start a new life.

Trees use the carbon dioxide you exhale to make their leaves. You breathe the oxygen the trees produce. You — me — we all are inextricably entwined with the rest of creation. Recognizing this physical fact — that there’s a whole lotta recycling going on, all the time — may help us to deal with feelings of loneliness or isolation.




Sharon Salzburg writes in her book Lovingkindness: “What would we fear if we experienced ourselves to be part of the whole of nature, moving and changing, being born and dying? We would then see that our bodies are joined with the planet in a continual, rhythmic exchange as matter and energy flow back and forth between ourselves and the environment. This is breathing. With each breath, we exchange carbon dioxide from within us for oxygen outside us. Normally we take this process for granted, but this exchange, this connection that is going on every moment, is actually the experience of being alive. We do not live as isolated fragments, completely separate, but as parts of a great, dynamic, mutable whole.”

The Francie’s Cabin survivors retreat was the third trip in Live By Living history, and the biggest to date — 18 people in all. We had a great time, and finally came up with a good term for the participants: “intrepid trailblazers.” I think it captures the spirit of the group. “Intrepid” means “resolutely courageous,” and a trailblazer is one who forges a new track through wild country.

Cancer shows us clearly just how uncertain life can be. Cancer survivors and caregivers are definitely in a wild country. How do we find our way? Well, we don’t control everything that happens to us, but we can choose how we respond to events. We can take charge of our lives, and blaze our own trail.

This trip was filled with new faces, new friends, new vistas. We hiked up the steep Crystal Creek road to Francie’s, savoring the intense flavor of tiny wild strawberries along the way. After fortifying ourselves with more substantial fare at lunch, several of us continued up the Crystal Creek drainage to Lower Crystal Lake, which is guarded by Father Dyer Peak, Mt. Helen, Peak 10, and the ridges to Pacific Peak and Crystal Peak. We explored an old miner’s cabin, walked around the lake, and made our way back to the cabin just in time for some Qigong, followed by appetizers!

After dinner, we sang along to the fine guitar work of Jason King, and joined in singing a number of ‘80s “power love ballads.” Several folks enjoyed the sauna.

Sunday, we started the day off with Qigong, and then took our pick of hikes – a few people went back up to Crystal Lakes, while the rest of us hiked along the Wheeler trail south to the Mohawk Lakes drainage.

Along the way, we picked wild raspberries, and gathered a few porcini (King Bolete) mushrooms.

We stopped at Mayflower Lake before ascending the steep, rocky trail to lower Mohawk Lake. It was a challenging ascent, but everyone did great! And what a beautiful scene for our reward.

Monday, we wrapped up with one last Qigong session and a brief reading from Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Then, we hiked back to the trailhead and daily life, fortified by nature, fresh air, and new friends.

We all had a great time on the first Live By Living cancer survivor and caregiver retreat!  Although the weekend weather forecast was somewhat worrisome, we started off under blue skies on Saturday.  The trail to the Froelicher hut heads straight up the hill, but our group was STRONG! And we didn’t try to race.  We had a lovely snack on the way up by an old ruined miner’s cabin, and arrived at the hut in good time.

After relaxing a bit and learning our way round the hut, we went downstairs to the Alpine Resource Center, a beautiful space that Tenth Mountain makes available to non-profit groups as part of its backcountry exploration program.  We explored the library there, and then settled in for some guided mindfulness training led by Sia Urroz, one of our volunteers.  Soon, it was time for some yummy appetizers, followed by lentil and spinach soup.  The culinary star of the evening was probably the Boston Cream Pie.  In between courses, we watched the sunset colors deepen on the peaks of the Mosquito Range, and got treated to a rainbow.

Sunday, we took a short but rewarding hike to Buckeye Lake, nestled in the cirque of Buckeye Gulch.

Wildflowers were still going strong here, including some star gentian, as well as a striking mystery flower with a long raceme of red flowers.

A few of us hiked up to the ridge above the lake for a view of the Holy Cross and the Sawatch Range.  All in all, a lovely day.

Monday, after a breakfast of peaches, blueberries and strawberries with yogurt and granola, we packed up and headed down the trail.  A brief rain shower on the way down dampened people’s clothes, but not their spirits.

Last Sunday, several of us hiked up the Straight Creek Trail. It’s kind of an unlikely place. You start just at the west portal of the Eisenhower Tunnel and hike north and east to the ridgetop above the tunnel and the boundary of Loveland ski area. Despite what you might think is a somewhat inauspicious start, you soon leave the sounds of the highway behind, and are instead soothed by the babbling of Straight Creek.





Straight Creek is one of the great wildflower hikes of Summit County, and we caught it right at, or perhaps a tad after, its peak. Everywhere you looked, there were incredible bouquets of a diverse array of flowers. (double click photos to enlarge)

It also harbors a lesson in possibility.





On the way up the trail, we stopped and talked about an essay that Terry Tempest Williams wrote (in her book Refuge) about birds that have rarely been sighted in Utah. Among birdwatchers, such birds, that may be definitively seen only once or twice in a fifty-year period, are called “accidentals.” (Another category of rarely sighted birds for which there is less documentation are known as “hypotheticals.” The terminology alone almost makes you want to become a birdwatcher.) She recounted a trio of sightings of American Flamingos in Utah, as well as a few other accidental species, including roseate spoonbills.






A little later, we got up high enough to see tons of Elephant’s Head flowers in full bloom. This is a flower that in itself stretches your concept of what is possible. A flower made up entirely of little pink or purple elephant’s heads, trunks and ears? Well, why not?  As remarkable as they are, Elephants’ head are often quite profuse in marshy areas and near streams, so much so that they can color entire meadows with a pink or purplish tint.


But then, there on the left, something that does not exist: a white Elephant’s Head. I’ve been on hundreds of hikes in the Colorado Rockies, and only in this place have I seen the white Elephant’s Head.


As Terry closed her essay:”How can hope be denied when there is always the possibility of an American flamingo or a roseate spoonbill floating down from the sky like pink rose petals?
“How can we rely solely on statistical evidence and percentages that would shackle our lives when red-necked grebes, bar-tailed godwits, and wandering tattlers come into our country?
“When Emily Dickinson writes, ‘Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul,’ she reminds us, as the birds do, of the liberation and pragmatism of belief.”

And, I would append, as the White Elephant’s Head reminds us as well.

Wow, what a day for Live By Living’s first alpine survivor’s hike!  On July 24, nine of us hiked up to Blue Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

We started with a short reading from Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac” about the fleeting masterpieces nature paints in the landscape.
When we arrived at the lake, after a good little hike, we first were drawn by the stunning mountains surrounding us in the cirque of Blue Lake:  Audubon, Paiute, Toll and Pawnee towered above us.  

Only after lunch, and a brief (!) dip in the lake by one of the more intrepid hikers, did we discover the nearby hillside replete with spellbinding wildflowers.  Huge clusters of

Paintbrush, Columbine, Chiming Bells, and Parry’s Primrose fairly covered the slope.

The fleeting beauty of wildflowers teaches us to live in the present. Fleeting though they may be, wildflower works of art return each year to give us wonder and delight. Suggesting another lesson for another time about the cycle of life.  Next week’s hike to Straight Creek will provide another opportunity to lose ourselves in the improbable beauty of such wonders as Elephant’s Head, Silky Phacelia, and more.  Join us!

Dan Miller
4975 Stuart St.
Denver CO, 80212
dsm@livebyliving.org
(303) 808-2339