Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Monthly Update - A Series

The official hiking season is over.  Weeks of typical Colorado winter weather...if there is such a thing as typical weather in Colorado...are ahead.  For some, that means spending more time indoors, and a less active schedule.  That can be the beginning of a winter of lower expectations and little motivation.
Negotiating deep powder at Vail.

At the first sign of being less motivated, change gears...think about what you can do to keep the body in 'Active mode' until spring arrives.

The key is to find a method of making a smooth transition from one indoor/outdoor exercise routine to another. 

As we age, it can be more difficult to move from season to season, while maintaining an exercise plan.  Stuff happens to derail us from what we had planned to do, i.e. relocating our place of residence, pre-planned holiday travel/vacation, unexpected loss of a spouse or other family member, diagnosis of a disease, or unexpected accident.

Monday, December 15, 2014

HCH Member has Accident

While scrolling through the posts on Facebook yesterday, I noticed one by fellow HCH member John Tedrick.  It said he had 'crashed' and sustained injury.  Concerned, I quickly began scrolling through numerous other posts looking for clarification.  None to be found.

Since it was a weekend, I decided to wait until today to call is wife, Kathy for details.  Kathy answered in a hushed tone.  When I asked how John was, she said,"Let me go outside, he's sleeping" indicating that she was by his bedside at the hospital.

According to Kathy, John was on his bike at the intersection of I-225 and Parker Road, waiting to cross the intersection into Cherry Creek State Park.  When he attempted to remove his foot from the pedal clip, his foot became stuck, causing him to lose balance, then fall to the pavement.  In his facebook post, John described it as a "Standing still crash."

He sustained a fractured femur and damaged a hip joint all in an instant.  Within moments, a person stopped on the street and came to his aid, calling 911 for help.  He was taken to Aurora South Medical Center then transferred to Sky Ridge Hospital in Lone Tree.

The accident occurred around 2 p.m. on Saturday.  John did not have surgery until 11:30 a.m., Sunday, the following morning.  In addition to setting the femur, he was given a full hip replacement.
 
John will be going home as soon as he is able to put weight on his new hip.  I trust he will get through any prescribed physical therapy plus the personal effort needed to get full range of motion back.

On behalf of all HCH members, we wish John a full and speedy recovery.

John Tedrick
14456 East Warren Place
Aurora, Co. 80014-1421




Monday, November 17, 2014

A Typical Year?

After...

    14 Trivia questions
    21 Scheduled hikes
    72 Crossword puzzle questions
    76 Hours riding a bus
  138 Best images of the year
  158 Cups of coffee
  207 Scoops of ice cream
  244 Hiking participants
 1,377 Person-miles
 4,330 Images saved
 7,216 Images captured
23,164 Feet elevation gain

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Devil's Backbone OS

This the final day hike of a phenomenal hiking season, comes amid a week of seasonal change, and neighborhood kids dressed in costume.  In that context, I can't think of a better place to hike this week than Devil's Backbone Open Space (DBOS).  The name projects an image of being a long, rugged, and challenging day ahead.  As you will see,  within the shear natural beauty of this slice of landscape, there is a certain ruggedness not easily explained.  It must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Kruger Rock

It's mid-October.  One more scheduled hike will end another fantastic hiking season.  Then November 15th. is the annual 'Gathering' for members of the High Country Hikers group and a guest.  Time really does go by fast when you are enjoying life.
Ed leads the group from the TH to Kruger Rock.