Weekend Recap, Vol. 4

Good morning! This weekend was an eventful one, so I’ll get right to it.

Friday I took off work a little early. Allen and I went to Downtown Boulder to try out a new burger place called Rueben’s Burger Bistro.

Rueben’s has a great atmosphere! As you may have guessed, we started off by splitting a chocolate shake. It’s really no surprise by now–our mandatory chocolate course–right? Rueben’s has really unique burger options, which is why I knew we had to try it. I ordered the Hampsten burger and sweet potato fries, while Allen chose the Paris Roubiax on a pretzel bun. The Hampsten burger was piled high with arugula, sprouts, mashed avocado, crunchy cucumber, toasted pumpkin seeds, and was drizzled with cool avocado ranch. It was delicious!! The Paris Roubiax burger was topped with roasted green chilis, roasted garlic aioli, swiss cheese, and finished with a cream cheese spread. One of a kind. The closet to Grub Burger (our favorite gormet burger in College Station) I’ve found in Colorado so far.

We spent the rest of our Friday evening at home, relaxing and preparing for Allen’s brother Galen to come into town the next day.

Saturday morning we went to a ski gear swap hosted by Neptune Mountaineering. While we didn’t find anything, it got me really excited about getting some ski gear for the upcoming season. My friend C went to the gear swap with us as well, and we all decided to go out for breakfast afterwards. We tried a new-to-us spot called Walnut Cafe. I ordered the Denver omelet, with cheese, onions, peppers, and ham, while Allen ordered the huevos rancheros. The pie and cobbler selection there looked incredible, so I know we will be going back there soon for just dessert. The apple-cherry cobbler and peach-blueberry pie are on our list of must-haves for next time.

I love these guys! Only the goofiest friends will do.

After breakfast, we decided to go to Christy’s Sports to try on different sizes and styles of ski boots to find out what works best for us. C and I are newbies at this ski gear thing, so having Allen with us was a blessing. He walked us through everything, even explaining the different designs of skis and what they meant for performance on the mountain.

The sales associates at Christy’s were really helpful! I would definitely recommend going there if you are in the market for ski equipment. I told Will, my sales associate, the type and frequency of skiing I plan to do and he brought me three different boots to try on and explained the differences between each of them. He was great!

We didn’t end up getting anything, but I fell in love with a pair of Lange ski boots that were on sale. I’m thinking about going back and getting them before they are gone! We spent the rest of our Saturday evening at home, cleaning and awaiting Galen’s arrival later that night.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to head to Lake Agnes with my friend C. While waking up in the at the crack of dawn isn’t the most fun thing, the sun rise was beautiful and made the experience a little more worth it.

We ended up driving through Cameron Pass and Poudre Canyon. The rock cliffs were breathtaking.

Look at those three handsome men! The scenery here in Colorado though…just breathtaking in any direction you look.

Lake Agnes is located in the Colorado State Forest State Park, within the Never Summer Mountain Range. It is a 2 hour drive North West from Boulder. Before we headed to the trail head, we stopped to get a picture of the mountains we would be hiking. Lake Agnes is near the valley between the two mountain peaks. Beautiful, no?

There was a tiny dirt road we took to get up to the trail head. C did a great job maneuvering along the steep and winding path.

The views were stunning from the very start of the trail.

It was a bit chilly, so thankfully we brought lots of layers and genuine enthusiasm with us. Of course, after driving 10 hours from Bozeman, Montana to Boulder the night before, I think Galan was just happy to be out of the car and walking around again.

I loved how the Sun and clouds seemed to be forming rays above the mountain in this picture.

The first lake was only 0.8 miles in, and was absolutely gorgeous. Lake Agnes is just isolated enough that there aren’t a lot of people who venture to these parts. It was very serene and peaceful to simply exist and take in the nature around us. Free from the distractions we’ve become accustomed to. Liberating.

The boys taking in the beauty surrounding them (…and the contrails of a plane overhead). They are engineers after all.

Allen and Galen throwing a downed tree into the lake to see if it would float. Boys.

We traversed around the lake. The ground was very damp and squishy, so naturally C set up camp for a little nap.

There is a second and third lake higher, so we began the climb up the mountain to get to them. Allen and Galen took the more direct route up the cliff face, while C and I went to climbing the scree field.

This terrain may look like just a mound of rocks, but climbing up a scree field is Hard. Work. Much of the time is spent climbing up one step and sliding down three more. I’m so thankful C was there to catch me from sliding down the entire mountain a couple of times. Probably should have been wearing a thicker material than yoga pants, huh? I’ve got the bruises and scrapes to prove it.

Lookin’ good there, C. The views were truly epic.

Once we made it to the top, we continued onward to the second lake.

On the trail, I found the cutest little Christmas tree. It was so teeny-tiny I just wanted to give it a hug!

A short while later we reached the second lake.

Oh, hi there Allen!

Allen and Galen are such great brothers. They are always so happy and ready to live life. They are really great people to hang out with. So glad to have them in my life!

Allen and Galen skipping rocks on the lake. They did this for hours when we were in Alaska.

We stopped to eat a quick lunch at the second lake. However, it began to get colder as the storm moved closer, so we added some layers, packed up and began our trek back down the mountain. We found a secondary route on talus, which was (easy) easier to climb down than the scree field. Slow and steady. That was my moto.

On the drive home, we saw a rock feature that looked like an elephant. There was also one that looked like the face of George Washington, but I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough. If you ever visit Lake Agnes, make sure to be on the lookout for these features. Very neat!

The boys passed out from exhaustion almost instantly in the car. I stayed awake to keep C lively while he drove back to Boulder.

That evening we went to The Southern Sun Brewery for burgers (and a quesadilla in my case) for dinner. I’d love to go back when we aren’t as exhausted–we just plowed through our food without taking too much time to enjoy it. Nourishment was on the mind after the long day of hiking we had. Overall we had an awesome weekend! And I can’t wait to see what adventures we go on next weekend.

In case you are interested, here is my last weekend recap. As always, feel free to leave comments below! If you’re interested in getting posts sent straight to your inbox, subscribe in the sidebar with your email. Or follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Bloglovin’.