Lets see....I flew out of Seattle en route to Denver around sunset. When the plane lifted off, the sky was clear, the Cascades were out, the Puget sound glowed below and the view was epic!

As a photographer, one of my favorite things about traveling is the sweeping views you get from the plane, especially in Washington. Often I'm blessed with an aerial view of Washington's volcanoes. This particular morning, I got to see Mt Baker from above and once again, appreciate why window seats are the best!

My drowsiness from traveling all day was masked by excitement to see old friends, meet knew ones, and to get outside. Rose and Lily picked me up at the airport and despite the 3 hour, late-night drive we had ahead of us, we were all hyped. We got to Breckenridge, where Rosie lives, around 3 a.m. and passed out. This was our base camp for the weekend and where we would meet more of the ladies who would be joining us.

Dawn came too quickly, but we hustled out the door around 8 a.m. and headed to Mayflower Gulch for a mellow hike. Our hike ended at a natural amphitheater surrounded by towering rock and endless wildflowers. We took in the scenery, drank some brews and listened to Lily Kiely, "fly fishing extraordinaire/weekend DJ and all-round badass Chica", play us some lovely melodies on her ukulele.

Some of us had never met before, but we quickly became fast friends as we goofed around and bonded over our mutual draw to the mountains and the activities they provide.

From there we drove to Leadville to grab some grub and walk around town.

We were all pretty spent from not sleeping much the night before and this was when most of us "out of towners" started to feel the elevation.

The town of leadville is at 10,200 ft. and a couple of us came from sea level. The shortness of breath and energy loss set it. Any day in the mountains that results in being tired from so much fun was obviously a KAVU day!

Thursday night we decided we might as well get an alpine start the next morning to try and catch the sunrise from above treeline. So, we woke up at 2:50 A.M., stuffed our day packs and were on our way.

About an hour in, we reached the treeline. The sky above opened up and we were absolutely stunned by the stars. A densely speckled milky way stretched across the sky. We couldn't help but to gaze up and take it all in. Shooting stars raced across the universe and as absolute silence fell upon us. It was a wonderful moment. A moment of peace, happiness and safety.

....we were well above 12,000 and feeling it. We laughed about the fact that 14ers are no joke and... neither is the lack of oxygen that comes along with them! Although it was a struggle, we made it to the top loving every minute of the effort!

....5 a.m. fly fishing with Mya and Lily! We fished at sunrise with the benefit of some cloud coverage which provided a cool, calm morning. Getting about an hour of fishing in before it started to downpour, we made the absolute best of it, did a little rain dance, and headed back to camp;-)

Since Saturday was supposed to be our climbing day and it continued to rain, we hit up a nearby hot springs! Although, we still managed to put safety first and hung out in style. The great thing about traveling with a group of all women is it's easy to find the space to have fun and be completely goofy at the same time.

Overall, we learned that things don't always go as planned, but if you make the best of each situation, you are bound to have a good time!

Klear Above, Visibility Unlimited!

Words and Photos by:

Sofia Jaramillo