After leaving Colorado Springs, we decided to make camp Friday night in the San Juan National Forest. We were spoiled by having a roof over our heads for over a week straight and felt the need to rough it again. We quickly regretted that decision.

We made camp as the sun went down and grilled up a quick meal before calling it a night. We soon realized that not only were we trying to sleep on somewhat of an incline, but that it was going to get very cold. Our camp was nearly 11,000 feet above sea level and the temperature dropped into the 30s during the night. Since Schasse decided against packing even a sweatshirt, and neither of us were prepared with warm sleeping bags, we made the decision that sleeping in the car would be a better option.

We awoke with the sun, feeling cold and out of breath. We wanted to make a quick getaway and make it to a more suitable breathing level, but Schasse had misplaced his phone. Luckily, after an hour and a half of searching, Wags found it in the place Schasse said he left it. Lesson learned: It is no longer safe to assume that Schasse will actually check the most obvious place for a missing item. Which is good to know because he loses important things with stunning frequency.

We made it to Colorado Springs just in time for the Colorado Springs Ultimate Network (CSUN) Wednesday night league games. For a modest size league, CSUN players vary greatly in age and experience levels. League President Jimmy Donnellon informed us that participants range from high school teenagers to a former UPA Director.

League Treasurer Kayleigh Hudson informed us prior to our arrival that she plays on the most fun, spirited team so we decided that we would hang out on their sidelines. Above you’ll see a photo of Wags helping pump up the Flamingos for a big second half. Unfortunately, the Flamingos came up short (Schasse’s 3 turnovers didn’t help) but a good time was had by all.

On Thursday, CSUN Vice President Nathan Woolridge invited us to a workout with his club team, SwingLine, at a place called simply, The Incline. The Incline is an old railroad track that climbed into the mountains, but was washed out in 1990. Now, the tracks are used as stairs for athletes to run and for normal people to slowly walk while stopping several times. Rising over 2000 feet in a mere ¾ of a mile, and nearly 8500 feet above sea level at its peak, The Incline is no easy task. Apolo Ohno holds one of the best times ever recorded at just under 17 minutes. It took Schasse almost 40. It took Wags longer.

After some well-deserved sleep, we left Colorado Springs for a six hour drive to the Southwest Corner of Colorado. It’s time to see some National Parks!

After a fun weekend playing in Swollen Toe, Lisa Kornblith (pictured right) was kind enough to offer us a couch to crash on for a few nights. We spent our days watching tournament footage and working on the episode, and our evenings experiencing a little bit of Boulder.

On Monday, June 17, Lisa and her co-captain Peter Brehm (left) were kind enough to let us come to their Grass Roots Ultimate (GRU) league game. GRU boasts a number of leagues, including an A and B mixed division and a youth league on Monday nights. Lisa and Peter captain a team in the B division called Agent P.

Even though Lisa (and her full field flick huck) were sidelined with an injury sustained over the weekend, Peter rallied his squad and maintained their undefeated record. The captains were kind enough to let Schasse keep a GRU jersey for his participation in their games. Wags got a pat on his good shoulder for taking pictures.

After league play, the crew celebrated the evening’s success at Boulder Beer, where we were fortunate to sit next to the Brewmaster, who also plays in the GRU league. We spent the rest of the night talking Ultimate, laughing, and counting ourselves lucky to have met such a great group of people.

After another day of hard work, Lisa drove us to Pearl Street, a Boulder favorite, for an early afternoon dinner. Pearl Street is lined with cool shops and restaurants so we checked out a few before sitting down to eat. Eventually, we made our way to Mountain Sun to sample a few craft beers and have dinner. The AGM was a Chippewa Falls native and gave us a discount for being from Wisconsin.

Night was approaching fast and we wanted to get to Denver to see Wags’ high school friend, Joe Sams. We said goodbye to our Boulder friends and promised to make it back for another Colorado tournament soon. We made the short drive to Denver where we met Joe, who let us crash on his couch on Tuesday night.

The Break Side crew spent the weekend in Fort Collins, CO at the Swollen Toe Ultimate tournament. Schasse picked up with a team called the Backhanders, a mixed team with players from all over Colorado. The Backhanders spent the weekend coming up with big play after big play as Wags attempted to get it all on film. Unfortunately, with the smallest roster at the tournament, the Backhanders were unable to finish some games they way they would have liked. However, with some amazing personalities, awesome spirit, and a lot of good looking individuals, it was clear that the Backhanders were the real winners.