It's been absolutely gorgeous here, even up in the mountains!
So my #hiking partner and I decided to go hiking, up in the mountains. This is something we typically avoid until May/June, allowing time for the snow and ice to melt. Last week we saw a post in a Facebook hiking group showing off pictures of their hike at the Cheesman Reservoir outside of Decker, CO. No snow to be seen. And indeed, the trail was completely clear, though the tops of the mountains around us had a light dusting of the white stuff.
So let's get started.
Right off there was a bunch of elevation gain. I think my partner said it was about 600 feet, all in switchbacks. Which is so much better than straight up. But still sucks.
You'll notice in a bunch of these photos that the mountains across from the trail, and a lot of the trees around us, are dead. This is 15 (16 in July) years after a giant fire, the Hayman Fire, burned through the area. Human caused, absolutely horrible. The damage goes from just outside Woodland Park to way past where we were. We did see signs of deer, baby trees, yucca, other small blooming plants, spiders, crows, and I'm fairly certain I saw a little moth at one point.
So recovery is slow, but it's getting there. And though it tore up my heart, it didn't stop the reservoir from being any less beautiful.
So the trail we were on actually wraps around in a big loop. We only did about 3.2 miles, turning around at a rock where we could chill and see the dam. It was mostly flat the whole way to, which was fantastic.
This scenery should be full of trees and life. Instead, it's recovering from human selfishness. (The Hayman Fire was human caused by a forest ranger. She claimed she was burning old love letters in a fire pit at a camp site and the wind carried it out. Most people I know call bullshit on that, thinking she did it intentionally, wanting to be a hero, and the fire got out of control quickly. Either way, it beyond pisses me off.)
We came across a nice bench, put there by an eagle scout for a project.
Near our turn around point we hit more switchbacks going down.
This is the rock we hung out on and relaxed for a bit. The wind was a bit chilly, but wasn't anything too terrible. The sun was nicely warm when the wind would relax for a minute or two. No meditation this hike. This may sound, for lack of better term, crazy, but I swear that any time I stopped to observe the landscape, I could hear the echoes of screams. I crashed hard emotionally the next day.
Time to head back! Up the switchbacks!
Love this tree. This is by the bench, almost forms an archway with the neighboring tree. In the side of the picture you'll see my hiking partner and dear friend Steve. Didn't realize he snuck in to the photo, he usually does his best to stay out of them.
You'l notice a green bag in his hand. While hiking, we found two plastic bags of dog poop left behind. Please don't do this! You should absolutely clean up after your dogs, but don't leave the plastic bags behind, that's worse than the poop. So he grabbed them and carried them out, disposing of them in the trashcan at the trail head. Because he's good people.
I didn't get a good photo of this on the way in, but the rock is in the middle of the trail. Totally looks like a dead end.
And Steve surprised me by capturing a photo of me with his own camera. I end up in this position quite a bit hiking. On the trail or on an outcropping, standing, just being and feeling.
Hope you enjoyed this edition of Walk With Me Hiking Edition! And please remember, you CAN prevent forest fires, clean up after your pets, and if you carry it in, carry out. Leave only footprints, take only memories (and photos).