Monday, September 17, 2012

10th Trail Tuesday

     And so we came to our final adventure: the 10th Trail Tuesday.

     This was, in fact, a Thursday. But it was an honorary Tuesday.

     After a long night and an early morning, we made our way to collect the rest of our party and wind our way to the majestic ridges that shoot through Colorado. Kevin joined us with enthusiasm, and brought with him a list of tunes and a powerful voice with which to rock out. Our long drive to Hanging Lake was punctuated by Beyonce's Fever and our renditions of her kick-ass vocals.

     Upon arrival, we were greeted by concrete walkways and bicyclists. For those of us who had not hiked this trail before, it was incredibly misleading. "1.2 miles?! Paved walkways?! Are we really ending our summer this way?!"

     Whoa boy. Were we in for a wonderful surprise.

     If you haven't heard about the Hanging Lake trail before, it's understandable. A mile and a half seems like a reasonably short distance, and it's not quite that long. The distance isn't indicative of the difficulty level: this is a briskly challenging hike. It is a steep, rocky trail that is punctuated by sharper grades and a creek that scrambles down the mountainside. The elevation gain is 936 feet, which isn't alarming until you do the math:

           Slope= Rise/Run. Rise=936. Run=6600. 

The average approximate gradient is then 14.18%.

     ...Crazy, right?

     It was worth every moment.

     We were captivated by every waterfall on our way up. The farther you climb, the more beautiful your surroundings. Photo after photo became more pronounces, and our laughter became more frequent as we climbed.

     It was at the pinnacle that I was truly blown away. On our way up, we clambered up a set of haphazard stone steps, acting more like outcroppings than a staircase. A family photo took place with much glee.

     Zac turned to Suzie with a marvelous thought. With eyes closed and hands clasped, Kevin and I follow them blindly along a wooden boardwalk and past falling water. We hear voices and feel the rush of air as people breeze past.

     "Open your eyes," Zac says. "Take a look."

     I am witnessing a miraculous place. Green moss set the background for a soaring waterfall,  blending into
a sky-blue-mirror of a lake. Children are posing for pictures on a log stretching out into the lake's center. All I can hear is the steady beat of cascading water and the low thrum of people enjoying the same wonder that I am.

     I have no words for my breathlessness. In that moment, I wanted nothing but to be a part of the landscape. I wanted only to be a piece of the magic laid before me.

     We wandered around the lake, full of laughter and awe. I ventured onto the rocks beneath the falls and marveled. The water's spray, the exhilaration of such a calm blue scene, it was more than enough to fill my heart for the months to follow.

     Our adventure continued above the falls. We ascended once more, up the craggy outcroppings, to the source of the water. Laughter reigned supreme.

     Eventually, we sauntered back down the mountain. We were left with such jubilation, we could not help but sing. Loudly. For all to hear.

     Summers rush in with glad tidings and warm moments, and exit in a whittling of daylight while autumn takes the stage. Trees in full bloom give way to the brightly-colored greetings of fall, and we sink into the daily routine again. Paths part and the wind carries our soft voices yonder, over the fields that roll forever. Dawn colors the sky in joy, to be upstaged by the heat of afternoon pastels, and softly lulled into remission with Dusk's whispered palate.

     In a matter of days, we were separated by vast distances, leaving the Colorado Rockies in our rearview mirrors. By Saturday, Zac and I were separated by states. Suzie and Katie would soon follow. Kevin started back at Metro.

     Dusk has settled upon our summer. It warms my heart to no end to glance through our photographs, catching smiles and recalling the laughter that accented our journeys.

     "Not yet ready to leave home, but eager to begin the school year,"  I remember thinking. I didn't want Trail Tuesdays to come to an end. It took me over a month to finish these posts, in no small part due to my longing for more of them. By writing these, by counting the pictures and recapitulating the notions, I said my slow, piecemeal goodbye. Goodbye to my friends, goodbye to my family, goodbye to my work and my cat and my mountains and my sunsets. Goodbye to lazy mornings and midday heat and Tuesday hikes and late-night conversations. Goodbye to the ones I've left behind, goodbye to the pajama shorts and tank tops that aren't appropriate for school.

     I have never been good with endings. Conclusions to thoughts, essays, ideas, conversations, relationships, friendships, these are all things I struggle to finish. Relinquishing control and letting go of attachment is something I will always find difficulty in. But I found love and laughter, heart and soul, feeling and thought on my journey. When I release one, another takes its place. The lessons we learn from ourselves. Goodness.

    I send my love to my dear ones. I wish you all the best.

     Devi

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

8th Mountain Adventure

     Our 8th Tuesday together was spent missing our crazy Aunt, who had fled to Canada in order to attend the famous Canadian Blueberry Festival. Though we missed her dearly, we challenged ourselves with an incredibly difficult, but reasonably distanced, hike, the peak of which was the delicious-sounding Pancake Rocks.

      After a late night, a very early morning, and a miscommunication concerning the location of the trail, we discovered the trail head at last. It was a steep climb, with menacing switchbacks and precarious rock formations, culminating in a brisk walk to the edge of the mountain. We took a small detour to climb a small waterfall and pose on the dam beneath it.

     To entertain ourselves, we found an entirely new treasure-trove of expletives, explored the range of Ubbi-dubbi, and stared into the depths of a blue sky spattered with rolling white clouds. Ultimately, we found ourselves at the top of the ridge overlooking the valley as it unfolded below us.

     We perched upon the pancake rocks and marveled- it was so pristine. Many pictures were taken, and many laughs were had. From our feet to Devi's sad sock adventure, we passed much time among the pancake rocks. How sad, to leave such a place, without the company of Katie. We carried her in our hearts, and found her on our way back down. Pictured, you will see her heart in the form of a rock, welcoming us back down the mountain.

     As promised, the three of us ventured onto a social trail near the end of our hike. We stumbled upon a small campground, hinting of Hobbit life on the hill. Further down was a small stream trickling down the heavy rock formations that jutted from the body of the mountain. Pipes were strung along its length, and their purpose has yet to be precisely determined. But it made a magical (and dangerous) adventure that warms my heart to think of.

     Documented by Devi's camera, here are a few of the photos taken from our endeavor to Maja Falls and the Horsethief Trail:

.

And with love, and some nausea, we made the long trek home. Until the next Tuesday...

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

7th Trail Tuesday!

It has been quite a while! Going back to our seventh trail Tuesday goes back to July 24th, when we revisited the hike that first brought us together on the mountain. It was a late night and early morning, but full of quiet moments and joyful smiles.
Clad colorfully and with flamboyant unprofessionalism, we wanted to meet the level of coolness that Katie had reached previously. Suzie rocked the angry birds shorts, Zac brought the attitude in Oscar the Grouch boxers and leggings, and Devi came in blue Charlie Brown pajama shorts. Of course, Katie led us up the mountain in her Spongebob towel shorts.

We had fun by the lake doing yoga, and marveled at the expansive valley as we hiked to the peak. Passing Dream Lake and meandering up to Nymph Lake, we elicited plenty of strange looks and confused stares, but it was more than worth it.

After a rest on the crags of Nymph Lake, we journeyed back down to begin another trail- the trail passing Alberta Falls and heading towards Sky Pond and Mirror Lake. Though the weather did not permit us to finish the trail, we fell in love with the scenery once again, and explored the social trails to our hearts' content.

So much beauty and so much majesty lifted this day. My pictures can only tell half the story- the rest lies in my heart.


Sunday, July 15, 2012

A Bicycle Adventue


    And so, Tuesday came. Because we had a half of the family with us, we decided to stick to the plains this week. Having biked this once before, Devi suggested the South Platte Trail, which runs from 104th and Colorado past the 16th street mall. After a very late night, Zac and Devi swapped bikes, fixed tires, and finally made it to meet the lovely Terhesa and hit the trail.

     We biked, and biked,
                                      ...............and biked, and biked, and made a wonderful day of it!

     After slightly more than three-and-a-half hours, we found ourselves on the edge of Riverside Park, which meets the Platte River. After a rest, we locked up our bikes, played by a small "Waterfall," and wandered the mall. At the south end of 16th, we took refuge in the Denver Public Library, intending to read and rest.

     However, Devi started a dangerous trend by laying on the floor and losing consciousness. Terhesa and Zac soon followed suit. Naptime was precious!

     We soon met up with Kevin, sat down for a light snack, window-shopped, and began our trek home- but the day was not over yet!

     After a shower, we went to find Suzie and take Terhesa home, only to go out once again into the wilderness, and took a short hike (with Mexican food in tow) in order to take a good look at the stars. We were shortly joined by deer, much laughter, and a majestic view of the stars twinkling from the city, sprawling  along the darkened horizon ahead of us.

     A magical night shared with kind, loving friends.

     A girl can't get much luckier than this.




Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Journey to Mohawk: Our 5th Trek in the Unknown!

And it came upon us, Trail Tuesday! Sadly, Suzie was unable to attend, as he has been recently promoted to manager and was working today.

 We began our 5th hiking adventure by waking up Devi, who had gone to the trouble of buying an alarm clock that would (theoretically) make sure she was up in time to go hiking. The best laid plans of mice and men...but we did make it to the mountain! The trail to the Mohawk Lake Trailhead itself is a three-mile trek that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We stopped to take pictures by the pond we passed, and had a grand old time of it!

 As we found our way up the mountain, the trail became progressively steeper and more beautiful. Climbing up and around a waterfall was a majestic social trek in and of itself, yielding some very handsome photos of the dashing Zac!

 Towards the latter part of our hike, we made use of the rope depicted to climb up the slope! From there, it was a hop, skip and a jump the Mohawk lake itself, and a happy picnic. Sadly, the rain clouds rushed in the hurry us home, but we sang and joked our way down the mountainside.

 It was on our way home that we made a fantastic discovery! Beau Joe's Pizza, where we ate like the royalty, employs the most effervescent people! We were served by Garrett, who made us feel right at home! So enthralled were we that we wrote him a letter on a napkin, drew a plethora of smiley faces, and generally made pleasant conversation.

 Finally, it was the end of our raucous day of trailing and pizza. It was ended with love, stories, and of course, so many pictures!

 

Stay tuned next week for another adventure in Trail Tuesdaying!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Hike to Blue Lake: A Fourth Adventure

In lieu of our regularly-scheduled Trail Tuesday, the family set off in different directions for new adventures. We were scattered across the region, but hope to rejoin for the coming week!

 In the meantime, Trail Tuesdays persisted. Diane, Stephen, Sarah and Flynn were adventurous enough to join us for this installment, and all had a wonderful time of it! When setting off with a different family for the mountains, Colorado was the state on fire. With this in mind, we chose a trail outside of Nederland and close to Brainard Lake: Blue Lake. Though we were not able to finish the trail due to time constraints, we did have a lovely trek up the mountain and found a plethora of majestic scenes. The rain joined us more than once on our hike, and was a welcome distraction from the heat. When the rain wasn't falling, we also took the time to cool down on the snowbanks that grace the side of the trail: Stephen, Sara, and Flynn posed magnificently as Superheroes. At the glacier at the end of our journey, Flynn got loose and had quite a time of it running about atop the permanent snowbank. After almost falling into a crevice between the glacier and a boulder, we decided it was time to walk our weary selves back down the mountain. There was much laughter, many jokes, and even more stories.

 Our journey in pictures, as seen by Devi:

 
And Stephen was kind enough to share his pictures, as well:




While we were on the mountain, another fire was reported in the Colorado Rockies. Three or four peaks away, the Flagstaff Fire was raging. We watching as the pink plume grew and spread from the outermost ridge. This marks the 14th wildfire the region has seen this year. Our highest hopes and kindest thoughts go to those who have been affected.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Hiking with Rebecka: Our Third Trail Tuesday

     We shared today, June 19th, with such a beautiful heart! Rebecka joined us as Sister.

     Today was punctuated by drinking all our water, hiking on the rocks in the heat, and spending the remainder of the day giggling in the mall. All dressed up for hiking, dirt and all, and we are trying on clothing and walking the Park Meadows Mall.

   We stumbled upon a small alcove (Not quite a cave, but it may one day grow into the title), shimmied down a crevice, and posed with the cave paintings. Who'd have thought that the cave-dwellers used Twitter, too! Hashtag that, guys!

     Tears were shed in the Disney store as Zac picks us his first music box (Tangled, At Last I See the Light). Devi learned to love Crocs with Becka, and the gang tried on clothes and smelled bath salts up and down the mall.

     But, wait, this was a Trail Tuesday. Hmm. Well, here's the trail!

Isabelle Lake: Our Second Mountain Adventure!

     On our second Adventure, we ventured up to Isabelle Lake. The hike itself was the easy part- the real challenge was getting there! On our three-mile-trek to the trailhead, we met a happy fellow on a tree stump and joined him for a small sit. He was kind enough to let us pose for a picture with him, and showed extreme patience with our attempted family photo.

     The trail itself was marvelous. Streams and creeks trickle down the mountainside, tripping through our trail in a most welcome way. With many miniature adventures on the way, we found our way to Isabelle Lake, where poor Suzie rolled his ankle...on a glacier. In June. Oh, Suzie.

   Here we have it, our journey in pictures, presented by Devi, Zac, and Katie:


     Loved this hike. So much laughter, so much singing. So much love. :)

Devil's Thumb- Our First Outdoor Endeavor of 2012!

Here we have it: Devil's Thumb, from June 5th, 2012. Such a beautiful hike! We lost the trail in a snowbank, and again at Devil's Thumb Lake, and sang our way down.

Here is Devi's contribution:



And Katie's lovely photos, as well!



And last, but certainly not least, are Zac's pictures!


And so concluded our first Trail Tuesday.

:)

Monday, June 18, 2012

Welcome!

Hello, my darlings!
We're not going for anything special here. Mostly just sharing photos, stories, and ideas! I hope to share some of these with the Outdoors Club, and I think anyone else who might enjoy it is welcome to it.
Sending my love,
Devi