I think we were in Salt Lake City last I posted. I usually crave our city days, but had a really hard time adjusting to a city this time. I was anxious to get back to Colorado and hiking.
Today we were able to get back on the trails. I think this will go down as one of my favorite hikes, although it was peppered with problems from the get go. We overslept and got on the road much too late. We didn’t take time to brew coffee at COhome, so stopped at Three Chicks Bakery in Dolores. I’ve never felt so good about eating a scone. Read the about us section of their site to find out why. With a latte in hand we made the drive to the trailhead. The last two miles of the road were the bumpiest, most rocky, dirt road we’ve ever been on. When we had to cross the second stream, I started to doubt we’d even make it. Zak finally parked the car and was shaking as his nerves slowly calmed.
We hiked out almost 4 miles, starting with an elevation gain of 1,100 feet then descending that same distance, before turning around and doing it all over in reverse. Hands down, this was one of the most beautiful hikes. I can’t describe the wildflowers. I’ve never seen so many patches of columbine. The colors were just breathtaking as I watched my foot placement. When I looked up, we either had vast views of mountains surrounding us or the most perfect mountain streams and waterfalls. I was a real “pinch me” hike.
We got about an eighth mile short of our 4 mile out goal, when we heard some thunder in the distance. We are usually done with our hiking by the time afternoon storms hit mountain peaks, but we had gotten such a late start today. We quickly made the decision to turn around and begin the 1,100 foot ascent. Ellie really struggled with the final 500 or so feet, the steepest by far. It was steep switchback after another, up the side of a mountain. It was hard.
The thunder was closing in and we needed to get over the pass and back below tree line quickly. We were over 12,000 feet and the air was noticably thinner. With the combination of exhaustion, fear, and self doubt, Ellie was struggling to move the pace we needed to go. She began hyperventilating a couple of times, but we got her calmed down and back to slow, smooth breathing. I was behind her, trying to encourage her, but also focus on my breathing and footing, when I heard her mutter, “You can do this, Ellie. You’re almost there, Ellie.”
That worked. Next thing I knew, we were over the pass and shortly thereafter, below tree line. We made it back to the car, just as the raindrops were falling. The next challenging task was to get back down the road. Fortunately, the rain was sparse and there were so many forest cows to distract us from the bumps. (If I’m ever asked for the school newspaper what my favorite animal is, I’m going to answer forest cows.)
We’re back in Cortez tonight and ate the best pizza of the trip and Moose and More ice cream.
