Working in a small work setting during the season change, means lotta passing of airborne illnesses. Last year I was successful in fending off the germ pool with daily doses of Airborne & Emergen-C.
This year – complete fail. Forgot to start the daily regimen. ARGH! I hate being sick. It’s so much harder for guys (ok maybe that’s just my version of reality).
Weekend camping – didn’t happen 🙁 (In addition to being sick, been catching flack for less than stellar church attendance this summer/early fall.) So…kicked around & did nothing? Wrong.
My friend M offered to drive – today’s destination: Red Feather Lakes, CO. And although I didn’t feel hike worthy, lucky enough to see both highlights on my eclectic Red Feather wish list.
About an hour west of Fort Collins, barreled down a series of county roads to the Shambhala Mountain Center. Buddhist temple built deep in the Rockies – seriously? Got to see it.
friendly warning — Don’t expect this to be a popular viewpoint, but I believe my God loves all his people & works through a series of faiths/religions to develop & activate our spirituality. HUGE fan of prayer & meditation.
Temps dropped & snow started to fly. Coincidence, maybe. But nothing lifts & supplicates my spirit like walking/breathing/hiking in the Colorado Rockies. Add snowfall to the recipe. WOW, I’m a blessed individual 🙂
Followed a trail of Tibetan banners to the Great Stupa – maybe half-mile away. Because of the weather, almost had the whole place to ourselves this day. No I’m not a follower of Happy Buddha, so why go? I challenge you to put your mind in the right place – push out judgment & preconceived ideas – get quiet, close your eyes, breathe, pray/meditate.
Watched a small herd of horses walled in by mountain canyons. Amazing, unexpected experience.
2nd highlight – how ‘bout a complete 180? HA!
Walked Elf Lane – a random dirt road off Hiawatha littered with gnomes, dwarves, angels & action figures. (Thanks Leslie for the heads-up and your office desk tchotchke donation. Much appreciated!)
Big flakes now falling – super fun-day adventure. Gnomes hiding under trees, on rocks, hanging from branches, hangin’ solo, coupled, ganged-up together. Holiday gnomes, summer lawn gnomes – who knew there was so much variety?
Fever & a sore throat – ouch. New snow, mountain temples & lawn gnomes – chicken soup for the soul.
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- Shambhala Mountain Center
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- banners & prayer flags lined our trek to the Great Stupa
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- the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya
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- (another) snowy October day – LOVED it!
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- random dirt road off Hiawatha – odd, eclectic, FUN!
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- token tchotchke offering (office desk find – thanks Leslie!)
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- rosy red gnome
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- grampa gnome
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- Rocky Mtn snow gnome – everything’s better in snow, right?
Keenan Haga Off to South Dakota – climbing Harney Peak, their state’s highest. No Mt Rushmore though – closed because of our inept federal government. Reason 101 – why we should all be Libertarians 🙂 October 4 at 12:53pm
Plan B? Someone forgot to check the weather forecast but it’s only October, right?
Dropped Ro at Windstar Kennels, finished work – TGIF!, then north on I-25 – weekend hiking destination: South Dakota’s Black Hills. Nearing the Wyoming border saw a flashing road sign warning I-80 West to Laramie was closed due to drifting snow. That’s odd – we only received a dusting this morning, stopped altogether before noon.
Brief fuel stop in Cheyenne, stocked up on road-happy provisions. Crazy wind. I overhear truckers talking about road closures (while eating at Wendy’s – I know, but chili sounded tasty) so asked the Love’s station guys about road conditions ahead. All roads are closed. Yeah, yeah I saw the sign but I’m not heading west – I’m travelling north, then east to South Dakota.
No ALL roads are closed – freak blizzard. What?
Being completely hard-headed…maybe we can travel east, then cut north thru Nebraska somehow. Ok, calling ahead – we had reservations at Custer State Park. 20 inches of snow already, roads are closed – no end in sight. ARGH!
One of the worst blizzards in South Dakota history plowed through the region during the first weekend of October, leaving a wake of destruction in its path. In Rapid City, nestled in the Black Hills, 19 inches of snow fell on Oct. 4 alone. By day three, total snowfall reached 31 inches near Mount Rushmore and close to 5 feet of snow blanketed the hardest hit parts of western South Dakota. Hurricane-force wind gusts raged through the hills, breaking branches and uprooting massive pine trees already covered in ice. It will be days, maybe weeks, before ranchers can locate missing livestock, but estimates are they will find tens of thousands of dead cattle.
Sullen, turned around & headed back to Colorado. Plan B – I need a Plan B. I’m not beaten…just gotta think.
Limited myself to one hour on the Internet – think, think quick.
I’ve never been to Steamboat Springs. Heard there are natural hot springs (similar to Iceland) & assume hiking trails since Steamboat is a Colorado ski destination. Check, done 🙂
Caught some sleep, breakfast burritos at Whole Foods, then hit the highway (again).
Enjoyed beautiful autumn colour travelling west past Silverthorne, north on 9 to Kremmling, then another hour to Steamboat on Hwy 40. Bit of a late start for a hike – but wow, was not disappointed with my choice. Aspen last weekend, Steamboat Springs this weekend – both fantastic foliage selections plus snow plus chilly 20-degree camping overnights. ROCKSTAR life!
Quick ½ mile hike to Fish Creek Falls, then a longer trek thru knee-deep snow to Second Falls where a group of CSU engineering students offered a hit from their blunt (thanks work friends for the terminology share).
[Nope I didn’t partake but found the situation funny enough to include in my post. Come on, you gotta laugh. Not happening.]
Return hiked to Steamboat, grabbed some chili, then back on the road – day’s only half over, right? 🙂
Drove two miles up a muddy road riddled with pot holes. Strawberry Park Hot Springs looked like a resort spa on the web. Sun was disappearing fast. Was this the right place? Paid a guy the $10 cash-only entrance fee. Seemed kinda shady. And where do you change clothes? Yeah, the experience was a bit out of my comfort zone.
Temps plummeted with the fading light, steam from the natural hot pools created a dense fog.
Slipped on a suit & kerplunked into the pool – awkward, missed a step completely & all but fell in. LOL>
Ahhhhh. Warm, relaxing. Lowered the voice control in my head.
Perched against a rock wall, kicked back & enjoyed the show – the heavens opened up, exposing every imaginable star. Little Dipper, Milky Way, Cassiopeia. Never thought I’d soak ‘til almost midnight – one AMAZING nite.
Flash-bathed at McD’s next morning (another proud moment), then enjoyed oatmeal & blueberries at the Steaming Bean. Quick walk-around F. M Light & Sons (western store advertised in every farm field from Kremmling to Steamboat), followed by a stop at historic More Barn, before the return drive to Boulder County.
SPECTACULAR ‘Plan B’ weekend – South Dakota can wait, I’ve got time 🙂
WATCH my short clip – ‘Second Falls (Fish Creek Falls trail)’
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- Hwy 40 to Steamboat Springs
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- another ‘fall’ hike in snowy Colorado
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- mountain ash berries
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- beautiful Fish Creek Falls
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- autumn yellow
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- spring green
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- & winter white
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- snow hiking in October – LOVE it!
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- Sasquatch?
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- flash of Aspen yellow
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- Steamboat overlook (amidst mighty amazing colour)
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- temps in the 20’s & snow camping (again)
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- Second Falls (Fish Creek Falls trail)
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- ROCKSTAR breakfast at Steaming Bean — highly Recommended!
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- weird but true
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- and another fun one
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- More Barn
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- celebrating autumn — Colorado style
Hiking, check. Marathon, check. Backpacking? Hmmm…. Stuffed an oversized backpack & headed to nearby Nederland with Ro. Goal – our first overnighter in Colorado. Destination – Lost Lake.
Took the free shuttle from Nederland High to Hessie Trailhead to avoid parking congestion on this near-perfect weather day (shuttle operates Memorial Day to Labor Day). Spent 10 minutes talking to ‘the Moose Lady’ who provided ‘what/what not to do’ info on moose encounters. Sadly, saw no moose this day despite Colorado’s recent uptick in numbers.
Arrived at Lost Lake in 45 minutes. WOW – that was fast & all 9 camp sites were full. What to do? Hike on 🙂
Passed an older couple who talked up Woodland Lake, their favourite hike. BAM & that’s how it’s done in the 303. Sunshine, rushing water & an abundance of wildflowers – perfect Colorado summer.
5 miles in — past a meadow, another mountain stream and a grove of pine & spruce, Woodland Lake.
[Insert exclamation expressing astonishment or admiration. Synonyms: holy cow, holy mackerel, holy moly, whoa; cool, amazing, awesome, far out.]
Set up camp & after watching Ro swim as far as his lead leash would let him go, was inspired to wash in the chilly glacier-fed waters. Our only neighbors were 2 fishing couples on opposite sides of the lake (one came with a Jack Russell which kept Ro’s attention). Peaceful.
Tied my food cache (energy bars) high in a nearby tree. However left a meat bone in the tent for Ro. Huh? Yeah, all I really managed to do was limit my own nighttime snacking. LOL!
Ro stayed alert most all night – perched at the front of the tent.
One low growl in the early evening but for the most part, still & quiet. Plan A was to stab ‘the bear’ with a knife while Ro would be barking/causing chaos. Yeah – need to think through a better Plan A before our next overnighter. Never previously wielded a knife as a weapon – much less oppose a bear. Maybe a can of bear mace makes more sense 🙂
Woke early, waded in a waterfall & return hiked by noon. HUGE fan of backpacking!
Ended the weekend with dinner & bluegrass at the historic Gold Hill Inn. Accessible off a dirt road above Boulder at 8300ft, HIGHLY recommended!
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- Hello Moose lady! (sadly though we saw no moose)
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- end of summer hike – lotta wildflowers
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- Colorado Aspen
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- Indian Paintbrush
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- rushing water in mid-August – awesome Colorado summer!
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- pollinator
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- Rowan O’Roark – LOVE LOVE my dog!
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- Woodland Lake
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- our first overnighter
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- stored energy bars high from bears (but left a meat bone in the tent for Ro, huh?)
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- glacier in upper left, tent in lower right – AWESOME backpacking location!
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- don’t think he slept a wink
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- morning waterfall dip (’til my feet went blue)
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- rustic mountainside dining above Left Hand Canyon (4 miles on a dirt road)
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- dinner & bluegrass at 8300ft – HIGHLY recommended!
