I recently took a trip out to Colorado and got to hang out in the Rocky Mountains for a few days. After copious research, I decided to stay in Grand Lake, on the southwest side of the national park. The two options are Estes Park or Grand Lake and I did not want to deal with the traffic and tourists at Estes Park. This turned out to be fortuitous because they are doing major construction through Estes Park, so that would have been a nightmare. Grand Lake is a small, quaint town located (unsurprisingly) on a lake nestled within the mountains. This area is the source point for the Colorado River. Unfortunately, there are still severely damaged areas from the wild fires in 2020. There were many homes lost and in talking to some of the residents you can tell what a traumatic impact it had on their community. One person said however, that thankfully there were few lives lost—only 2 people died and that's because they refused to evacuate their home. The damage is evident in hiking the surrounding mountains as well, there are a lot of burned out trees and desolate stretches of land.
At over 8,000 ft elevation, even a casual stroll through Grand Lake felt like a workout session for me. One day I hiked out to Cascade Falls, which was about 9 miles roundtrip. It definitely tested my cardio and endurance, but was worth every minute of it. The snow was still melting from the mountains and all the waterways were very high, even flooding the hiking trails occasionally. I briefly considered walking through the water until I realized it was only about 40 degrees.
My other major adventure was hiking up Red Mountain. It was a new experience for me hiking at such a steep grade. Once you're on the trail you can't really judge your progress, so I kept thinking I was almost there before realizing I wasn't even close. But there were a lot of beautiful places to stop and catch my breath. I think I got about 2/3 of the way up the mountain when I turned around because of all the downed trees and snow blocking the trail. It was an internal struggle because I really wanted to push myself to see how far I could get, but I've always read enough wilderness books to know I was woefully unprepared for hiking through snow. Turning back was a wise call because on my way back down, a major storm front came through. I got to experience my first hailstorm on a mountain! The weather changed so quickly, I think the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. And being pelted by even the small pea-sized hail was not pleasant. I found a little pine tree that sheltered me for a bit. Eventually the hail turned to rain and I found myself completely soaked by the time I got back to my car. Thankfully I had a change of clothes so I was able to get warm and dry quickly. But it did teach me the importance of upgrading to a waterproof backpack!
Overall, I was surprised at how crowded the park was—even though I knew about that in advance. They started a new reservation system this year so if you want to enter the park between 9am and 2pm you have to book your entrance the night before. During the peak time there were so many parking lots and pull-offs that were just completely full. My philosophy was to just avoid the popular places and look for the underrated trails. I would rather be hiking on a path that might be slightly less beautiful, but peaceful and quiet, instead of trying to hit all the popular spots.
Driving Trail Ridge Road was its own experience as well. I thought I knew what mountain driving was like from the Smoky Mountains, but this was a whole new category of craziness. There's nothing like driving on a road at 11,000 ft with a cliff on one side and a straight drop-off on the other, with no guardrail or barrier. It was hard to enjoy the scenery as I was driving and trying not to die, but I think being a passenger would have been equally nerve-wracking. One of the highlights was the Rock Cut trail where you could take a little walking path up through the alpine tundra. This was near the highest elevation on the road and it truly did feel like another world.
My minor travails gave me a greater appreciation for all of those who have explored these mountains, and any mountain ranges, in the past. Especially in the distant past when there was not the infrastructure and advanced gear to make it slightly easier. It must take a special kind of courage and strength to embark on a expedition in such a harsh landscape. But even for me it was a really powerful experience in learning resiliency. Once you're out there, you can't just stop. You have to find a way to keep yourself going. I found myself being more aware of my mental state and drawing on mindfulness practices to keep myself from getting discouraged. There is such an interesting link between our physical, mental, and emotional experiences. Being pushed to a physical limit also challenges us on a mental level. But if you can stay present, there's a sense of flow that creates a feedback loop; if you can focus mentally, it generates energy for your physical momentum, which reinforces your strong mental state, and so forth. This was probably the most fascinating and rewarding part of my trip.
The saying "wherever you go, you take yourself" is a cautionary tale about trying to run away from our problems, only to find we can never outrun them because they are within. On the other side of the spectrum, travel can be an intentional parallel to our interior journey. For me, this trip wasn't so much a getaway from life but more of a pilgrimage to encounter a new part of myself. In the vein of many spiritual traditions, the woman who came down from the mountains is very different from the woman who went up; and isn't that what we should be striving for each day?
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