First “Real” Hike of the Season

We did a fair amount of hiking while we were in Bolivia and we also walk thirty to sixty minutes every day, but this weekend was the first chance we’ve had to get out and go for a hike in the mountains this year. Mostly because we’ve been travelling as well as the poor weather that we’ve had this spring, but at last we were able to do one of the things that we love about summertime in Colorado.  We are very fortunate to be able to drive thirty minutes or less and be in the mountains with all of the beauty that they offer.  This is one of our favorite hikes as it isn’t too strenuous and offers the opportunity to hike for as long or as short as we would like since there is an entire interconnected trail system.

Start of the Trail
View of the Stream by the Trail
Ducks on the Lake
Aspen Tree against the Sky
Part of the Side Trail

The trail is called the Palmer Lake Reservoir Trail and is located just outside of the little town of Palmer Lake.  The main trail follows a stream that is the run-off from the reservoirs, which was running pretty swiftly at this time of year as there is still snow melting in the high country.  It takes you past the two man-made lakes that provides fresh water to the town of Palmer Lake as well as fishing opportunities for those willing to make the hike.  We’ve done this hike dozens of times and it never ceases to please us.  As with most trails in the mountains, despite the fact that the parking lot was full and we even had to park in the overflow parking lot, which was also full, we rarely saw anyone else on the trail with us.  Getting away from people and connecting with nature is one of the main reasons we like to hike, it is so serene to hike through the woods, listening to the breeze blow through the trees above, and seeing all of the various wildflowers that grow throughout the area.

Yellow Wildflowers
Wildflowers Growing on Boulders
Fallen Tree by the Trail
Blue Wildflowers
View of the Upper Reservoir

It was a beautiful day with the typical bright blue skies of Colorado.  We pushed ourselves as far as a first hike of the season, going for a full two hours and four miles round-trip.  Perhaps because of the hiking that we did in Bolivia, it didn’t seem like too much of a strain, despite the gain in altitude.  To be fair, if you ever read descriptions of hiking trails in the mountains, you’ll often see them described as “moderate”, but any hike in the mountains is going to be strenuous at times, so we usually take the rating lightly and judge for ourselves the difficulty of a trail.  With that said, this really is a moderate trail for anyone used to hiking at altitude.  The trail starts at about 2,200 meters (6,700 feet) and gains about a 700 meters (2,200 feet) depending on which side trail you decide to take, but it gains less if you just hike up to the second reservoir.

Heading Back Down
Gorgeous Views
Upper Reservoir
Clear Blue Sky
The Side Trail that We Took

It was great to get back into the mountains and do some hiking, we’re really looking forward to a full season of exploring new trails.  It is going to be a busy travel season for us, but when we’re not on the road, we want to get out and hike as much as possible.  We live in a gorgeous state and a beautiful part of the country, so we want to take advantage of every opportunity to explore it, even after living here for over twenty years.  If you ever get a chance to visit Colorado during the spring, summer, or fall, get up into the mountains and do some hiking.  Despite how strenuous hiking can be, it is also extremely relaxing and definitely recharges our batteries.

Part of the Trail
Lower Reservoir
View as You Get Close to the Upper Reservoir
Boulders and Pine Trees

 

The Calm Before the Storm

It is true that the day before a storm arrives, the weather is usually deceptively beautiful. Here in Colorado, we usually call it “the warm before the storm”, but the idea is still the same. This was definitely true this weekend as we took these pictures the night before we got another foot of snow. That is right, the last weekend of April and we have a foot of snow in our backyard.  These pictures are from the night before the storm.  The clouds were already gathering, but that made for a beautiful sunset.

Perhaps it is a metaphor for the excitement before our trip to South America.  We leave tomorrow to start our trip and we’re in the process of taking care of the final items on our preparation list.   This is actually one of the longer trips that we’ve taken, so there has been quite a bit to take care of before we leave.  Today we are relaxed and excited for the adventures ahead of us, but tomorrow will probably start the butterflies in our stomach as the anticipation builds.  We’ll post a few pictures from the trip as we can, but we might be out of touch from time to time.

Best wishes to everyone and we’ll share the stories of our trip as soon as we return.

Daily Post Photo Challenge – Abstract

We had a couple of ideas for this week’s photo challenge, abstract, but ultimately we decided on this photo that was taken from our yard several years ago. We actually get skies like that from time to time here in Colorado and usually it means that there is going to be a tornado. Fortunately we didn’t see a tornado that day, but it was definitely an eerie sight.

Creepy Clouds
This Picture Shows the Clouds Even Better

This tree trunk from one of our hikes in Yellowstone looked like it might start following us.

Is It Walking?