Beauty comes in many forms. The rays from a sun at just the right angle as they cross your lover's face. The bright colors and pleasing symmetry of flowers in bloom. A view of the sunset from the second floor of your apartment. The 360 degree view from the summit of a mountain. The first hours after a snowfall when the snow is still fresh on the tree branches and has not melted yet. Those one to two weeks in autumn when the leaves reach their peak bright red and yellow colors and you take a drive down that long winding road to see them in full color. The and pure glee coming from the innocence of a child. If you're one of the lucky ones you'll experience one of the greatest inner beauties that exist in this world. The state of being in love.
Today I speak of the beauty from the summit of a mountain.
Mount Elbert is the highest summit in Colorado. It is on my life goals list. I thought I may be able to tackle this one on this trip, but I underestimated the amount of snow CO gets! And so I made the wise choice to stick to a lower elevation that still had snow but not quite as much. There are some things that are not worth the risk and worth the wait for the right time. The previous days before, we had been doing a section on the trail that goes up to the infamous Long's Peak in CO. This trail's traffic had a very different set of hikers than the family crowds you'd find at the lakes in RMNP. There were quite a few serious solo mountaineers coming down and one of them we stopped and asked if they made it to the summit. The man, with a foreign accent and thus seemed to have possibly traveled quite far to make the summit, said no, it was not worth the risk. He turned around. The serious mountaineers with their ice axes...if they were forfeiting a summit attempt, maybe the highest peak in CO wasn't such a great idea and I was possibly getting in over my head. So thus I am here at a different section on the Continental Divide trail. The beautiful Berthoud Pass. :)
You can pretty much pick any pass along the Continental Divide and hike in either direction along it. You're bound to enjoy any section you pick. I was delighted to get to hike in a different type of environment than usual. I haven't hiked in the snow much before. Heck, I haven't hiked above 7,0000 feet before! the snow does add another element of beauty to a hike and the surrounding views. It looked as if I was the first one there for the day. The map was covered in snow in the parking lot so I swiped it off to snap a picture.
The Continental Divide trail is one of the 3 great long distance trails in America. The other two being the Appalachian trail and Pacific Crest trail.
The snow was quite steep in some sections reaching knee level and sinking in. But all in all, it was not too bad. Gaitors were a definite necessity. There were no fresh tracks in the snow except what looked to be a few snowshoe hare tracks.
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| Breaking trail! |
Thus I was breaking trail in the snow for the majority of the time and unable to see any trail markers. But I kept walking assuming I was on the trail. Eventually I got to a point where the trail direction was hard to decipher and I contemplated turning around and giving up. The wind was picking up in some spots and the snow getting deeper. It is always at these times that someone will come along just in time to offer help. Similar to my first night out on the Appalachian trail when I also contemplated turning around when 2 thru-hikers came around the corner and helped me out. Things always have a way of working out. I was standing near the top deciding what to do when a young man and his 3 dogs come in. "Am I on the Continental Divide trail?" I inquired. He replied that I was and that he's hiked this many times and I could follow his tracks. Awesome!
I kept at it until I hit the first peak, Russell Peak. Normally at this point I might have forfeited here due to inexperience. But I saw the young man summit and I thought well if he could do it, I certainly can too. It was pretty steep and slippery at some parts so it took a bit of time to get to the top of this peak. But it was well worth it. At an elevation of 12,280 feet, I could start to feel the effects of the change in elevation and thinner air here for the first time. I was grateful that another hiker came along and that I did not give up.
For a few minutes I stood at the top of the mountain and thought to myself I can't believe such beauty exists and I was so happy and grateful to be there.
Goodbye mountaintop...
The mountains are the disneyland of my heart.
Movie Recommendation:
Movie - Continental Divide
Music Recommendation:
Bob Dylan kick
http://youtu.be/xCipKmyngLY
http://youtu.be/n42umTaVbjU
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