There is no doubt about it, we are a mountain family and simply loving having the Rockies right our our back door. I finally went out and purchased a couple of hiking books so that come Saturday morning we weren't scratching our heads with where to go. Having a little munchkin makes the hiking a bit more tricky because we can't do anything too long and we always have to make sure that the hike is traversable with her on one of our backs (who am I kidding, Bob's back). O it is such a delight to go up to the mountains. When I picture heaven this picture has got to be a part of it for sure!
Grandma Jill came in for a visit over the weekend and we just had to take her back up into the mountains. Most fourteeners in Colorado are 10 miles plus, which is very un toddler friendly, but Mt. Evans is a 5 miles round trip summit which made it a possibility. I say possibility because really only the toddler will tell. The drive up to Summit Lake was breathtaking. Our hike consisted of 3 individual summits. The picture up top has Mt. Spalding to your right and Mt. Evans to your left. Yep, that is a small glacier up at the top. We got out of our car in our shorts and tank tops only to be hit with the harsh reality of weather at 10,000 feet. It was so cold. We put every possible layer we could on including socks for gloves and loaded the little one up. You can tell that the cold didn't affect her one bit. She loves it!
Before starting on the climbing part of the hike we stopped at this amazing spot for a picture. To call it a scenic overlook seems drastically underrated if you ask me. Yes, this is where I live.
I kept saying that the mountains speak to me in ways nothing else does and Jill asked me to explain a bit. The Mountains remind me how Big God is and how infinitesimally small I am. It humbles me to know that the God who is ultimately greater and more majestic than these mountains calls me His child and cares about me. God didn't make these mountains in His image, He made ME in His image. If that doesn't speak to you, I just don't know what does!
The hike was pretty challenging if you ask me. This picture doesn't really do the trail justice, but gives you a taste for what we climbed. People really gave us some looks with Vibrams on our feet and a baby on the back.
As a runner I am always amazed at how long miles become when you are hiking or climbing mountains. What takes us 30 minutes on the flat ground to run takes us nearly 3 hours up there. It almost seems surreal.
Time gets away from you very quickly up in the mountains and as you can see, nap time comes whether you want it or not. How precious is she??
We stopped and woke the baby, got her out of her confinement, fed her some much needed nourishment and let her get her fill of Grandma love in the hopes that we could make it to the top. Once back in the "pacak" (Lily's word for backpack) we kept heading towards the top. Lily was a bit vocal and I thought that once we started moving she would perk up and we could finish our journey. Oh boy did I misjudge......
On the way down we ran into these 4 legged mountaineers. The Colorado mountain goats are simply an amazing animal. They traverse cliffs and mountains like nothing. It is incredible. Lily kept calling them "Buddy" which I think is her new word for any creature we encounter while hiking in the mountains. She was mesmerized with them which created a great tear distraction and kind of restarted the toddler for the trip down.
We all made it down in one piece with just a few tired muscles and 4 very hungry bellies. What a morning it was.
One request- when we visit, we MUST go hiking. I must see mountains like this!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Without a doubt! Oh I can't wait to see you. Talked to Mom and Dad and they are more excited than us to have you come out!
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