After a tough 3-hour day in the "office" consisting mostly of packing up the car, we set off for a much-deserved vacation. We climbed over the Rockies on the notorious "I-70" highway, which I normally see only in the winter on the way to ski trips. Only in the summer, it is a whole different place. Instead of constant blizzards, ominous 14,000 foot peaks, and slip-sliding SUVs all around, you see sweet sunshine, glorious 14,000 foot peaks, and bumbling SUVs swerving and braking along the curvy cliffsides.
Our camping site was in a very remote part of the state, and a beautiful one.. 50 miles from the nearest tiny rural town, surrounded by steep flat-topped mountains and lakes.. and apparently with a very rainy climate because there were swamps and mosquitoes everywhere. However, we found the perfect tent site and once we soaked ourselves with deet, started a smoky fire, and started consuming beer, we didn't even notice they were there.
The day began early as camping days always do because of the bright 5:48 AM sunrise. But we fought back with an ultra-leisurely multi-course breakfast. After the 3-hour wakeup session, we set out on a hike through the area's surreal extremely burnt forests. The trail climbed 1500 feet to a deluxe plateau with snow and waterfalls streaming off of its cliffs. Some of our group decided we should extend the hike and come back by way of another trail. We estimated that the longer route back would be about 7 miles.. instead, it turned out to be about 12 additional miles, which wore us all out pretty nicely. Mosquitoes kept a watchful eye on us throughout this hike.
Another super-breakfast was the highlight of this day. Some of us cooked birthday brownies over the fire, then we attempted to go mountain biking on an adjacent mountain. Due to the rainforest nature of this area, the trail was quite swampy and did not prove to be worthy of our efforts. We decided to pack it in and drive back to civilization, where we basked in the warm, dry air, freedom from mosquitoes, and the unbelievably nice showers, kitchen, and beds that are part of contemporary human dwellings.
