My husband had another vacation back to back, and we didn't want to waste it so we booked a trip out to Colorado to visit my grandparents and meet my sister out there as well. We flew into Denver, rented a car and made our way south to Larkspur where my grandparents live. We would be out there for a total of 4 days/ 4 nights and wanted to make the most of it. The next day called for sun and 70 degrees, so we took the chance to get outside and do some hiking we went to Roxborough State Park, a little SW of Denver, and hiked Carpenter Peak- 6.4 miles and 1000 elevation gain. This hike started in red rocks and made it's way up into the trees with some mountain views. Hiking in Colorado is so different than the PNW. Overall much more dry, more lowland hiking options in winter/spring, signs warning you of rattlesnakes and mountain lions.. minor details.
The next day my grandparents got hit by a blizzard, 7 feet of snow and loss of power for half the day. We took the time to chill, read, and get a little slice of winter. Later that evening when it cleared up we headed down to Colorado Springs and hiked through Garden of the Gods a bit. This was our second time there and still really enjoy it.
Saturday I had plans to meet up with a long distant old blogger friend (and local hiking expert), Courtney. She took us on a hike west of Denver in Loveland Pass. I would have never known where to hike at this time of the year and how to navigate avy conditions there, so very thankful we had our own personal guide. The goal of the day was to make it up to Mt. Snikatu- 3.5 miles/ 1673 elevation gain. We donned our packs and headed out for the day. Just as we were getting going we saw a group of people doing what was some backcountry-skiing-para sailing type thing. One of the craziest things I had ever seen! The steep climb continued and the views of the peaks around unwrapped themselves to us. I was blown away with the mountains there and how exposed and massive they were. This hike was a ridge line hike meandering until we finally made it to the top. This was the highest we had ever hiked to at 13,234 feet. I loved loved loved this hike so much and wanted to soak in and explore those mountains forever, but at last we had to head back and make our way back to civilization. Not before stopping for some food and local beer in a small mountain town on the way back though. The next morning we headed back to Seattle, but it only left me wanting to explore Colorado so much more. I could definitely see us living there someday.
