There are rites of passage in each of our lives. It might be a difficult period or a significant loss. It might be a religious pilgrimage or a cultural tradition. It could even be a thru-hike.
Before there was Barr’s Trail, the Cog Railway, or the highway up to Pikes Peak there was a different trail, the Historic Trail. This trail went from Colorado Springs to Jones Park and Lake Moraine, up to Windy Point, and on to Pikes Peak.
Zebulon Pike at 27 years old became one of America's most celebrated explorers. Pikes Peak took his name, but it is on Mount Rosa where he made history.
Today’s hike was another confirmation of purpose. The views: amazing. The trail: fantastic. The experience: not soon forgotten. The destination: Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
The contrast between rugged granite peaks patched with snow, alpine tundra saturated with wild flowers, and the purity of aqua blue lakes all bundled together in one eye soaking moment is indescribable.
After only a couple hours sleep, I woke at 4:30 a.m. to hike up a 14,000-foot summit in the beautiful San Juan Mountains in Colorado. Uncompahgre Peak!
As the southern portion of the Sawatch diminishes, the earth gives rise to the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range and Humboldt Peak near Westcliffe, Colorado.