After two weeks of visiting with friends, searching for a job, hanging out at coffee houses and the library (my interim office) and moving from couch to couch every night, enough became enough. The mountains had been beaconing since my thoughts drifted to unexplored wilderness in the Rockies on the return trip from Rome.
For just such an urge, I keep all of my camping gear stored in large rubbermaid tubs so that they can be thrown in the trunk of a car along with a backpack and water for quick escapes to the backcountry. Stopping only at the Tattered Cover for a copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance I made my way south on HWY285 out of Denver and into the foothills. On the outskirts of Silver Springs I turned south onto Pine Valley Rd/CO RD 126, a road which could only have been fully experienced in a Porsche. I decide to park along the highway at the entrance to an abandoned logging road and explore the hills to the east. Over the first crest…Ha! Perfect…the trees gave way to a fading single track trail through a meadow made possible by logging years ago. In the foreground a few mule dear paused their grazing to check me out. In the background…words fail me here…
I set the tent up down the hill and just out of site of the trail. Two red pines offered perfect support for my hammock and an unbeatable view. I spent the next 4 hours reading, writing, trying to learn how to play the harmonica and getting lost in thought as I stared over my toes…
Before dusk fell I set out to explore the forest around me and do some reflecting on the experiences from last year’s travels.
The next morning I was greeted by the sunrise over the mountains and a clear blue sky. Still in need of a little more exploring, I packed the car and set out in search of a dirt road to anywhere. The driving god’s were smiling that day and I found what I was looking for in St Hwy 550 just north. A well groomed Forest Service road in need of some Ken Block style tormenting. I finally popped out of the woods unscathed in Bailey and back onto Hwy 285 North toward Denver. With the adventure bug satisfied, for the moment at least, I returned home (aka my friend’s house) with a list of new roads that need exploring and campsites from which to launch off weekend expedition.
After less than 24 hours back in the city I can already hear the cry of the mountains rising from in the back of my mind.
SATELITE MAP OF THE CAMPSITE AND DRIVE
1. The trusty TNF Roadrunner II set up in the clearing.
2. Keeping my company while I read
3. Spring blosoms
4. Essentials (“Welcome to Colorful Colorado” Ball Cap, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Let My People Go Surfing by Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard, Journal and Hammock)
5. Sunrise over the Rockies
