Hiking in the Mountains

Shawn loves the mountains. I honestly think that he would be perfectly content just living on the top of a mountain for months on end without ever seeing another human being (well...maybe he'd like to see me up there with him sometimes). Before I met Shawn, I was not what you would call "outdoorsy." Ah...so much has changed in the last 3 years! :)

Our first ever hike together was on July 4th, 2005. The trail that Shawn took me up (near Breckenridge) has become our favorite trail. It's absolutely gorgeous, and it's not quite as crowded as a lot of the mountain trails in the area. We've now hiked this trail on the 4th of July 4 years in a row.

A lot of people will hike this trail as far as the waterfall, which is beautiful. This year, though, we've had so much snow that the waterfall was still partially covered! The snow made a sort of bridge over the waterfall.

Lots of people will also make it as far as the "lower lake." It's a great spot to stop and have a snack, and it does give a great view of both the valley and Quandary Peak.

Shawn and I keep going, though, to the upper lake. One of my favorite things about this trail is the abundance and variety of wildflowers! Normally, we bring a book with us to identify all the different flowers that we see. This year, though, again because of the snow, there weren't nearly as many flowers as usual. I bet this trail will be amazing in about 2 more weeks, though! And once the site decides to cooperate, I'll upload a few more pics from our hike!