Leaving my pretty little daughter and her pretty little mother, I went out for a hike. Having some maps to go off of now, I found a trailhead rather near our house. It was up the Deep Creek road on the way to Telluride. It was only 35 minutes away to get to the road and then another few miles up that road. I wanted to go to the trailhead on my map, but the sign said no trespassing. So I continued up the road to where it looked like another trailhead was and that still said no trespassing and that the other trailhead was a 1/4 of a mile up the road. I drove a 1/2 mile and was still not there so I got a little worried. Finally I was able to
find the trailhead. There was one other family there getting geared up for the trip and also one other vehicle that I figured out was connected to the tent out in the field. I got ahead of the other family not wanting to get stuck behind some kids and not be able to pass them. The view even from the meadow by the trailhead was excellent. The trail climbed up toward an old road that would lead me to the Iron Mountain trail that I was originally hoping to hike. As I was walking down this road, I saw a large animal in front of me. My brain went through the choices: dog, no too big, bear, no too skinny, large tail, slender body. Oh my lord, that is a mountain lion. He had not seen me yet. I was only about a hundred feet behind him and he had no idea I was there.
I watched him not wanting to lose sight of him, but not wanting to get too close so that he thought that I was dinner. I grabbed the camera and just started randomly aiming it in his direction. Just then, a mountain biker showed up. I got him to stop and I pointed out the lion to him. He decided to not go further, so that he did not become dinner. Then he decided to go back and warn the family behind us. I watched him
look over the side of the hill then go to the stream running behind the trail and get a drink. That is when he looked up, looked right at me, and took off up the hill. I was sad to see him go, but glad that he was not interested in having me for brunch. I was nervous to cross the path where he climbed up, but by that time, the biker was back and we crossed together. He took off riding after that and soon the family showed up. Of course, instead of being worried about the lion, they were wanting to catch a glimpse. I showed them what I could on my camera. They were a nice family and used to live around this area. I hiked with them for a little while and then continued on my way. It is always nice to catch a glimpse of something awesome because the rest of the hike was just bonus. I took my trail that lead down to a small river that I had to cross. From there it followed the river upstream until it began to switchback. I looked on my GPS and it seemed that the Iron Mountain trail that I was looking for was actually above me. I decided to go ahead and bushwhack my way to the trail I wanted, not knowing if the one that I was on would get me there. It was a steep trip as I had to pick some routes where I grabbed the trees to pull me up, but it l
anded me smack dab on the trail that I was looking for. I followed it through the trees and soon I was far above the river. I could look down off the trail and see many waterfalls though as I knew my trail was leading me right into a big basin. The thought of climbing one of the mountains was toying around in my mind, but a good long hike seemed just as nice today. As I got closer to my final destination the mountains continued to open up and I could see them on all s
ides of me. The trail was in fairly good shape considering that it was not maintained. There were trees across it in places, but it was still very nice. By the end I was hiking in just the rocks going in and out of small stands of trees. I was not too surprised to find that the end of the line was actually at a mine. That was the way it was in southwestern Colorado. This one went right into the hillside where a small creek came right out of the wall. I was glad I had enough water at this point because I am sure that water was tainted. There was much mining equipment around and a big flat terrace to stand on from the tailings. The trail looked like it continued from my GPS, but it didn't because I tried to find it. I know it would have been easy to just head
down to the creek and continue hiking, but I figured this was as good a finishing point as any. On the way down, I was able to find an easier exit from my trail to the one that I came in on. This time it was not so steep. I looked for my feline friend on the way back, but I did n
ot find him. I did find the strange fellow at the trailhead who was camping in the field. When I got home, I was happy to see that the wrap that we purchased to take little Zyla hiking had arrived. I even threw it on knowing that Jacqueline was not too thrilled about it. Zyla liked it and it gave me hope that we would soon be able to go hiking as a family.
find the trailhead. There was one other family there getting geared up for the trip and also one other vehicle that I figured out was connected to the tent out in the field. I got ahead of the other family not wanting to get stuck behind some kids and not be able to pass them. The view even from the meadow by the trailhead was excellent. The trail climbed up toward an old road that would lead me to the Iron Mountain trail that I was originally hoping to hike. As I was walking down this road, I saw a large animal in front of me. My brain went through the choices: dog, no too big, bear, no too skinny, large tail, slender body. Oh my lord, that is a mountain lion. He had not seen me yet. I was only about a hundred feet behind him and he had no idea I was there. 
I watched him not wanting to lose sight of him, but not wanting to get too close so that he thought that I was dinner. I grabbed the camera and just started randomly aiming it in his direction. Just then, a mountain biker showed up. I got him to stop and I pointed out the lion to him. He decided to not go further, so that he did not become dinner. Then he decided to go back and warn the family behind us. I watched him 
look over the side of the hill then go to the stream running behind the trail and get a drink. That is when he looked up, looked right at me, and took off up the hill. I was sad to see him go, but glad that he was not interested in having me for brunch. I was nervous to cross the path where he climbed up, but by that time, the biker was back and we crossed together. He took off riding after that and soon the family showed up. Of course, instead of being worried about the lion, they were wanting to catch a glimpse. I showed them what I could on my camera. They were a nice family and used to live around this area. I hiked with them for a little while and then continued on my way. It is always nice to catch a glimpse of something awesome because the rest of the hike was just bonus. I took my trail that lead down to a small river that I had to cross. From there it followed the river upstream until it began to switchback. I looked on my GPS and it seemed that the Iron Mountain trail that I was looking for was actually above me. I decided to go ahead and bushwhack my way to the trail I wanted, not knowing if the one that I was on would get me there. It was a steep trip as I had to pick some routes where I grabbed the trees to pull me up, but it l
anded me smack dab on the trail that I was looking for. I followed it through the trees and soon I was far above the river. I could look down off the trail and see many waterfalls though as I knew my trail was leading me right into a big basin. The thought of climbing one of the mountains was toying around in my mind, but a good long hike seemed just as nice today. As I got closer to my final destination the mountains continued to open up and I could see them on all s
ides of me. The trail was in fairly good shape considering that it was not maintained. There were trees across it in places, but it was still very nice. By the end I was hiking in just the rocks going in and out of small stands of trees. I was not too surprised to find that the end of the line was actually at a mine. That was the way it was in southwestern Colorado. This one went right into the hillside where a small creek came right out of the wall. I was glad I had enough water at this point because I am sure that water was tainted. There was much mining equipment around and a big flat terrace to stand on from the tailings. The trail looked like it continued from my GPS, but it didn't because I tried to find it. I know it would have been easy to just head 
down to the creek and continue hiking, but I figured this was as good a finishing point as any. On the way down, I was able to find an easier exit from my trail to the one that I came in on. This time it was not so steep. I looked for my feline friend on the way back, but I did n
ot find him. I did find the strange fellow at the trailhead who was camping in the field. When I got home, I was happy to see that the wrap that we purchased to take little Zyla hiking had arrived. I even threw it on knowing that Jacqueline was not too thrilled about it. Zyla liked it and it gave me hope that we would soon be able to go hiking as a family.
1 comment:
seems like a good life!
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