Hiking the Mountains

When planning our trip, Jeromy kept bringing up hiking. My first thoughts? "Yea, and we can see magical unicorns riding on rainbows while we are up there." Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about the idea of spending so much of my precious vacation walking up mountains.

And, as always, Jeromy knows me better than I know myself.

The renter of the cabin had left directions to the closest mountain trail to our cabin, Esther Trail. When we were heading out to the trail, we ran into the landlord, who mentioned that the trail was pretty steep.

Understatement. 

This trail was intense! The mountain we climbed was 13,700 feet in elevation, which is pretty damn tall in terms of mountains. (For reference, Mt. Elbert, the tallest mountain in Colorado, is 14,400 feet.) Luckily, we found walking sticks near the beginning of the trail, which we decided to borrow for our trek. And thank goodness. There is no way I would have made it up (or down!) that mountain without the trusty walking stick.

The trail was difficult, for sure, but the views made it worth the hike! Jeromy and I found multiple places where we stopped to take in the surreal landscapes.

While walking along the trail, we came across this adorable bunny! He was seriously so sweet and as curious about us as we were about him. Then I got "Peter Cottontail" stuck in my head.

When we (finally!) reached the top of the mountain, we found an point that overlooked the area. After hiking up the mountain, it was such a relief and a joy to reach the top and find such an amazing view. We had brought supper in our booksacks up the mountain, and we stopped here to eat. 

After a bit more exploring, we came up to a meadow that was nestled in the valley between a few mountain peaks. I'm pretty sure I could have stayed in that meadow forever.

Overall, this hike was the highlight of the trip for both of us. It pushed us outside our comfort zone, made us work together, and gave us some of the best views of the trip. Plus, Jeromy said he can marry me with peace of mind now knowing that I can be a nature girl!