10K

One of the great things about living in Colorado is being able to get to 10,000' relatively easily. This is especially handy when the temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-90's, one has gotten a late start and wishes to hike on a Sunday afternoon. Sally and I headed up to Montgomery Pass, which is always farther away than I think it will be, about 1.5 hours from the house, up the Poudre Canyon. But it was a really nice day for a drive, so that time was well spent.

The parking lot is at 10,000', and the hike is short, kind of steep in spots, but takes one up above treeline for a really nice view. I think that's Wyoming out there, but don't quote me on it. The sign is at about 11,000'. Sally is a better hiker than I, and it's my estimation that when we include all the back and forth she does and the dashing about in utter doggy excitement, she does twice the mileage. Easy.

And there is still snow up there! In the shady places. It was a pretty warm day, but there were several spots where we had to go up and over some snow. Got my boots wet, but nothing uncomfortable. Miss Sally loved the snow. What is it with dogs and snow? With the first patch she saw, she was belly-down and eating it.



The flowers were OK. There has been so much snow this year that they are late. If I go up in 3-4 weeks, the show will be better, but there were still some nice flowers along the trail. Above is something in the Buttercup family that was growing right there in a little stream of snowmelt. Cold feet. Brrr.

In other news, the date with BW was fun. A lot of fun. I'm in that stage where it's hard to know what will happen next (as if we ever get a clear window on that) and I'm thinking about it probably too much. But what's different this time is that I feel like I've got tools to get me away from that and thinking about what's going on now. It's been a fun ride so far, so we'll see where/how it goes.

I gotta get myself out camping! I think I'm going to go during the week for a couple of days, since I haven't camped all summer.