MOUNTAINS PLAYING HARD-TO-GET

You’ve seen it a thousand times on every cliche wanderlusty pin out there, “the mountains are calling…and I must go.” It’s gotten past the point of cringey but, imagine living in a city surrounded by mountains in all directions. Whenever you get in your car, in whichever direction you drive, mountains boldly line the horizon in a color gradient of blue as they taper further into the distance. They look close because they are relentlessly massive, but they are far enough away to hold some mystery— some magic.

And you know what? They do kind of call you…and you do kind of have to go.

So that’s what we did. We got the pup, bundled up, and hopped in the truck. When we turned out onto the road, there they were, like always. Capped in mid-December snow. Like a Christmas backdrop for a city in the desert. We aimed for the horizon and in about 20 minutes we were weaving through giants.

A few weeks prior we had visited a different area within the same range. That drive was into a snow storm but one large mountain stood proud in the distance. I remember staring at it as we drove by trying to imagine what it was like out there and how cool it would be to stand at it’s base in awe. I never imagined we could do exactly that. But the road from our place lead us almost directly to it. And then, there we were.

We parked the truck and hopped out. America was LIT…but totally unfazed by the mountains ahead.

We hiked for about two hours if I had to guess but you could totally do it in less. I hike with a camera and I can’t stop myself from stopping…no matter how many eye-rolls I get from Chad and America.

This was about a 4 mile hike, round trip. Not difficult at all. Mostly a walk, some slight uphill. In my opinion, anyone could do this, and I hope my parents prove me right when I force them to do it.

Overall, 10/10…would recommend. Great for a day hike…probably even in the summer but that remains to be confirmed.