Well after 22hrs overnight on the California Zephyr train and 1 hour on a Bus I finally arrived in Boulder, Colorado. The views of the Rocky Mountains from the train were just a taste of the beauty that this place holds. It is a truely special feeling to wake up in the morning, throw back the curtains and be faced with 14, 000ft mountains no more than 500m from your back door, it really is magical. Every day here is sunny and crisp, by far my favourite weather with temps hovering around 20C. However, little did I know how amazing the weather is once you hit the mountain trails.
My dorm-mates were Jason (NY) and Aage (Denmark). We decided on our first day to hit a mountain trail and really test ourselves. Jason drove us up to the trail just outside of Eldora ski resort. We packed plenty of layers, first aid kit, water and chocolate for our hike and set off around 10am. Jasons GPS equipment was telling us that the temperature was dropping almost a degree every 300ft which was at this time was onyl around 15C. The scenery here was nothing short of breathtaking, and I was short of breath by now anyway as even the location where we parked the car was already at 9000ft. Altitude sickness was definately on the horizon.
We continued along the trail passing phenomenal waterfalls, acres of pine tree covered hills and the odd set of Mountain Lion track which kept us on our toes!
By the times we had reached 11,000 ft we were tackling strong winds and 6ft snow drifts which were comical to try and negotiate. I fell in up to my waist on numerous occasions. Once we hit 12,000ft we reached a clearing that had a view which is totally undescribable. No picture that I add on here or words I can use would describe this view. Breathtaking. By now we had reached our limit, the terrain was getting dangerous and the snow as so deep we couldnt continue without specailst equipment. We made it back down, all three of us carrying headaches and dizziness from the altitude. I was totally knackered and in need of a rest and a big feed.
We headed into the local town and satisfied ourselves with a feast which goes by the name of a Buffalo burger - yes thats right, Buffalo meat. This stuff is fantastic!!
Stuffed to the brim and with a pounding head and weary legs, Jason just about managed to get us home via the phenomenal mountain roads (a drivers dream) and we flopped onto the sofa for some Pizza and basketball (Lakers v Celtics NBA Final).
I like to think that I have achieved some worthy things in my life and seen some beautiful sights, but it is going to take something really special to overhaul this day as one of the best experiences of my life and something I will remember for the rest of my life.
I'll add as many pictures from this hike as soon as Im able, but for now me and my ruined legs are off to try and book some white water rafting on the Colorado river.
Colorado is definately somewhere I will visit again in the future. I can fully understand how people visit and never go home, for someone who enjoys the outdoors, this place is heaven on Earth.
