God's Country

We've had a bit of a heat wave going lately, and with temperatures forecasted to reach 100 degrees on Father's Day, we decided to escape to the mountains after church. We wanted to try someplace new but still close (ha) so we headed to the Lost Creek Wilderness area in Pike National Forest, which is the northernmost part of the national forest that houses Pike's Peak. It ended up being the perfect way to celebrate our favorite Colorado husband/dad.

It took an hour longer than expected to get there; we knew we'd be taking back roads, but it turns out that over half of the state "highways" were actually dirt roads. Fun. But even before we reached the trailhead, it was clearly well worth the tedious drive. We entered the wilderness through the Hayman Burn Area; at first we thought this was the same wildfire area that we had been able to see burning from our house four years ago. But upon further research, we found it was the remnants of the Hayman Fire in 2002--the largest wildfire to date in CO. Ironically, despite living in Pennsylvania then, I was also in the area for that fire. I happened be a wee high schooler attending diving camp at the Air Force Academy that year, and I still remember writing about the fire (and sadly the arsonist who started it) in my journal.

Long story short though, the entire area was absolutely striking. No words or pictures can really do it justice. There were so many types of diverse beauty in one landscape. The burnt skeletons of trees set against the deep blue sky, covering hill after hill in stark but never-ending views, while on the ground a lush green carpet stretched as far as the eye could see, made up of baby pines and shrubs and wildflowers that made their happy debut post-wildfire, bringing life back to the region. There were multitudes of fascinating rock formations and rugged peaks, bubbling brooks lined by tall, shady pine forests in the lowlands between passes where the fire hadn't reached, and exposed red earth along the trails and creek banks.

The trail itself wasn't all that crowded, although we arrived late in the day, but we did see a few backpackers that were making multi-day trips. It looked like the perfect area for backpacking and made both Peter and I want to jump on that bandwagon stat!

On the way to and from, we also drove along the "mighty" Platte River where we saw many a happy camper tubing down the lazy river. Definitely something we'd like to try soon as a family. Best of all, we had no cell service for nearly the entire trip. Maybe not so great for multiple days on end, but it was such a treat to escape from the world so completely, if only for an afternoon. 

It was all hauntingly, peacefully, soul-satisfyingly beautiful--truly God's country, and we will absolutely be back.  

  

Sheep Rock - looks like a fun climb.

\

At the trailhead.

Panoramic views.

Beautiful wildflowers all along the trail

Snack break at the creek.

Fording the creek.

Log bridge

The cool, piney forest along the creek.

Exploring

(Bouncy) Beam challenge

You can take the girl out of gymnastics...

Endings and beginnings

Leaving the trail

More cool rocks on the drive.

The mighty Platte.

If you can't beat 'em...join 'em!
Though personally I would've preferred "I'll be back!"
Indeed, we will be.