Sandy Beaches

In the past two days, I hiked around 26 miles which is awesome but it's necessary in gearing up for this weekend--Longs Peak. John and I have had the date set for over a month now and it's finally here! To give a little background, John is 44 and used to be a climbing teacher back home (Salt Lake City) so I feel super comfortable climbing up with him. We are leaving on Sunday to set up camp at the Boulderfield which is six miles up the trail. After camp is set up, we are planning on summiting Mount Lady Washington and Mount Meeker before calling it the end of day one. Those peaks are both 13ers and don't have trails to the top so the crosscountry travel should be a good workout. Monday morning, we will wake up and summit Longs before the thunderstorms move in while we are 14,000+ feet above sea level.

In preparation, Sunday's hike was a steep climb up to Sandbeach Lake. This lake has been one of my biggest natural surprises so far this summer. The hike was up through the woods with the occassional passing of Hunter Creek. When we finally got to the end, there literally was a sandy beach right in front of us--in the middle of the mountains. It seemed so out of place, but it also seemed like a real life version of my ring that I always wear on my right hand ring finger.

If you haven't seen that ring or maybe you just don't know the symbolism, I got it from my mom for my 21st birthday (last year). It's a Hopi piece with three panels on it rather than the usual pawprints or ocean waves circling around the ring. The left panel has Hopi mountains, the center has corn, and the right side is a wave. To me, the mountains represent my dad because of all our hiking and camping expeditions growing up. The beaches represent my mom because of our San Diego and New Hampshire/Maine trips to different beaches. The corn in the middle is me and represents the growth between the two diffferent parts.


Standing at the outlet of Sandbeach Lake on Sunday was a real life experience of that. As I walked into the clearing, I could feel my dad and mom both in that area and the effects both have on me, both in person and in those situations. The combination of beach and forest in one place threw me for a loop at first, but then the idea seemed calming, almost like an all-encompassing hug or notion that everything can survive in perfect harmony.

Yesterday's hike was to another lake: Lawn Lake. This hike was much longer and more uphill, but I enjoyed the company of Aaron, Conor, and Gehrett. This hike was also much more difficult due to a sprained knee from trail running in the rain on the way back from Sandbeach Lake the day before.

We made it to the lake and decided to do some off-trail hiking around so the boys could fish while I flew my kite. The wind made my kite dance artistically around, and I really had very little control. That was especially the case when it blew the kite into the lake at one point and then off the string at another. I think that was just nature's way of reminding the boys and I who was in charge.

After fishing at bit at Lawn Lake, we hiked further up to the Crystal Lakes. These lakes were hidden at the base of a glacial valley and took a hike almost straight up the mountain to reach. After some boulder-hopping, we looked ahead into the clearest lakes I have seen so far this summer. The cutthroat trout that were swimming around looked huge and the pristine tundra looked almost untouched except for the small trail running through. There's so much beauty everywhere in the park, but these places that are farther into the backcountry are more of a gift since they aren't out where everyone has access. These are the places where Joe Touron doesn't usually reach and are saved as something special for the people who take the time to seek nature's wonder.