hiking2christ

It was a cloudy Autumn day in October of 2011 when we set out on this hike near Steamboat. We had hiked this trail before when we were here last June. The trail is not difficult and there is a 100 year old barn that has been restored about two miles into the hike. It had rained off and on all morning making the trail a little slippery and sloppy.

The trail ascends quickly and travels along the Mad Creek as it makes its way through a canyon. It was late fall but there were a few aspens that still held on to their golden leaves.

After a couple of miles we reach the barn. Unlike last time there is no one here. We have the barn all you ourselves. We relax and take pictures while the kids play in the barn.

The contrast in colors in Colorado is quite stunning.

The last time we hiked this trail we had to turn around after the barn and head back. This time we pressed on and found the remnants of an old county bridge road and a log cabin that was next to the creek.

It is wasy to see why someone would build a cabin along this creek. It is absolutley stunning.

We hike on for another mile or so when out of nowhere a huge group of rocks shot out of the ground around 50 feet high. We decided to try our hand at climbing. We finally found a good route and a beautiful view was our reward.

We climbed down the rock and decided it had been a satisfying day. We headed back the way we came. We walked past the barn and back along the ridge of the canyon. Our return was not without excitement. We heard a noise in the bushes just off the trail above us. We looked into the bushes hoping to spot a deer or even a moose. I was actually thankful we didn’t meet what was in the bushes, especially when we saw these.

We hiked a little faster back to the car with excitement and curiousity in our hearts. On the drive home we pulled into a driveway of a house that was for sale and God blessed us with this.