Happy Birthday!!

Dear Chelle-chelle,

Happy 33!!

I love these two photos of us (Aug. 2006 and Oct. 2011). They display so much of our special journey together!

Cherish this life you have and make the BEST out of it. Have FUN and be productive.

LOVE,

Mom

 

 

The Memorable Hike in the Rockies

If the hike up to Crater Lake in Aspen is considered as "strenuous," I have a hard time to best describe the hike to Sky Pond at Rocky Mountain National Park. It's rated by hikers as the most worthwhile hike inside the park -- totaling 11.3 miles and 8 hours round trip.

It's not just about the miles or the hours, it's about the difficulty to reach to the top -- the rocky, slippery terrains, the snow-covered narrow trails cutting through the sliding mountains, the easily missed turns on the trail due to the deep snow... plus a 1200 feet gain in elevation.

Coming back down the snowy mountains was even more challenging as the spikes on my hiking boots failed to provide firm support when the slope of the mountains was so deep.

A week before this adventure, a hiker wrote the following about his ordeal hiking up to Sky Pond:

The trail to Sky Pond was very icy and snow-packed the entire way from the trailhead, with deeper snow-pack the further up the trail. Past The Loch, the snow was very deep, all the way up to Timberline Falls. Timberline Falls was icy, very slippery, with very cold, rushing water. The waterfall was treacherous with slippery rocks and frigid water. Coming down was even more frightening. 

Nonetheless, here I am with the photos of Sky Pond in perfect condition -- a huge part of the lake was still frozen and the snow was still on the surrounding mountains...

Sky Pond

Elevation: 11,000 ft.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Estes Park, Colorado

June 8, 2023

iPhone Photos

Crater Lake, Colorado

After driving through life-threatening storms and hiking through treacherous rocky terrains in high elevation, we were rewarded by the serenity and true beauty of nature!

Crater Lake and Maroon Bells

Crater Lake Elevation: 10,075 ft.

Aspen, Colorado

June 5, 2023

 

iPhone images

 

Thoughts on Travel

Driving from Aspen to Estes Park turned out to be a high-wire act.

The first 30% was pure joy - the winding roads through snow mountains are unbelievably scenic. Aspens in the spring are gorgeous! The little green leaves are so lavish, so bright. Shining through sunlight brings renewed freshness to the world!

The next 30% was nothing but pure danger. Weather conditions in mountains are very unpredictable - just like a little kid, full of randomness! 

Part of Highway 70 is a winding road. All of a sudden, heavy raindrops started beating my windshield. Cars and trucks were all in panic mode - some trying to changes lanes; some trying to slow down and some trying to rush ahead of other cars - pure chaos!

Then, I saw white stuff all over the highway - on the sides, between lanes, everywhere - a lot! Initially I thought, maybe, just maybe, a truck accidentally unloaded all the salt on the highway. But the stuff stretched out for about 2 miles - then I realized it was hail - a very heavy hailstorm occurred right before my car got there!

It was so crazy, so dangerous, I had to turn on my emergency tail-lights attempting to avoid other cars smashing onto me…

The remaining drive was calm...

Human being’s adaptability is unmeasurable. They can literally switch seamlessly from pure joy to pure panic to pure calmness during one event. To me, it’s all part of the human experience. When traveling, everything is super condensed - like a double espresso in 1 shot! That's why we travel - to experience!!