One of the neighborhood foxes posed in Dad’s back yard in early October 2014.
My most effective therapy and favorite way to relax and find joy is to walk in expansive, beautiful, quiet natural environments. Living with my father in Nederland, Colorado or with my husband in Fairbanks, Alaska, I can just walk out the house door and be in the forest within 5 minutes, no exaggeration. Both neighborhoods have long dirt roads cut into the forest, with trail systems. (Yeah, yeah, I know—life is just tough for some of us!)
As my father’s condition has changed over the past six years, my freedom to hike has waxed and waned. Now that he can no longer sit up, he is unlikely to fall anymore, ‘whew. I can leave him for an hour or so if he has recently eaten. (A meal lasts at least an hour and exhausts him.) I can even go for a short walk if he seems deeply asleep.
Many evenings, I take a half-hour “sunset walk.” I power walk (aah!) around to the other side of the ravine, a place on the road with a phenomenal view over Barker Reservoir of Indian Peaks (local part of the Continental Divide), with views of Longs Peak to the north and Eldora Ski Resort to the west. I watch for a few minutes up there as the colors light up Indian Peaks, then Longs Peak. When those colors turn and then fade, I head back home. There are often clouds to the south and/or east that light my way back. The clouds pass through bright white, gold, peach, pink, purple; with different areas and altitudes turning at different times. The colors that astound me most, though, are the deep blues. Oh my! Crayola doesn’t have those blues, so I can’t name them for you, but I don’t recall seeing these blues elsewhere before. (For an example, see the banner atop this page, a sunset view out my father’s dining room window near Thanksgiving 2014.)
On rare occasions, I shirk my chores and head for the hills above Dad’s neighborhood. The main forested trail parallels Magnolia Road, over the ridge, running roughly east-west for about 5 miles. There are three access points from this neighborhood and assorted side trails, so I can walk a variety of hour- to hour-and-a-half routes.
View northwest from the top of the “fire mitigation” cut block above my father’s neighborhood, Big Springs, in Nederland, CO, looking up to the Indian Peaks, part of the Continental Divide.
I hiked up there today, aah, to the west end, where I seldom go. I haven’t been on a decent walk since Christmas. Looking at my exercise log, I get up there every couple of weeks. Aaugh, that’s pathetic!
Well, this time of year, the weather and, therefore, the trails get complicated. Weather is always unbelievably interesting in the Colorado Rockies—snow, deep cold, gale-force winds, sudden warmth that melts the snow that didn’t blow away, mix and repeat endlessly. Snow is not a problem (except on the roads and Dad’s driveway), but ice is. And don’t even get me started on our winds!
Today, I had a lovely walk, but did some “post-holing,” where each footstep breaks through the crust and sinks several inches into scattered snowdrifts. But the weather was perfect–sunny, 40F, gentle breeze soughing through the trees, mmm. Occasional peek-a-boo views of Indian Peaks and Nederland were spectacular.
I usually take a tiny notepad and pen with me on my hikes. Often, I will work through a problem or register some helpful insights. Today, though, I just savored being out in the woods and moving freely. Mother Nature was soothing my worries and frustrations about Dad, about launching this blog, about perceived limitations of time and opportunities. Once again, life is indeed good.