When I think of Colorado I automatically picture skiing and the Rocky Mountains which I thought to be one of the most beautiful national parks in the USA.
The Rocky Mountains and the little ski town of Telluride reminded me a lot of Norway with the scenery and snow covered mountains which I still find crazy considering it was the middle of summer. Most towns in Colorado are busy during the winter because of all the ski resorts but a lot of people still seem to be attracted in the summer months because of all the hiking trails in the mountains and I soon saw the fascination.
We stayed in a little town called Telluride which is home to one of many ski resorts in the state so during the summer there isn’t always an awful lot to do but the ski lifts were still running and take you to the top of the mountains where it is like another little town made up of shops, cafes and is the start to a lot of hiking and cycling trails.
When we got into Telluride my tour leader met a local called Adam and he invited all of us to go hiking with him, his friend and her daughter the following morning and of course we went along. He was taking us to a trail that didn’t seem to be used much but the start of it was on unpaved road which our van could not get up. After 3 trips with us all in the back of his car, Adam managed to get us all there.
This hike was one of the best I did just simply because of the views and the fact we were going through a forest and climbing over waterfalls instead of up sandstone cliffs. Although it wasn’t a particularly steep or strenuous hike it was made difficult by the altitude and by the time we got to the top we had reached around 14,000 ft so a few of us did suffer with altitude sickness. Other than that I could not help but wonder why nobody used this trail because what was at the top was just incredible! I’d fallen in love with this place.
By the time we got to Colorado I’d already been in the states for a good 2 weeks and I had gotten to know just how friendly everybody was but what I wasn’t expecting was for Adam to invite all 9 of us to camp in his living room that night before we moved on the next day instead of going back to the campsite. We accepted of course, I mean how could we not when he mentioned homemade burgers and cookies!
We spent the night eating, drinking and playing Jenga. A couple of us were tempted to use their hammocks and sleep on the porch until we were told bears often come around in the night and the thought of being eaten made the idea not seem so fun any more. Being woken up to peanut butter and banana pancakes just topped off the experience of staying in a Colorado mountain house.
This was definitely one of the many highlights of my trip.
Travel, Trek, Tour 