An Unexpected Trail To Myself At Herman Gulch

Today was a surprise. Over the past few years, I have grown accustomed to pulling up to a trailhead, and there are 10 to 100 people already in the parking lot, wanting to hike the same trail as I do. Colorado has become quite a popular place in recent years, and with so much opportunity for outdoor adventures, you rarely get to enjoy a trail to yourself. Well, today I was fortunate enough to experience that.

I woke up this morning not having a plan for the day, I made myself a pot of coffee, and I fed my dog. As he finished eating, I looked down at him and said, "Do you want to go snowshoeing today?". Fifteen minutes later, I loaded up the car and we took off towards Herman’s Gulch, a trailhead about an hour from my house. As I pulled off onto the exit and turned right towards the trailhead, I noticed the parking lot was empty. I said out loud, "You've got to be kidding me, I have this whole trailhead to myself?!" Giddy as I possibly could be, Riley and I bundled up, grabbed the snowshoes, and took off on the trail.

We found a perfect spot in the snow to stop for lunch, I pull out my granola bar and peanut butter and jelly sandwich as the sun shines upon me and I stare at the vast mountains and the beautiful snow-covered trees. I am the only person within miles, I have this whole wilderness to myself, and I feel so fortunate to be sitting here. Everything around me is so peaceful, the occasional bird chirps, the trees creak, the snow shimmers, and all I can think is that there are so many untouched areas of snow, giving me an uncanny urge to want to run through them all. As I begin to lose feeling in my butt from sitting in the snow, I am extremely happy that I got up out of bed this morning, and spontaneously decided to go on an adventure.