Over the past 48 hours I have gone back and forth and have agonized where to go on vacation this year. One moment I want to stay close to home and just head up to Mammoth and Lake Tahoe but then the next moment I think about going back to Redwood National Park and the Oregon Coast which has been my favorite vacation spot for the past 17 years. I probably would have gone to Mammoth except that most of the trails I would like to hike are still covered in deep snow if you can believe that. We had an above average snow fall this year and one of the coolest springs I can ever remember and the high trails are not expected to open until the latter part of July.

What complicates matters on my end are a number of different things. One is the fact that I will be traveling alone. Because I am traveling alone I don’t want to go too deep into the wilderness because I have gotten quite lonely in the past just talking to myself sometimes for days on end. I also don’t want to go anywhere where I can’t get help if something happens. I broke my back in Redwood National Park while mountain biking by myself 12 years ago and that was one of the most traumatic events in my life. I was never in serious trouble but the thought of lying on a trail, like I was years ago, is something I want to avoid if possible. Another factor is my two sons who have chosen to stay behind. They are both 20 years and to be honest I get a bit anxious wondering what they might be doing at the house now that the old man if out and about. They have not been destructive before but I have never been gone for so long and let’s just say my imagination can get the best of me if I let it. Also, my mom’s health is not good at this time and I worry about her dying while I am off in the wilderness. I don’t carry a cell phone, because I don’t own one, and I know I would struggle with a lot of guilt if she died and I missed the funeral…which…is why I do intend to call every other day from a pay phone while I am gone.

So, after much contemplation and weighing a number of different considerations I have chosen to go to Colorado. Why Colorado? Earlier this spring I told myself I was going to break out of my old habit of going somewhere which is familiar and comfortable. For the past twenty five years I have traveled extensively in the Western United States and have exhausted the entire West Coast and every major mountain range west of the Mississippi River. I have been to the Canadian Rockies, Glacier, Mount Rainer, The Olympics, the Oregon Cascades, North Cascades National Park, The Sierras, Zion, Yosemite, and every other western National Park and major mountain range many times over. I have only been to Colorado once and that was when my children were very small. We didn’t camp, hike, or ride bikes. It was strictly a tourist trip where we stayed in various hotels and limited ourselves to all the major tourist attractions. I do remember enjoying the trip but we barely scratched the surface of this incredibly beautiful mountain wonderland.

Another reason I chose Colorado is because while I intend to be hiking and biking most of the time I will be staying in popular tourist spots like Aspen, Telluride, Denver, and Rocky National Park so there will be plenty of people around to chit chat with from time to time and if anything were to happen I feel secure knowing that there will be plenty of people around.

And finally, I am in the best shape of my adult life. I am currently checking in at 150 pounds and am in the best shape since my college days. I have lost 80 pounds since last summer and have worked my butt off by hiking, swimming, and mountain biking. You can’t imagine how hard I have worked at this and I feel like I need a payoff for all the hard work. Plus, since I have a history of chronic back problems this could be the last time I might be able to physically hike and bike some of the most rugged landscape in the U.S. So, the bottom line is that I feel like I need to take advantage of this open window before it no doubt closes in the years to come. I am 52 right now and I know I won’t be able to hike and bike some of the highest mountains much longer. So, there you have it.

I will be leaving on Sunday or Monday morning and driving to Flagstaff where I will camp and head out to hike the Grand Canyon the next day. The day after that I will be heading over to Mesa Verde National Park to check out the incredible cliff dwellings of the Anasazi Indians. From there I will be spending the next week in the mountain areas of Telluride, Aspen, and Rocky National Park before I head over to Denver and Boulder for some culture and city life. I’ll end my trip by either coming straight home or heading through Santa Fe New Mexico on my way home. I have heard so many wonderful things about Santa Fe and will try to fit it in if I can. During the trip I hope to take a lot of pictures and will post them on this blog either along the trip or when I get back. This will be a long trip and while I suspect I will get lonely at times I am excited to get the opportunity to see some of the greatest mountain scenery in the U.S.