Driving along a dirt road on the Western Slope of Colorado a couple of weeks ago, I kept catching glimpses of a large area of red aspens. I’m used to occasionally seeing orange aspens, and think those are super special … but red? I’ve never before seen such red aspens, nor so many of them in a group. I took numerous photos of them from a distance but wanted to get closer.
I found a field at the base of the aspens where lots of folks were parked, added my jeep to the mix, and started up the hill for what I imagined would be a short little reconnaissance walk. That little walk turned into one of the best hikes of my life.
Part of what made it so special is that I went up through about a mile and a half of aspen forest before I ever even caught a glimpse of a meadow or any other clearing. Occasionally the forest thinned out enough for me to glimpse distant mountain peaks with snow on them. I’d never before walked such a long distance within a single stand of aspens and it was straight-up magical.
I went further and further up the hill, hoping to find the ridge with the red aspens. In retrospect, that was never going to happen since those red aspens weren’t even on a ridge; they were on a hillside. But hope springs eternal and I kept walking, higher and higher. I finally topped out on the ridge above, at about 10,000 feet, and realized I must’ve gone around the red aspens rather than through them.
I was pretty sure I knew where I’d missed them. So on the return trip, I made my way through a bit of water and mud up to a smallish raised area, from which I could see a) the red aspens and b) that the forest was completely impenetrable between me and them.
I roamed around, trying to get the best view of the red aspens, then sat on a log for a while, simply enjoying being amongst all those trees. I wasn’t able to take a photo that captured the sound of the rustling leaves, the feel of the breeze on my skin, or the smell of decaying leaves. But I did realize that, on another log just a few feet in front of me, there was a fallen aspen leaf. So, without ever rising from my perch on the log, I snapped a few shots.
I was so beguiled by the trail sign above that I took a photo of it before I ever even headed up the hill. I never made it to Oh-Be-Joyful Pass — but it would’ve been extremely difficult in those circumstances to have been anything other than joyful, if not downright exuberant.
What a fabulous narrative, Lisa. Just gorgeous. You find THE BEST places.
Fantastic! Lucky you finding the reds!