My first trip the rocky mountains in colorado was amazing. I had so much fun! It all started when a few days before summer break began last year when I overheard my step-dad and uncle talking about a hiking trip in Colorado that we were going to take sometime in the month of early July. So I just let it be and was going to see and find out if I was going to go along with them. long story short, I got a really, really early Christmas present from my mom and step-dad. A hiking trip to the Rocky Mountains! I couldn’t believe that they actually were going to bring me on a trip to the Rockies!!!
It ends up that it was going to be a man trip, so I was going with my Uncle Nick, My Step-Dad Jeremy, a guy from my dad’s work named Cheen Lum, and another guy from his work named Berke. So after I learned that I was going, I also found out that we were going to go to a place called Mo’s Irish Pub to get a burger and discuss where we were going to hike and when. So, that’s when we decided to order our burgers. My uncle was really hungry so he ordered a burger then we kept talking. His food arrived and he cut it in half and it was super bright pink!
Now, it was almost 2 weeks since we had seen the other guys and it was finally time to go. So Jeremy, Nick, and I packed all of our gear and hit the road. It was a fast truck ride to the airport (mostly because I was dead asleep). When we arrived to the airport I was super pumped not only for the trip, but also for the plane ride I was going to take. On the first trip I sat between Jeremy and Nick. Being stuck between those two jokers meant they farted on me and kept punching me in the arms. But the second ride was cool.
I got the privilege to sit next to a really sweet old lady named Ruth, who was a nurse in the army, during WWII. Ruth was somewhere close to 90 years old and she lived somewhere around the Miami, Florida area. One funny thing she said was “I’ll stop yapping your ear off and go to sleep”. That made me laugh. Ruth had mentioned to seeing the TV show “The Twilight Zone” and so I told her that there was someone out on the wing. Ruth started laughing and rubbed the top of my head. page 1 When we finally touched down in Denver, it was a hard landing.
I was afraid the plane was going to wreck. Once we had our gear and our rental car, we headed towards the mountains. Driving in Colorado was gorgeous. We saw lots of Elk, Moose, Mule Deer and of course the mountains. The mountains were enormous. They climbed and climbed into the sky. Thad never seen anything like it. We spent the next 4 days hiking and backpacking. It was crazy to start the hike with green grass but end up in snow and freezing rain and mud. On one part of trail we were hiking and fell into the icy cold river.
We had to peel our boots, socks and pants and put our thermal gear on. Of course this brought on more rain. We sprinted down a large mountain while freezing cold with no boots or socks on. Everyone was miserable. We finally made it to our campsite, where we started a fire and listened to bugling Elk while staring at the stars. We woke up the next morning to three large Mule Deer looking into our tent. The best reward to hiking was always the food. We made time to eat at Dave’s BBQ, which was fantastic. Thad pulled pork, french fries and sweet tea. The pork melted in my mouth.
The funniest part was none of us had showered in more than 4 days. I’m sure we smelled like Wombats. Others eating that night were staring and scrunched their noses at us. It was obvious we were the only ones coming off a trail. This is my favorite memory because of everything I saw and experienced. I laughed alot at the guys that were on the trip. I would just sit by the campfire at night and take everything in. It’s hard to explain, because it’s something that you have to experience for yourself. I’ll never forget the giant snow drifts, the clear starry skies and the Elk bugling.