We follow what sounds like the rustle of leaves, find no leaves.
Water trickles from a pipe. Moss blankets the cistern, tucked under a bush. It smells like heaven.
The spring peeps from the rust and rock of the old Jaral ranger cabin’s foundation. You can see the cabin from Tramway Trail. You have to trip over the spring to know it’s there.
This trail mirrored the state of my mind.
A house-size boulder, a trickling spring, a sight line through snow-tipped evergreens, the red rock at the base of the Needle.
Then a stretch of boxy houses, barking dogs, bigger houses. All the mundane things you see on city streets, with added elevation.
So went my mind.
Worryworryworry. I have to be somewhere in four hours. Why am I so slow? I need to be done by 2. I won’t be done by 2.
Until a sight, sound or smell captures my mind and it locks in.
Wet earth. Slick of ice in the shade. Melt. Mud.
Steps from the ice chute, a sunny hill. Dead leaves layer bone-dry dirt like it’s October.
From a rocky ridge, I look into rumpled Juan Tabo Canyon, the breeze drying my sweaty back.
I didn’t finish as early as I meant to.
I got to the next thing later than I meant to.
I didn’t care.
Hike length: 4+ miles
Difficulty: moderate
Wildlife spotted: blue jays, mountain chickadees, cottontail
Trail traffic: moderate
Woman Seeks Elevation 