A Cold Start to a New Year
There are times when I feel possessed with the desire to do something I haven't done before. I'll be overcome with the sudden urge to go out of my house and go somewhere. Anywhere. As winter approached near the end of 2016, I felt the need to see a real winter. Not just somewhere where snow falls, but somewhere that was separate from my comfy suburban life. So I began to plan a trip to the mountains. I don't know what in me felt prepared to trek miles in a frozen world. I was coming from Texas. The warmest clothing I owned was a wool sweater. I'd get cold if the temperature dropped below 60°F.
Now if it had been up to me, I would've just ended up going alone because I didn't know if anyone would agree to go with me. But my friend Sanchez, popularly known on Instagram as @san.vicario (look him up, he's an incredible photographer), texted me telling me he'd be down to go. And so, in January of 2017, our journey to the Rocky Mountains began.
College Budget Corolla
We were prepared to go up in to the mountains, potentially faced with icy roads and snow fall. So when renting a car, I decided to go with a car that was reliable, safe, and also wouldn't hurt my wallet. That didn't necessarily mean that it was meant for the terrain we would be in. We ended up riding to the mountains in a 2016 Toyota Corolla, which offered us no confidence when driving in to the park.
On one morning, we decided to go in the opposite direction of the main park, and headed west to see what we could find. The weather had been relatively tame, and we hadn't experienced too much ice or snow. But as we drove alongside the breathtaking cliffside, we were inevitably getting higher and higher. And the higher we climbed, the more snow started to fall. So much so, that after a while, the roads were completely covered in a white blanket. Sanchez and I both began to get nervous, but I was stubborn and insisted we keep pushing forward. Finally, we found what seemed to be a parking lot, and pulled over. And through a break in the trees, we found what you see below. A dock that overlooked a lake and the mountains ahead, all frozen in this entrancing white powder.
The Rockies and The Elk
The elk above was actually blocking the entrance to our hotel that we were staying at. It was too beautiful to pass up taking pictures of, but man, was I terrified. It was only a couple yards away from our car and he was taking his sweet time eating. He was very familiar with people luckily, and he didn't spook easily. "Dang why are all y'all watching me eat?" he probably was thinking. "Where's an elk gotta go to get a little privacy? Damn." And then, after 20 minutes, he sauntered away, satisfied with his mid-afternoon snack.
The trip was a surreal experience. The highlights couldn't be captured in pictures. We hiked up a trail north of the park one day that was unbelievably beautiful. It was just me and Sanchez, quietly trekking 7000 ft up in to the sky. Snow falling around us, the same snow dampening any other sounds around. The dead silence created a calmness I only know from the mountains. I didn't take many pictures or videos during that time, partly because I couldn't capture what it felt like to be there, but mostly because I was possessed with a sense of calmness. I was present.
