Although the gym is my sanctuary, sometimes my 5-9 before my 9-5 involves going out and hiking. Something about experiencing the world before sitting behind a desk for 8 hours is invigorating. I don't feel the burn out from staring at a computer screen and I have more patience answering questions that a simple google search could answer. On my rest day (Wednesday) I try to do an active rest and go hiking. This morning I decided to go chasing waterfalls.
The morning I did Calypso Cascade and Ouzel Falls I knew I'd be hiking a little over 5 miles and I REALLY didn't want to be late for work so I started very early- one thing I didn't expect was how cold it would be in September. I've never been to the mountains before now, so I really didn't have a great reference point but layers were my friend on this hike. I arrived at the trailhead around 6:30AM, the parking lot was mostly empty which was great (yes I still stress about parking my big truck) and I took off.
I didn't know that this ENTIRE trail was on the North Saint Vrain Creek so I got to see many more waterfalls than expected. Luckily the rhythm of the river kept me moving at a pretty quick pace (22.57 mins/mile) so I could make it back to my desk on time. I did stop pretty often to look at the water and then back I went to the trail. I really do enjoy waterfalls but they don't hold me the way a large lake or ocean will. They have a movement to them that makes me want to pick up the pace and run with it. It may be because I'm drawn to bigger bodies of water which they flow to so I see them as more of a guide than anything else. Below are some of the waterfalls/river photos I took before making it to Calypso Cascade!
When I made it to Calypso Cascade I thought it was very pretty but not worth the hype. It wasn't huge or small by any means but it did have a number of trees that had fallen into it which I felt took away from the awe. There was one other person on the bridge overlooking the water but luckily, he didn't walk further to Ouzel Falls so I got that one all to myself. Ouzel Falls was stupendous. I could walk up and get really close to it from the side and the sheer amount of water falling was incredible. Listening to the waterfall was music to my ears and it drowned out the entire mountainside. I couldn't hear any critters running around looking for breakfast or any of the birds singing their wake up songs. The waterfall brought peace to me.
The beginning of my journey was anything but peaceful (posts on that coming soon) so experiencing this waterfall was incredible, although the water was sprinting over the edge of the rock the roar made everything else feel still. It was beautiful and I was at peace.
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