 |
| Long Scraggy Peak from the West |
Yesterday morning was just absolutely beautiful so I definitely didn't want to hang out on the sofa missing out. Ever since we moved to the foothills along the South Platte river, I have wanted to climb the closest peak to our house Long Scraggy Peak. Standing at a mere 8500 feet in elevation, this one isn't much to write home about. However, the location is just shy of 6 miles just to the base and then straight up from about 7000 feet so it can be a pretty good work out. Well I decided to head out on a gated road that I know to go at least around the base in hopes of finding at least some way up. The initial walk along the road can be lonely and really quite boring alone. However, as I crested a hill, I was met by the sweetest 80-year-old lady just out what I would assume to be her daily walk. As often is done on the trail, we traded pleasantries and I started to pass her by when she stopped me and asked if I was planning on summiting Scraggy. I was surprised by the question but was trying to move along so I gave her a short answer of "not planning on it". She smiled and said, "Well if you ever decide to do so, here is the way..." and proceeded on describing in detail the path to the summit. Wait, what? I was hoping to find some sort of trail, trail head, or at the very least, an animal path and here was this sweetheart giving me all of the details to the summit. We parted ways and I headed further down the road in search of the hidden path she had just shared with me. Now just to be clear, when I am out hiking alone, I have given every single detail of the plan to my husband so that he knows exactly where I am and when I am going to be back. There was no way I was going to summit Scraggy yesterday because it was not part of that descriptive plan to him. However, I did veer off the path slightly by hiking about 1/2 mile up the trail to the summit. I stopped for a lovely lunch with a view and wrote the following in my journal:
 |
| View at lunch from Long Scraggy |
"Hello World - from the lower backside of Long Scraggy Peak! I tell ya - I would summit this bad boy if it weren't for the fact that there is still tons of snow on the trail and that I told Mike I wouldn't ;) It's funny though, because I set out on this walk to find a road or a trail up the back side and wouldn't you know that a local stopped me on her (probably) daily walk and gave me the ins and outs of summiting Scraggy Peak. That's God sending an angel right down to Earth and providing a path. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, huh? I have been praying lately that he provide a path that he wants me to follow! Thank you God that you are always with me and that you continue to show me the way! Thank you for the peace that comes with that knowledge!"
