Bike paths and rattle snakes

The forecast is for a high of 35 degrees today, which should have prompted an early start to the day, it did not. We instead started our 50km trek across denver at 10am with the thermometer already pushing 29... in the shade, of which there is very little. This is not to say it wasn’t a wonderful ride because it really was lovely. Denver is a very bikeable city with plenty of bike lanes, courteous drivers and hundreds of  miles of bike paths. It was one of these such paths that we spent the lions share of our day on, and what a wonderful way to travel in a city it was ! Denver has obviously decided that recreation is an important part of life and has invested heavily in turning miles and miles of what used to be derelict land into the heart of a vibrant city. With coffee shops and green spaces dotting the landscape we slowly meandered our way towards the mountains and the beginning of the Colorado trail all the while throughly impressed by the city’s cycling infrastructure.

As expected we reach the trailhead late in the day (like dinner time late) but instead of being punished for our tardiness we are rewarded by a cool and relaxing peddle up the Waterton Canyon where we stop at the mountain sheep rest stop. This is the part where we are reminded of that while the city is still nearby we are in the animals home now. As I ready the supplies for dinner Steve scrambles down to the river to filter water, on his way back up he hears a sound that is ingrained in the psyche of every person in North America even if they have never heard it before, he freezes and scans the ground for the source. Less than 4 feet away, coiled and angrily shaking his tail is a large rattle snake. Initially he calls out to us but neither Peter or I hear so he is left to solve the problem on his own, slowly backing away he picks his way up river and around the snake, all the while wondering how many friends the snake may have around. Alarmed but unscathed he joins back up with us, a newly watchful eye to the nearby grasses and shrubbery.

We wrap up dinner as the sun sets and do our best to make good time to bear creek where we set up camp in the quickly falling darkness and are reminded of why exactly we never use our ultralight 2 person tent.