Sunday, May 26, 2013

The Bridges of Summit County

In the woods of Colorado, you can always hear a stream long before you see it.  The sound of rushing water fills the air for what seems to be miles around each and every stream.  As soon as that sound comes into ear shot I begin to wonder what I will find when the stream comes into view.  Will it be a little stream joyfully flowing through a flower covered meadow?  Or will it be a torrent rushing down the mountainside carrying the melting snow of the last 6 months of winter?  And then my mind quickly jumps to the next question, how will we cross this stream.  And then many times in the midst of this wilderness tract, I am surprised to come across a man-made bridge that crosses the stream.

On Saturday as Zack and I made our way through the Eagles Nest Wilderness Area, we were following the course of two very significant streams - The Middle and South Forks of Willow Creek.  Though they are called "Forks" each of these watercourses is a major stream in it's own right.  Our hike weaved in and out of the water sheds of both of theses streams.


We crossed and re-crossed both of these streams numerous times.  Each time there was an unexpected surprise in the fact there was a bridge for us to cross these raging torrents.  Coming across these bridges is just the most marvelous experience.  I am not sure why they elicit such a feeling of surprise and amazement in me but they do.  Here's a few of the many bridges that we crossed yesterday.  By these pictures you can tell that the Gore Range is definitely one of the more wet mountain chains in Colorado.












Zack and I usually have no problem crossing the rushing streams on these bridges.  The dogs however, clearly do not like it.  Despite the extreme frigid temperatures of the water, the dogs will frequently plunge head first into the torrent to escape the difficulty of crossing the bridges.  Maybe it isn't so much that the bridges are hard for them to cross, it could also be that they just love being in the water!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!

Thanks and peace to all! ~ J.

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