a gaping maw of an abyss

or, you could just call it a really tall cliff. really, really tall. either way, it was a long way down.

jamie and i hiked sand mountain on saturday. it's about 30 miles north of steamboat, above big, meandering (and full) steamboat lake. my guess is that the lake was created by damming the elk river.

it was a dream of a day - blue skies, a few wispy clouds, temps in the fifties and naked gray aspens covering the mountains and making them look furry, like you could reach out and pet these rolling peaks. (thanks to my coworker for that last little bit of prose)

jamie and i accessed the hike differently than the book, but we didn't realize it until about two-thirds of the way in. we probably added about 3 more miles round trip this way, which didn't bother me until we were headed down and we realized how sore we would be.

some things we saw:
*more grouse, and grouse nests, than i could count
*deer tracks, elk tracks, deer scat, elk scat, maybe some bear scat, and chipmunk tracks (scat means poopy for all you city folks)
*8 separate hunting parties (it's deer and elk season)
*an empty busch light beer box in the middle of the trail (we packed it out on the way down)
*the tallest, sheerest cliff i've ever had the nervous exhiliration of being on top of - and i've been on top of a few
*a living deer on the way out (we yelled at him to run and hide)
*a severed deer leg, also on the drive out, in the middle of the road... hunters suck

i want to hate hunters, but every one we stopped and talked to was so nice. so, i remain conflicted. hunters - effective method of herd thinning for healthier animal populations? or overweight, beer-swilling, lazy atv driving, sorry excuses for outdoorsmen and women? it's a tough call.

if you see any deer, tell them to stay out of colorado for the next few weeks.