Triple 0 Vacation! July 2nd

It's time for us to crash someone else's travel plans: Susan's mom, dad, sister, and our two nieces were in Colorado for a week, so we got to join for their last 3 days around Twin Lakes and Leadville. 3 days of walking less than 2 miles a day, hanging out and recovering around the spacious "cabin" up on the hill above Twin Lakes, and eating as much food as we can. Even better, they brought a bag that had new shoes for us, and we could send a few extraneous items (like the Microspikes, no longer needed for the mostly-thawed mountains) back home. The convenience! Definitely worth it for cramming into the trunk of the Forester and trying not to bang our heads along bumpy dirt roads; who knew the Forester was a 7 passenger vehicle?

Mountain reflections in Twin Lakes

New shoes who dis?

We took a day to ride the scenic Leadville Train, treated to panoramic views of the aptly-named Mt. Massive and close-ups of the Mosquito Range on the other side of the valley. Armed with tweezers and a small pair of scissors, I finally had the chance to peel and snip away the weird callous-covered blister on my left heel, creating a moonscape on my foot but alleviating the pain and pressure that had dogged me for nearly a month. We had a lovely sandwich picnic at Turquoise Lake, with only one minor toe-smashing incident while chucking rocks into the water. And a lovely time out on the waters of the Twin Lakes themselves, kayaking and canoeing beneath the gazes of Twin Peaks, Mount Hope, and Mount Elbert, each towering 4 to 5 thousand feet above us.

On the Fourth Susan and I opted out of leaving for the Leadville parade in the morning, too tempted by the idea of lounging around in our pajamas and watching a bunch of Harry Potter movies with Susan's dad. We got some remaining chores done too, I swear. Plenty of time spent playing dog groomers and cats and boss and card games with the nieces... Susan spent a lot of time keeping the youngest one busy. They're sweet and so excited to have us around and so concerned about the day we're leaving to get back on the trail. Sadly the Leadville fireworks display was canceled - the sacrifices you make to live in the West, surrounded by beautiful and flammable National Forest.

But even with the glimpse of a laid-back schedule we're still not ready to give up on the hike... We gotta at least finish Colorado, we still have some pride ;). We've stocked back up on junk food and I've done the math to feel more secure in the amount of calories in my pack for the next 3 days. It'll take a few steps, but time to head back south, pick up where we left off, and start heading back north! We'll be in Leadville again in about 2 weeks. Colorado seems to be full of circles.