Working on a Dude Ranch in the Colorado Rockies was exciting enough for a girl from the flatlands of Illinois, but I wanted to make the most of my time there. Deciding to hike to the highest point on the ranch, I asked for tips from more experienced mountain hikers. They made it very clear that I needed to stay on the trail and be back before dark. Following their advice I packed plenty of water, an emergency kit, my lunch, and my camera and set off early in the morning.
Most of the hike was through tall pine forests and sun filtered aspen groves. After several hours the trail opened up into a beautiful high meadow with wild flowers and a mountain stream. There was a large flat outcropping of rock over the stream at the far edge of the meadow. Thinking that it wasn’t that far off the trail, I decided to sit in the shade under the rock shelf to eat my lunch before continuing to the top. The sound of the water echoed off the rocks and I almost fell asleep. Staying there too long I had to hurry to reach the top with just enough time to take a few pictures before heading back. I reached the lodge just as dusk was turning to dark, exhausted but thrilled to have conquered my first objective successfully.
There was some excited conversation coming from the lodge porch and I asked what was going on. Apparently, a mountain lion had been spotted by a guest on one of the late trail rides. A ranch hand said that it was probably old Hank. When someone asked if he was dangerous he explained that Hank spent most of his time in his den in the high meadow or sunning himself on the top of Table Rock. He added that the trail rides never went up that high and the only way to get there was by the foot trail that led to the top of the ridge. I was about to ask for a more specific description of Table Rock but decided I didn’t really want to know.
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