If You Can't Change The Situation...

This weekend was a lesson on going with the flow. With our anniversary on the 20th and my birthday on the 24th, my boyfriend and I decided to take a weekend away from the bustle of everyday life and go off the grid. We’d been planning this mini-retreat from reality for weeks, trying to decide where to explore, knowing just that we wanted to hike and camp somewhere in this beautiful state we now call home. We finally decided on Buena Vista, just a 3 hour drive from our FoCo homebase south towards a whole slew of 14ers and promises of incredible hikes and campgrounds. We packed the car full of fire-friendly foods and hit the road for what we thought would be a delightful and simple camping trip.

Enter: Colorado weather.

Let me preface by saying; while I love being outdoors and gallivanting around the mountains, I am not the best camper. I don’t like to be cold and I especially don’t like to be wet. Let me also say that I am sometimes susceptible to a short fuse. It’s an internal qualm that I am mindful of every day and try to keep under wraps. So when the weather forecasted rain all weekend long, tensions could have been very high. But, being that we had already taken the time off and we’d been looking forward to this escape for weeks, we decided to just roll with the punches and see what happened.

We started our day by driving up towards Cottonwood Pass, just outside of Buena Vista, taking in the beautiful palette of the changing fall leaves. We found the entrance to Lost Lake, a popular (but unmarked) hike up into the mountains leading to this incredible mountain lake. We bundled up to race the impending rain, and within minutes of our hike starting, it started to hail. Hard. We took cover under some pine trees and admired the beauty surrounding us until the hail let off, then continued up the trail to keep facing the elements. During the course of our 2 mile hike, we experienced intervals of rain, hail, and snow, which subsequently meant we only ran into a few people along the way. When we made it to the lake, it felt like we were the only two people on Earth- as if this expanse of blue-green water, rolling stonefaces and tall, fragrant pines were a gift from Pachamama just for us. A breezeless snow began to fall as we began our trek back, grateful for our decision to keep on through the crappy parts to make it to the truly priceless grand finale.

Instead of battling tent poles and soggy ground in the rain, we happened across Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn and Spa, a lovely little getaway with natural mountain springs open year round, rain or shine. They’d happened to have one cancellation just before our arrival, serendipitously leaving one single vacancy to save us from the elements. We retired to our room to drink tea and listen to the rain, basking in the high from our awesome little hike. Our night went on to consist of seeing The Birds at a drive-in theater, snacking on our previously-meant-for-camping food and pointing out some of the gross inconsistencies in the movie (yes, I know it’s a classic, but c’mon! So many loose ends!). By the time we made our way back to the Inn, the clouds had cleared and given way to stars like you couldn’t imagine. An arm of the Milky Way stretched across the sky free of city lights. We lay in the restorative, hot waters and stargazed until the clouds came in and a light rain began to fall. Not at all the night we had planned, but a wonderful and memorable night all the same.

They say you can’t change your situation, but you can change your attitude. The unavoidable weather complications could have derailed our whole weekend. We could have grumpily driven home through the rain instead of enjoying it together from under the cover of the trees that it nourished. We could have complained about the clouds blocking the sun instead of admiring how beautifully they hugged the mountains. We could have cancelled our special weekend instead of getting to enjoy each other’s company and making more memories together. When we get stuck in unsavory situations, it’s easy to be upset or angry or frustrated with the universe. Going with the flow, accepting what life throws at you, finding gratitude in the unexpected - it’s much harder, but so, so much more rewarding. And sometimes, you gotta fight through a little hail to get to enjoy the most beautiful things in life.