(voyez plus bas pour la version française – vean al pie de página para la versión en español)
I arrived in Denver, CO, USA, by the end of September and met there my friends Jim & Jennifer, previously met through Couchsurfing. They are still as welcoming as ever and full of great advice on activities to do around here. Two days only after I arrived, I had planned a little outdoor hike, not with Jim & Jenn who were busy working, but with Pam of The Life Bus. Although we still hadn’t met face to face, we knew we should get along just fine, what with all the exchanges our blogs had allowed us. And we were right!
Pam has been living in Colorado for 12 years now, and as a true citizen of this mountain state, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, camping and all other outdoor activities that are possible to do around here. That’s why, when I asked her where would be a great place to start hiking so I could get back into shape and re-acclimated to the altitude, she proposed an easy hike, 1 hour west of Denver on the I70, the Herman Gulch Trailhead. It’s near Georgetown, at the foot of Grays Peak, and is a 5-mile hike, round-trip.
It was a beautiful autumn Thursday; under a radiant blue sky and sun shinning high, we started hiking and talking about our travels and other treks all over the world. Surrounded by lush colors, snow-capped mountains, chilly winds up at the lake of a pristine color where we had lunch… No moose showed up unfortunately but this hike and encounter made my day!
Thank you Pam for taking me out there!
Have you been to Colorado? What is your favorite activity to do here?
[Français]
Je suis arrivée à Denver, Colorado, USA, fin septembre et y ai retrouvé mes amis Jim & Jennifer de Couchsurfing. Ils sont toujours aussi accueillants et de bons conseils de visites dans le coin. Deux jours à peine après mon arrivée, j’avais d’ailleurs déjà organisé une petite sortie, non pas avec Jim & Jenn qui étaient occupés à leur boulot, mais avec Pam de The Life Bus. Même si on ne se connaissait pas encore de visu, nous savions que nous devrions bien nous entendre, aux vues de nos échanges via nos blogs respectifs. Et ça n’a pas manqué!
Pam vit au Colorado depuis 12 ans et, comme tout bon citoyen de cet état montagneux, adore la randonnée, le kayak, le camping et tous les autres sports en plein air qu’il est possible de faire par ici. C’est pourquoi, lorsque je lui ai dis que je souhaitais aller randonner un peu pour me remettre en jambes et me ré-acclimater à l’altitude, elle a opté pour un chemin classé assez facile à 1h de route à l’ouest de Denver sur la I70, Herman Gulch Trailhead. C’est près de Georgetown, au pied de Grays Peak, que commence cette balade de 8 kms aller/retour.
Par un beau jeudi d’automne, sous un ciel d’un bleu radiant et un soleil magnifique, nous avons donc commencé à marcher tout en nous racontant nos histoires de voyages et de randonnées aux quatre coins du monde. Un grand moment de couleurs, de sommets enneigés, d’un vent glacial au bord d’un lac entouré de rochers près duquel nous avons déjeuné… Aucun élan ne s’est montré malheureusement mais cette rencontre et cette balade ont décidément fait de cette journée un moment mémorable.
Merci Pam de m’avoir emmenée là-haut!
Connaissez-vous le Colorado? Quel est votre activité préférée par ici?
[Español]
Llegué en Denver, Colorado, EE.UU., a finales de Septiembre y encontré de nuevo mis amigos Jim & Jenn, anteriormente encontrados por Couchsurfing. Siempre son muy hospitalarios y tienen muchos consejos sobre las actividades que se pueden hacer en los alrededores. Dos días después de la llegada, había organizado encontrarme con Pam de The Life Bus para salir a caminar mientras Jim & Jenn estaban trabajando. Aunque todavía no nos conocíamos en la vida real, sabíamos que la ibamos a pasar muy bien gracias a todos los correos que habíamos intercambiado sobre nuestros blogs respectivos. ¡No faltó!
Pam vive en Colorado desde hace 12 años y, como a todo ciudadano de este estado montañoso, le gusta caminar, hacer kayak, acampar y varias otras actividades que se pueden hacer afuera por aquí. Por eso cuando le propuse que nos fueramos juntas a caminar para que volviera yo en el deporte y para aclimatarme a la altura, optó ella por una caminata fácil a 1 hora en auto al oeste de Denver sobre la I70, el sendero llamado Herman Gulch Trailhead. Es cerca de Georgetown, al pie del cerro Gray, que empieza la caminata de 8kms ida y vuelta.
Fue un jueves de otoño hermoso, un cielo grande y azul con mucho sol. Caminamos contandonos nuestros viajes y otras caminatas por el mundo. Un día de colores, de cerros cuyas cumbres ya estan cubiertas de nieve, de viento muy frio al lago al lado del cual almorzamos… No alce vinó a vernos pero la caminata y el encuentro con Pam hicieron de ese día uno bien hermoso.
¡Gracias Pam por haberme llevado ahí arriba!
Uds., ¿conocen Colorado? Cuál es su actividad favorita en el estado?
Les Petits Pas de Juls 
Sounds like an awesome trip. I need to look a little deeper into Couchsurfing. It sounds like a great way to be able to stay somewhere cheap(free?). Considering my very limited, who am I kidding, it’s non existent, travel budget, it would be an interesting way to meet new people and see new places while staying within that non existent budget 😀 Have you « surfed » a lot?
I just love CS!! it’s a wonderful way to meet new people and visit places with their insight rather than one from the books. the fact that it’s free is a bonus, but truly not the reason why you should do it. the quality time you spend with people, sometimes just for 1 night because of their or your schedule, is just tremendous and illimited!
Most of the friends I visit during my 3 months stay in the US are from previous CS encounters while I surfed myself or hosted at home back in France or Mexico.
Hosting is also a wonderful experience, especially if you don’t get to travel that much. The world comes to you in many ways and teach you while you’re at home! AND, it allows you to rediscover your own town as you’d want to show it/have your guests to see it at its best!
I have been part of the community for 4 and 1/2 years now, you can imagine that while travelling, it’s my main means of getting from one place to another! 😀
you should definitely give it a try, maybe first as a host so you know what it’s like!
see http://www.couchsurfing.org but also http://www.bewelcome.org or http://www.hospitalityclub.org
Cheers!
Thanks for the input. I’ve already signed up 😃 I did right after I read about it in one of your posts about a week or so ago. I love the idea of it, but not too sure how my wife would like hosting. I’d have no problem with it, but I know she’ll be very hesitant to allow « strangers » in the house, overnight and possibly unattended. I do plan to take advantage of it in the near future though. Even if it’s only in the northern par to the state or possibly a neighboring one. A free roof over my head would open up a ton of travel possibilities.
I’m glad you’re part of the CS community! And really, your wife shouldn’t worry, the most important thing is to read thouroughly the person’s profile and their references before accepting their request. You don’t HAVE to host everytime you’re asked anyway. I’ll try and find you there and maybe be one of your first experiences of hosting if I make it to NH! 😉
Enjoy the fun!
Fell in love with Colorado when I was 10 – first time I’d ever seen mountains. We hiked around Estes Park, Rocky Mt. National Park. Bear Lake, Long’s Peak…used to be you could buy a patch to sew on your denim jacket for all the places you’d reached…ah, the 70s! Hippies love Colorado!
there’s so much to do in CO, I can only understand why people go and never leave this state!
I’m not a hippie but I love CO too! 😉
Wonderful trail !
I love too much this kind of hiking
Ciao
it definitely is! and this one started my stay in CO in a wonderful way!