Dispatches From El Escondido, Vol 4 Wednesday

 More snow fell in Creede overnight, but only about 4 inches. The forecast was for just over a foot, prompting texts from my family wondering if I would get snowed in. Not yet, I am sad to report, but we are expecting a few more inches tonight.   

Life at the cabin has its own pace, and I have fallen into a predictable routine. The first order of business each morning is to get coffee brewing, followed closely by building a good fire. Some reading, some reflection, then breakfast. Today I worked at a leisurely pace, knowing the day would start slowly due to the snow. 

Breakfast dishes done, I drove into town to see what the roads were like and buy some groceries. The snow transformed the town into a living Thomas Kinkade painting.    

The highway was completely clear, so I made a plan to fish Beaver Creek, expecting to have the place all to myself. 

The Beaver Creek area received 12 inches of snow overnight. Since it is early September, the Cottonwoods still had their leaves. The heavy snow clung to the leaves, resulting in many downed tree limbs. 

The main roads were clear but the pullouts along the creek had been blocked when the snowplow went through. The one open campground had campers in every slot, and no place for me to park safely.  No fishing for me today. 

I headed back to Creede to hike Deep Creek trail, just around the bend from the cabin. I fished the creek earlier in the week, but today I wanted to stretch my legs a bit and maybe see some wildlife. 

The scenery was made even more spectacular by the snow, but I was dismayed to find tracks from someone who had been there before me. So naturally I determined I would hike until I saw no more tracks, and then a bit more.  

Where the other hiker's footprints ended

Snow began to melt, and the stark monochrome after the snowstorm receded to melded watercolors of fall. The only sounds were those of birds and the running creek. 

I reminded myself to live in the moment, and enjoy this respite from a loud and frantic world. So I tuck away these images in my mind and on my phone to pull out and remember when life isn't so kind. 

Here be Pikas...