Roadtrip: Ohio to Colorado (Part Two)

View from the base of Gray's Peak

A drive north on 133 out of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park quickly proved to be the most gorgeous drive we experienced on this spontaneous roadtrip. We knew that we wanted to hike another 14er on the trip, and heading in the northeast direction would put us in the general vicinity of a plethora of options. The winding roads narrowly weaving through the mountain ranges led us to the Aspen/Snowmass region, where we stopped for takeout at a local burger spot and ate in a park in the center of Aspen. Aspen proved quickly to be a pricey city to do anything but eat an overpriced sandwich in a public park, so onward down 82 we went.

Independence Pass/ Continental Divide region was a great stop and take in this part of the state's beauty. Titus absolutely loves playing in the snow, and would've never left if he had his way.

Not too far down the road we found a cozy little BLM spot to overland for the evening. We made a quick dinner of our go-to Zatarains jambalaya and packed things in for the night.

This night of the trip remains our favorite of our time spent in our little self-made home on wheels. Spending time in the wilderness with nothing but the sounds of the mountains is exactly what we envisions when setting off on this excursion.

After a slow following morning of coffee and chatting, we continued our drive on 82 in order to obtain some cell service (we hadn't had any since Aspen). A quick search online let us know that we were nearing the beautiful Twin Lakes area and Leadville. Being runners ourselves and buzzing with the excitement of a new day, we decided to stop in Leadville in order to see the ultramarathon haven itself. In town, we came across the Mineral Belt Trail and with a "when in Rome" attitude, went for a run. Assuming we were decently acclimated to the altitude by now, we had high hopes that our distance running back in the midwest would carry us through. Oh so wrong we were. We made it just under five miles before feeling short-winded, slightly defeated, yet happy.

After Leadville, we hopped back into our trusty Subaru and began to set our sights on hiking another 14er. Which 14er, we didn't know, but we were ready for a good night's rest and an opportunity to plan. We knew that Breckenridge would offer groceries and possible a place to sleep that night, so we decided to make our way there. We ate at an outdoor restaurant in town and discovered that a LOGE Camp location (we had seen this cute little chain of hotel/campsites online before) was right in Breckenridge, was dog-friendly, and affordable!

At LOGE we were able to shower and regroup. Titus was pretty excited to sleep by a fan all night as well. With the hope of completing a 14er still at the front of our minds, we woke up the next morning and set off for a 14er that we had heard to be full of panoramic views and that wouldn't be too crowded during a peak day of summer.

Grays Peak begins at Stephens Gulch trailhead after 3.5 miles of driving up a rough gravel road that I would not recommend for smaller vehicles or for those wanting to keep a pristine exterior free from the risks of off-roading. There are other options for parking at the base and instead adding the distance to your total hike. Grays Peak is the ninth highest mountain in Colorado, and although the hike is not too far in distance (around 8.6 miles roundtrip), the hike gets steeper toward the peak of the mountain.

Our hike ended up being a little over nine miles because we lost track of the trail in the snow toward the top and had to scramble a little bit. Grays Peak is full of wide open, picturesque spaces. Titus absolutely loved the snow, and although we passed a handful of groups coming down as we were going up (we started hiking early afternoon), the farther we hiked, the less people we saw. We passed just one other dog during our hike.

When we reached the summit of Grays Peak, we were approached by a large mountain goat that clearly wanted us off of his mountain. Due to the fact that we had our dog, we did not spend more than a few minutes celebrating at the top. While we were not too concerned about this goat, he did follow us down the mountain at an alarming quick rate, which we were too tired to laugh about at the moment.

Our later start on the hike caused us to wish we had more time to find some nearby camping, but a lack of cell service and daylight pushed us to drive back down the gravel road. As it grew later in the evening, we decided to play it safe and find food just a 25 minute drive away in Georgetown, CO. We enjoyed an evening outside at Cabin Creek Brewing and discovered that the hotel next door was dog friendly. A shower inside of an air conditioned hotel room was marvelous after scrambling up a fantastic yet muddy and snowy mountain.

While we were in Georgetown a friend from college texted us, having seen that we were in the area. He had moved out to Evergreen, just 40 minutes east of where we were staying. When we woke up the next morning we decided to head in that direction, where he and some of his friends were getting together to play pickleball on a hot Saturday afternoon. We played and met new people and then were invited to someone's apartment that evening for some games and a taco night. It was refreshing after being on the road and driving every day, to slow down and just "hang out" on a typical Saturday night. Titus wasn't mad about all of the attention either! Time slipped away from us quickly, and we soon realized that we would need to find a place to sleep. We found a nearby place to park, set up the Subaru for sleep mode and called it a night.

The next morning, day nine of our trip (it felt more like day 15), we made the decision to head back to the midwest. We originally thought that we would stay In Colorado for a longer period of time, but we had been on the move nonstop for so long that we were honestly, tired. We discussed hanging out for a bit longer in one place to catch our breaths and continue the excursions, wishing that we had done more of that earlier on, but we also began to notice that Titus was growing tired as well. He's a dog that typically doesn't mind car rides, but we knew that the go-go-go was getting to him.

Our trip back to the midwest was a bit of a daze. We made a few pit stops here and there, but ultimately were ready to be home. We learned a lot over the course of our trip, our first time truly living our of our Subaru setup as opposed to a one-night car camping experience.

We know it would have been more sustainable for the long haul to take things slow right off the bat and stay in towns for more than just one night before moving on, but we also know how excited we were to simply live freely. Being in the outdoors and soaking in new and challenging experiences is something that we are passionate about, and we feel so lucky to have had this first little family trip exactly the way that it was - spontaneous and freeing.