​by T. Duren Jones
​

Details Count

The morning before—when we started out on the first segment—thick fog blanketed the mountains, so I had no point of reference, except for a lake.

I was exhausted, feet shuffling, head down. Just one more step, and one after that. We had decided to do two connecting segments of the Colorado Trail in two days, covering 32 miles. Maybe we bit off more than we could trek. Not paying attention, I missed the cutoff back to our SUV. My bro-in-law, Kevin, was nowhere.

Nothing looked familiar. The morning before—when we started out on the first segment—thick fog blanketed the mountains, so I had no point of reference, except for a lake. Kevin had told me about the lake. 

Kevin couldn’t have gotten that far ahead of me. He needs his space for writing (recording), but I usually keep him in my sights. Maybe he had taken a wrong turn and was MIA. I continued to follow the triangular CT signs on the trees, connecting the dots.

The obvious Celebration Lake

Dusk was settling in the shadows of these San Juan peaks. A bull elk bugled, quickly followed by frenzied howling from a pack of coyotes. I hoped they wouldn’t turn their attention toward me! I felt lost but was still on the trail after all. How lost could I be? If I didn’t get my bearings and connect with Kevin, I would be spending the night in the wilderness.

Over an hour (and two more arduous miles) had passed since I last saw Kevin. I used my emergency whistle. Three blows. Nothing. We had decided not to take our walkie-talkies, as we’d be hiking together this time, not coming toward each other from opposite trailheads as usual. 

I had the idea to climb up to a high pass and try to use my cell phone, as crazy as that seemed. No connection, but I sent Kevin a text describing my surrounding location and compass-directional views.

A moment later, a return text! Kevin knew exactly where I was and how I had gone wrong. “You can see Lizard Head Peak? You overshot the cutoff trail. You passed Celebration Lake, right?” 

The lake! Yes! I had stopped for pics of the beautiful setting … but completely missed the lake I was photographing. Too exhausted, I guess.

Kevin had backtracked the trail when I was delayed, worried that I’d broken an ankle or fallen off a cliff. Had he not gone to find me and entered an alpine meadow, we wouldn’t have received each other’s texts. We followed the trail toward each other to meet up. It was great to see him. I’ll be more alert to details (like an obvious lake) on our next hike!

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