Season of waiting

Spring in the Rockies has always seemed like a waiting game. In between winter and spring really getting here, there is a wet soggy mess. Too wet to want to ski or board in, and too muddy to be able to get out and bike the trails. If you are really lucky, the trail has both conditions.

While they do tend to close many of the closer and more popular trails and areas, you can still find some open. Just because they are, doesn’t mean you should. Or even want to. This part of Colorado has this terrible clay mud. Mud that clings to everything. Mud that really makes you reconsider your life choices.

This season of waiting also includes what we all hope will be the tail end of the Covid-19 pandemic. That makes it seem this season of waiting is even longer.

But the great thing about waiting is planning. Summer comes, trails dry out, camping opens up, and the days get longer. Since a lot of the plans last year got put on hold, most just flopped over to this year. Already a few of the things aren’t happening, like Fruita Fat Tire Festival this year. But there is still a long season ahead.

It’s been a struggle over the past year to stay active and stay in some form of fitness. Little steps every day. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been working all this time, getting me out of the house. I’m also grateful that I have a lot of outside space, close, to go to. I can’t imagine what my mental state would be if I still lived in Chicago.

But here we are. Are there little things would have been doing the past year to get us into a better place now? I have some, I’m sure most of us do. But you are where you are, and right now there is nothing you can change from the past year.

We’ve all had a year-plus of waiting. I’ve been able to make changes and progress still. 2020 gave us enough time to reflect, and now it’s beginning to return to normal. Hopefully, you progressed too. Because it is time to get back out there.