Noelle and Sierra are in Costa Rica right now. I opted to take Rosie out to the Poudre Canyon to hike a trail that's been closed since the Cameron Peak Fire in 2020. Only recently has the Roaring Creek Trail been reopened. We made the drive into Colorado, and up Highway 14 to the Big Bend Campground. We set up camp there at one of the walk-in sites and then headed just a little further up the canyon to the Roaring Creek Trailhead.
We hit the trail, traversing a sunny, hot, open area that had burned in the fire back in 2020.
Soon, we encountered the trail's namesake: Roaring Creek.
I guess the creek doesn't always live up to its name. However, with all the melting snow in the high country, Roaring Creek is roaring right now!
Since we only saw one vehicle parked at the trailhead, I figured it would be okay to let Rosie hike off leash. She really enjoyed her freedom!
Despite the fire-scarred landscape, the views were pretty nice as we continued to climb.
Wildflowers bloomed along the trail,
and while we didn't see a lot of wildlife, we did catch a glimpse of a marmot spying on us from its rocky perch.
About 2/3 of the way up the trail, we finally left the burn behind and headed into the trees. The shade was welcomed, as were the scattered patches of snow.
We continued to climb along Roaring Creek, though the upper portions of the stream were a bit less "roaring".
Rosie decided to hop in the water for a swim. I think the current was a bit stronger than she had anticipated.
The trail entered a meadow,
then appeared to cross the stream before terminating at a road. The stream was moving too deep and swift for us to cross at this point, so we opted to take a break and turn around. That's when I figured the bridge of branches where Rosie had opted to go for her swim earlier would give us access to the other side of the creek. We crossed and made our way to the trail's terminus at the road.
Unfortunately, about a mile before the trailhead, Rosie really started slowing down. She would stop and sit down in the middle of the trail and refused to move. I thought she was hot and/or thirsty so I offered her plenty of water. It didn't seem to help though. It took a while and a lot of coaxing, but I was slowly able to get Rosie to hike back to the car. Back at camp I discovered why she was moving so slowly: the pads of her paws were worn raw.
I felt terrible. I did not intend to injure my faithful hiking companion in this way. Rather than go for another hike tomorrow, we would be headed back home to allow Rosie to heal and recover.
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