I needed the mountains like oxygen…ironic, since I was already more than a mile high in Denver on that fateful Friday. My heart, already heavy from the loss of Anthony Bourdain that morning, didn’t know even worse news lay ahead: My former brother-in-law, still family, would also count that day as his last.
We wound our way to Wild Basin, tracing up Colorado Highway 7 past Allenspark and on the dirt track to the ranger’s gate. Informed that we’d log an extra mile in to the trailhead because parking crowded the inner lots, we shrugged and carried on.
The relative ease and low altitude of the hike to Calypso Cascades seemed perfect for our lack of real acclimation yet good aerobic health. We stepped up the trail, enjoying the flow of North St. Vrain Creek before it joined Cony Creek, the waterway powering over the cascades. After refreshing ourselves and taking the obligatory photos, we descended for a round trip of more than 10K.
Down low, the heat rose quickly, wafting through the pines. Time for a post-(apo)Calypso beer. Lucky for us, Oskar Blues has an outpost bar and grill in Lyons, the gateway town to US 36 and 7 into the mountains. I considered staying there permanently. That way I could have strolled down the street for my Dale’s Pale Ale and bowl of Colorado Green Chili (or other more Cajun delights), and quenched my thirst. And mourned the passing of two irreverent, kind, insightful men. I hope Tim is plaguing Tony with bad jokes over a beer “somewhere in transit” as I write this.
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- The cooling rush of late spring melt powers over Calypso Cascades in Rocky Mountain National Park’s Wild Basin
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- The classic Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale still satisfies
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- A bowl of sublime green chili with porky bits at Oskar Blues in Lyons