The mountainside fell down from a rocky peak and into a long, narrow valley. It was the place where three smaller rivers twisted their way out of steeper, darker places and joined to make one. In the fading afternoon light the wind sang gently. The Rockies are a land about as brutal as they are beautiful. So often in nature, it seems, the two go together.

Come morning and afternoon we hiked through sage and sarvisberry, through aspen, scrub oak and pine, up hills that make themselves into mountains. Along the way we stepped and slid through dry soil mixed with volcanic tumble, a glacial slurry eons in the making.

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Kevin is the weekend edition editor for the Daily Journal. Contact him at kevin.tate@journalinc.com.

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