PEAK TO PEAK - When I got home from my lunch date with my friend DB, I sat on my deck. After spending a few moments with the hummingbirds, I cleaned and organized the cabin, making room for my beloved’s belongings.

A few weeks later, my annoying phone became a welcome disturbance. I heard the message notification ding. I opened it, and it read, “I’m on my way.”

I spent two days pacing and waiting, living in a surreal moment. I knew it was happening. Still, I couldn’t believe it.

Twenty-four hours later, I watched his vehicle pull up. With numb legs, I managed to meet him halfway up the driveway. Without speaking a word, we embraced. It took everything I had, and all I could do was mumble the words “I can’t believe you’re here.”

I last saw my beloved 18 years ago, when I was 27. There are many things I’m still uncertain of, but the one thing I’ve never questioned is the fact that I loved him from the moment I met him.

Though we spent nearly two decades apart, he was always with me. No matter where I went or who I was with, I imagined what it would be like if he were there with me.

To celebrate our reunion, I took him to one of my favorite hikes.

At the southeastern corner of Rocky Mountain National Park, near the small Meeker Park community, is the breathtaking Calypso Cascades trailhead. The trail begins from the Wild Basin Trailhead.

With him in the passenger seat, I pulled my truck to the park ranger station to show my annual pass. A little over two miles from the entrance on a narrow gravel road, we began our first of many hikes together.

After a little over three-tenths of a mile we reached the Lower Copeland Falls, leaning into one another to admire the tender sounds of nature. Walking another tenth of a mile upstream along the North St. Vrain Creek, we sat near the upper falls, sharing another moment of beautiful silence.

I love this trail, but I love it most during the spring run-off, when Calypso Cascades, approximately two miles from the trailhead, is a display of nature’s musical ability, filled with the reminder that nature is as dangerous as it is beautiful.

Much as the loud cascades of water create an oasis of peace, the rough patches of life have been a challenging, yet beautiful, upward spiral. I can’t remember the last time I cried out of pure joy and comfort, but for the past couple of weeks, it has been a welcome experience. It’s like finally being home.

Calypso Cascades is in the Wild Basin area. From Highway 7 in Allenspark, turn on County Road 84 W. Drive 0.4 miles and follow the signs into the park. To learn more about Calypso Cascades, visit https://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/calypso-cascades.htm.