It was a cloudy morning, rain falling as we drove over Trail Ridge Road. The conversation with my friend Marcos Quintana went from family and friends to the weather. At the 8,949 ft,
Kawuneeche Valley may have rain, but at the 12,183 ft. peak of Trail Ridge Road, that rain can be treacherous, icy, blowing snow.
Three times in my life, I’ve been to Kawuneeche Valley when such rain was falling, and in those three times, I’ve tried to return to Estes Park only to find a ranger manning the gate at the Colorado River Trailhead, politely shaking his finger, “No, no, no. Too dangerous. Trail Ridge Road is closed.”…