Join GARNA and Central Colorado Conservancy for a quiet hike at the property of Marsha Brown and Michael Fisher.

Many of us have had the experience of spending time with our friends in the woods, chatting away and catching up on each other’s lives. The hills climb up and down under our feet as we turn and swap stories and jokes and the trees, views, birds, clouds and sun drift by us. Finding the opportunity to slow down and take time to quietly experience the sights, sounds and smells of the forest and look within ourselves is an opportunity that presents itself to us uncommonly.

This hike, in concert with the slow shift of the year towards the quiet and peace of winter, is designed to do just that. Participants will have the opportunity to walk quietly on the land, taking in the views on the property of Marsha Brown and Michael Fischer on Mesa Antero. With a large homesite spread across the Mesa next to the National Forest, there are a multitude of opportunities to look around and look within.

Participants will gather at the landowner’s home at 9:30 am, and then will, in silence, follow leaders Marsha Brown and Michael Fischer on a trail leading into the forest, down through a forest gulch, up and onto the Mesa to an overlook of a deep canyon stretching out below. Then, the walk will proceed down a trail along the north edge of the canyon to the edge of a small, year round stream deep in a forest of Ponderosas and Aspens. The idea of the walk is not to rack up great distances of miles on the trail but to acquire the richness of the surroundings that reveal themselves to us when we choose to quietly listen. We encourage members to quietly sit for a short while with one’s thoughts and feelings and perhaps even put them on paper in words as notes or a poem or even a drawing, if one is so motivated.

Afterwards will be an opportunity of open companionship and informal sharing as people sip hot drinks and eat snacks in the company of their community. Those who wish will be given the opportunity to share his/her experience with individuals or the group. The maximum distance of the walk will be up to 3 miles. Hikers need to be appropriately dressed for winter, depending on the weather of the day, need to wear boots with good traction, might consider hiking poles for possible steeper areas. Group size is limited to 15 maximum.

Those interested in reserving a spot can contact Michael Fischer at mfischerak@gmail.com and will need to provide both email and telephone contact information.