Genesee Mountain Trail Loop

My friend John recommended that we hike the trails at Genesee Park, a short drive from Denver. He suggested hiking the American Bison and Genesee Mountain Trail loop, with an out and back side trip up Genesee Summit to the Flagstaff Trail. The total distance is just under 2 miles with about 370 feet of elevation gain.

To get to the trail head, drive west on I-70 to the Genesee Park exit, exit 254. Turn left to drive over the highway, then turn right. Drive up one mile to the parking lot on your right. From the parking lot, go up the steps to the Genesee Mountain Trail sign. Turn right at the sign to hike the loop (shown below) counter-clockwise.

At about 0.2 miles, turn left to go up the American Bison trail. This trail is forested and you can hear the sounds of I-70 traffic for awhile. The second time I hiked this section of trail, I heard the sound of elk running across the trail and caught a glimpse of them through the trees. 

The American Bison trail goes west for awhile, then turns south. On your right, you can see the fence that surrounds the area where the bison are kept.

Follow the American Bison Trail to the end, at about 0.8 miles. At the end, turn left onto Genesee Mountain Trail. After a short distance, you will see a fork in the trail with a sign on the left that says "To Genesee Summit Trail." Follow the sign on the left.

Trail Junction

At the one mile mark, there will be another Genesee Summit Trail sign. Turn left to go up the trail.

After about a quarter of a mile, you will reach a dirt parking area. Cross the parking area to the Genesee Mountain Flagstaff Trail. There is a small outhouse just below the trail. It is a short distance up Flagstaff trail to the flag, which is donated to the City and County of Denver annually by the Peace Pipe Chapter D.A.R.

Return down the Genesee Summit Trail to the trail junction. At the junction, turn left onto Genesee Mountain Trail. (Turning right will take you back down to the American Bison Trail). At the top of the Genesee Mountain Trail, cross the road. 

Across the road, you will see another Genesee Mountain Trail sign with an arrow showing that the trail goes both directions. Turn left to return back to the parking lot, which is only about .35 miles down the trail. (If you turn right at the sign, the trail will take you back to the fork in the trail pictured above).

On another hike, instead of turning left onto American Bison, I continued on Genesee Mountain trail which follows about a mile along the Genesee Trail Road. At the end, I could see the bison in the distance.

Sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see

I shared a post on Facebook that admits that people of faith may have doubts. "Faith isn't the absence of doubt. It's saying, 'My reasons for believing are greater than my reasons for doubt.'" My friend Brian said it is hard to explain his reasons for believing. My atheist friend Tim commented that the reason most people have for believing is that heaven sounds much better than a "dirt nap." My brother David noted that is so difficult for our limited minds to comprehend an invisible, supremely intelligent creator that many people take the easy way out and don't examine their faith.

Why Doubt is a Good Thing

Many people are too wrapped up in their daily lives to think much about spiritual matters. Many of us don't know how to defend our faith when ridiculed or questioned by skeptics. We're afraid we'll sound stupid. Others are afraid to examine their faith. What if I find out something that stops me from believing?

Timothy Keller, in The Reason for God, says "faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it." If you don't question yourself about why you believe what you believe you will be unprepared to defend your faith. The criticism of Christianity from non-believers in my own family motivated me to prepare a defense of my faith on my blog. The process of examining my faith strengthened it and made me more determined to share it, much to the consternation of friends who wish this quiet person would shut up about faith.

My Perspective on Faith

I first believed in God and Jesus as a child, at an age when admittedly, people are more open to belief. My faith lifted me through childhood struggles with financial instability, the divorce of my parents, and a lack of self-esteem. As I became more self-confident as a young adult, I stopped going to church. I still believed in God but missed feeling his presence in my life. The shootings at Columbine High School were the catalyst that got me out of my spiritual complacency and onto a path of spiritual growth. Ironically, it was my agnostic husband who encouraged me to go back to church.

As an adult, my reasons for believing range from the scientific to spiritual, from an acceptance of proven, objective facts to an unshakable trust in my own intelligence, feelings, and perception. As an introvert, I am energized by thinking about deep issues like religion and the meaning of life. With a Sensing, Thinking and Judging temperament, I put more weight into facts and logic than feelings. I interpret the world based on what I see and experience and not so much on what I imagine might be. (I read the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn but could not get into his speculation about the hereafter). And the Judging part of me always weighs the relative rightness and wrongness of everything.

It's Science

Though many non-believers think that Christians are anti-science, my logical mind loves both math and science (especially life sciences). The creation story in Genesis is cause for doubt if you take the six days literally; I don't. I don't think the author of Genesis intended for it to be taken as a scientific description of creation. Yes, the book of Genesis credits God with creating the heavens and earth and all forms of life. But the key message I get from the creation story is not scientific but moral: man was created in God's image with the will to choose. And the close relationship man had with God in the beginning was broken because of disobedience.

The certainty I find in scientific laws appeals to my desire for order - the universal law of gravitation, Newton's laws of motion, the speed of light, the freezing point of water. I don't have to be smart enough to prove these things are true to trust or see that they are true and to understand that a world without these constants would be a world far more chaotic and less advanced scientifically than it is. I go about my life everyday not thinking about the forces that keep me from floating off into space or about the chemical reactions in my body that keep me living. Yet they are there, unknowable with my senses.

On a purely emotional level, I am in awe of the beauty of nature. I also appreciate the beauty in numbers and the beauty of numbers in nature. Can these patterns be an accident - the results of impersonal, random forces? I don't think so.

I find it interesting that the same people who ridicule Christianity as a pagan belief system believe a modern day myth - Darwin's theory of evolution. How many years would it take to evolve from a single cell organism to a complex, intelligent, tool-using creature like modern man? How did the many species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, plants, fish, etc. evolve separately in ways that benefit mankind?

I typed the question "How did species evolve in mutually beneficial ways?" on Google. This search took me to a book called The New Genesis: Theology and the Genetic Evolution (Ronald Cole-Turner) where I found this example of evolutionary theorizing:

Through this symbiotic interaction, both species in the relationship evolve. The human evolution occurs primarily as cultural evolution, while the genetic structure of the plants evolves. The edible plants benefited greatly by allowing themselves to be eaten, thereby inducing human beings to distribute and protect them. Human beings benefited by serving or cultivating the plants.

People who have faith in evolution make claims about how distinct life forms might have evolved given billions of years of genetic mutations. In Debunking Evolution: Problems between the theory and reality, the author wrote, "Evolutionists are eternally optimistic. They believe that millions of beneficial mutations built every type of creature that ever existed." There is so much complexity and variety in the design of organisms that I can't take the leap of faith that macroevolution requires. Our culture so readily accepts the theory of natural selection that it is frequently used to explain behavior with no evidence. But people and animals behave in many ways that are not in their best interest for survival.

Reading about evidence of fine-tuning of the universe for life, I am convinced that the precision required for life to exist is no accident. Even atheists admit that fine-tuning suggests intelligent design. Yet atheist scientists want so much for there to be no god that they promote an alternate theory. Perhaps there are thousands of universes. Then there could potentially be more than one planet precisely calibrated to support life.

Consider also DNA. How amazing it is that every cell of our bodies contains a script for life? I marvel that this intelligent language that I cannot see or sense inside me determines my physical appearance, susceptibility to disease, personality, and intelligence. It proves I'm me and no one else. How probable is it that this detailed code passed on and modified through the generations is the impersonal work of nature?

I think we all see evidence of God, but for a variety of reasons, people choose to ignore or deny God's existence. Reasons include pride - the desire to be your own god - and anger that life (God) isn't treating you the way you think it (He) should. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." (Romans 1:20, NIV)

The Deep-Seated Desire for Meaning

I am not just a thinker; I am a spiritual being. I want life to have meaning and purpose. I want to know why I am here. Why are any of us here? Most of us will not leave a lasting legacy in our brief time on this planet. Why do we struggle so much for achievement or to make a difference in the world?

In believing in God, I find meaning and purpose. In God, I see a perfect, moral ideal in a world in which people behave destructively and selfishly. No one I know does good perfectly; not one. But most of us have this sense that there is an absolutely right way to behave - honestly and with integrity, treating others as you would want to be treated. (Unless we fail to uphold these ideals ourselves; then we make excuses).

The doubter in me has to admit that there is pain and suffering, injustice and evil. Why would a loving God allow that? Why doesn't God answer my prayers, especially when I am praying for the good of another person? My faith has taught me that I will not know the answers to all these questions in my lifetime. Instead I trust that God will make all things work together for the ultimate good of those who love him, just as he promised. It is in our weakest moments that God's power is made perfect.

In the mess of a world I live in, I find hope in the Messiah - the promised savior. To me there is credible evidence that Jesus was a real person who performed miraculous deeds and taught some really radical things. Forgive your enemies. Bless those who curse you. He also claimed to be God.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. - CS Lewis

Non-believers often use the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of Christians as evidence against God. I understand the criticism because if a person claims to believe in Jesus there ought to be a change in behavior. But in blaming God for the fallibility of man, people miss the central point of Christianity - God's grace. We're all broken and fall short of perfect morality. It's just not humanly possible, even for believers.

I imagine life on this earth as a novel or play that goes on and on with so many seemingly unconnected plot lines, it's hard to see where the story is going. The author lets the characters write their own stories. He provides moral guidance but doesn't force them to do anything they don't want to do even if he knows the story won't end well. He sees the struggles and the suffering but rarely intervenes unless invited. But in an amazing twist, he interjected himself into the story in a very unexpected way, becoming a humble character. He walked among them, struggled just as they did, and sacrificed himself as a path to redemption.

The Long and Short of It

I put much thought into explaining why my reasons for believing outweigh my reasons for doubt. Simply put, the complexity of the universe and all of creation staggers my limited human mind. There are so many hints of a supreme intelligence behind creation - things both seen and unseen. I find it inconceivable this handiwork could possibly be the result of impersonal, natural causes. 

You can't have faith without risk. But I don't have faith because I gamble on the hereafter or because I've been given the key to all of life's mysteries. I have faith because my trust has been rewarded with the assurance of God's love and presence. Faith allows me to approach an omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God with confidence.

Reasons to Believe	Reasons to Doubt
Evidence of order in the universe	God is not discernible with my five senses
Fine-tuning of the universe for life	God allows pain, suffering and injustice
Complexity and diversity of life	God permits evil
Awe and wonder at the beauty of creation	God doesn't answer all of my prayers
DNA - an intelligent code inside each of us	Creation surely took longer than 6 days
Perfect, absolute morality, unattainable by man
Emmanuel (God with Us)
Longing for meaning and purpose
Personal testimonials
Personal sense of God’s presence

Alberta Falls, Mills and Jewel Lakes

My husband wanted to hike somewhere different in late August, so we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park for a day hike. We have visited the park many times over the years, but usually only hike there when staying overnight for a few days in Estes Park. I found a list of popular RMNP hikes on the National Park website. We only wanted to hike 5-6 miles so I chose the Alberta Falls and Mills Lake hikes. In researching the trails on the ProTrails website, I learned that Jewel Lake is not much further.

The trail to the falls and lakes starts from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, which is on Bear Lake Road, about eight miles from the Beaver Meadows entrance station. The Rocky Mountain Hiking Trails website warns that this is a popular area and you might have to take the park shuttle. We arrived at the parking lot about 6:45 am and snagged the last parking spot in the lot.

The trail to Alberta Falls and Mills Lake is well marked. After about half a mile, the trail splits off to the right towards Bear Lake. Turn left at this junction. The falls, only .9 miles into the hike, are named for Alberta, the wife of one of the parks early founders, Abner Sprague. The name immediately brought the Eric Clapton song Alberta to my mind. (Alberta, Alberta, where you been so long?)

Alberta Falls

At the junction of the North Longs Peak trail, pictured below, turn right. On the way to Mills, we passed another trail junction (not pictured) that takes you to Loch Vale or Lake Haiyaha.

North Longs Peak Trail Junction

This late in the summer, there were not a lot of wildflowers. I saw Heartleaf Arnica in the forest, Alpine Fireweed next to the creek, and Pearly Everlasting near Mills Lake. The forest had the delightfully strong scent of pine. One of the hikers we passed on our way back, said it smelled like Christmas!

Arnica

When you get close to the lakes, you will cross some large slabs of granite.

Both lakes were really peaceful and beautiful. Between Mills and Jewel Lakes, wood planks crossed what is evidently a marshy area in the spring and early summer. I've read that most hikers don't go all the way to the lakes, even though they aren't that far. This introvert was thankful for the lack of crowds at the lakes; the traffic really picked up on our way back down to the trail head. 

According to Trail Wiki, the image on the Colorado state quarter is the view from Mills Lake to Longs Peak.  I can't write about Mills Lake - especially on the 100th anniversary of the dedication of Rocky Mountain National Park - without praising Enos Mills (1870-1922). He was the man credited with convincing Congress how important it was to set aside this beautiful party of our country for a national park.

Mills Lake

Plank trail to Jewel Lake

Jewel Lake

This was a really lovely hike though I am glad that we got an early start to miss the crowds.

A Letter to My Beloved Sister

Dear Kansas, I know it's been a long time since you've heard from your little sis. Time flies when you're 139. But as you've probably heard, I'm pretty busy over here and a little worse for the wear and tear.

The last time I wrote to you, I was worried because some of your citizens were so upset about your portrayal in "The Wizard of Oz," I was afraid they might do something drastic to change your image. The last thing I wanted you to do was gussy yourself up so people would trample all over you and spoil your beauty like they have my own purple mountain majesties.

Here the tourist thing continues to make me feel like a scarlet state. Colored Red indeed. Social media has made things even worse. My glamour shots are posted everywhere and bloggers tell everyone to come ogle me and trample all over my curves. I've tried to tell the public that certain parts of me are fragile and need to be protected but they still act like I'm theirs for the taking. I'm losing the wild in my wilderness and it hasn't made me a happy camper. 

It still bugs me that people overlook you! I don't understand why they don't appreciate your spacious skies and amber waves of grain. How I envy the subtle beauty of your Tallgrass Prairies! Being flat-chested is not such a bad thing. You still have your purity. Like I told you years ago, you can't make yourself available to everyone and still keep your self respect.

Since I wrote to you last, you seem to have decided that if you can't beat them, join them! Good for you! Wamego is capitalizing on Frank Baum's fairy tale with an Oz Museum and OZtoberFest. How clever! And, oh how you have made me laugh with your offbeat landmarks! The world's largest ball of twine! I can't say I blame you for tempting a few people off the road with your country charms.

Sis, I'm so thankful that we've remained close even though we squabble about things once in awhile. We fought about water rights to "OurKansas" river for many years. And now some of your sheriffs have joined sisters Nebraska and Oklahoma (the reason you're so darn windy) in suing me for legalizing recreational marijuana. Do you remember that when you were declared the winner in our water fight, you complained that you didn't want money, you wanted water? Well, if you win this fight, do you want money or pot?

Kidding aside, I didn't intend for it to go this far. I just wanted to help people with medical issues. A real Rocky Mountain high can't be found in cannabis. It's in the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake or the quiet solitude of a pine forest. And now I know how you feel when people make fun of you. I have been the butt of lots of jokes. I've been publicly shamed by the governor of our much older sister, New Jersey, who tells everybody the quality of life in my state is really bad now. It's not as bad as he says, but still, this is not how I want to be known.

Nowadays, I'm trying really hard to figure out how to protect my kids. Which brings me to the real reason your adoring little sister is writing this time. I am also worried about your kids. From way over here, I hear your citizens complaining about your governor, about how his drastic tax cuts are hurting public education. I can talk for days about the importance of protecting natural resources but there is no greater resource than our kids! I hope you'll think about what's going to happen if you let ambitious politicians drive your public schools into the ground.

Sister, I will always remember that a part of me, my eastern parts, were once a part of you. I would love nothing more than sit with you and listen to the thunder or to sit quietly watching the fireflies. I don't have lightening bugs, you know.

I must close now and go put out a fire.

Your loving sister,

COLORADO

******

This letter was inspired by a man named Jack Kisling (1930-1998), a columnist who wrote for The Denver Post. Many years ago, I cut out a reprint of Kisling's June 25, 1978 "Here's Denver" column, titled "I wouldn't kid my sister." It was a wonderfully funny tribute to the state I grew up in. I recently found the clipping tucked away in a box, yellow with age. His sentiments are as true today as they were back then.

I can tell by the way my air feels that my looks are fading, and still they consider me the great beauty of the West and the waiting line grows longer instead of shorter. Where is it all going to end?