‘Ode to Autumn at Crested Butte’ – A Fall Hiking Adventure in Verse & Images

Neither of us are poets. Yet our hike on a blustery fall day through trembling Aspen groves in the Gunnison National Forest at Crested Butte, CO, inspired us to give poetry a try. And so, with a nod to junior high English teachers everywhere, we present: “Ode to Autumn at Crested Butte.”

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Ode to Autumn at Crested Butte

From The Coastside we traveled east,

‘Cross deserts vast on highways least.

We had one wish for autumn bliss:

Golden aspens we could not miss.

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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking

In the Rockies, 6,000 feet,

No fall splendor. We felt defeat.

Scrubby desert with dusty weeds

Would not fill our seasonal needs.

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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking

We went online for revelation.

What was needed? Elevation!

To Crested Butte, our car it flew.

9,000 feet, that ought to do.

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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking

And do it did. On hillsides high

Above Slate River we did spy

Groves of aspens, decked out in gold,

bent by wind and fluttering bold.

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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking

A long loop trail we did hike.

(We had to dodge, the random bike.)

Big white clouds ‘gainst deep blue sky,

Colors popped. Rocky Mountain High.

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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking

Each grove had a different feel.

Green, gold, orange – all had appeal.

In some, the leaves hung firm and tight.

Others yielded to the winds might.

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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking
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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking

Across the trail leaves did scurry.

We enjoyed the yellow flurry.

It dappled firs with gilded trim.

And on our faces left a grin.

We stopped to eat inside one grove,

Screened from the wind and from the cold.

Back on the trail, all done with lunch,

One last delight, crisp leaves to crunch!

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Autumn aspens at Crested Butte, CO, Gunnison National Forest. Dawn Page/CoastsideSlacking

And so we left the fabled Butte

All out of breath, weary of boot.

But we were happy to have seen

Fall at its best. Our minds serene.

NOTE: Our hike at Crested Butte included portions of the Lower Loop, Upper Loop and Tony’s Trail.

This post is the eighth in a series about our adventures on a 6,000-mile road trip across the American West in Fall 2019.

Part 1: Getting our Kicks in Route 50 in Nevada – ‘The Loneliest Road in America”

Part 2: Strolling among Nevada’s Bristlecone Ancients at Great Basin National Park

Part 3: Finding Pando: Utah’s 80,000-year-old Aspen Grove Hides in Plain Site 

Part 4: That Time We Lost the Trail High on a Ledge at Capitol Reef National Park

Part 5: Weary of Iconic Vistas at Canyonlands National Park? Hike to Upheaval Dome

Part 6: Scrambling Beyond the Bus Tours in the Devil’s Garden at Arches National Park

Part 7: Night Sky Brightens a Visit to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

 

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