When Waterton Canyon was a bust for me (too much construction), I drove three miles to Roxborough State Park, where I thought I was taking a 2.1 mile loop to Carpenter Peak.

I learned at the top that I had already gone over four miles total and it was, in fact, an out and back. I wouldn’t have minded, but I was pretty sure it was my day to get eaten by a mountain lion, which I was ready to bludgeon with my water bottle if necessary.

Eight miles of good hiking and beautiful views today and I didn’t get eaten— I think I earned my food truck quesadilla.