Somehow, it always seems like we miss wildflower season most years. We’re too busy running or biking or training for some crap or another to get to where the wildflowers bloom.

This year happened to be different. We’re not actively training for too much, just trying to keep active and going outside. We have gone on two separate hikes with spectacular wildflowers!

We went to Herman Gulch a couple weeks back, where the columbines were out of this world. I could barely keep forward momentum, I stopped so many times to take pictures of the flowers. That hike is known for the wildflowers, and it did not disappoint.

Then last week we got the bright idea of going to Leadville to climb Mt. Sherman, a fairly easy 14er I hadn’t done yet. The hike was fun, if a little loose – I slipped and went down flat on my ass at least three times on the way down – but I wasn’t expecting the sheer volume of wildflowers in the meadow on the way up.

In short, this year’s wildflowers have been nothing short of spectacular. I know the pictures don’t do them justice, but I sure tried….