Facebook groups are a marvelous way to find people whom like the same things you like and have great information. I found two groups this year: “Women who Hike Colorado” and “Colorado Springs Lady Hikers”. You have to be approved to be in the group, but I enjoy the posts, pictures and the hiking information very much.
After Climb 
Another View 
Hurrying Husband
Some of them are looking for people to hike with locally. Some want to share information and their gorgeous pictures of our state. Some need to share the deeper meaning of the hikes into nature and the accomplishments of successes. Some are “bagging the 14teeners.” Some want to share their “freeing their top” shots (and those are quite the stories).
I heard about a trail from the Colorado Springs Lady Hikers – Elder Fehn close to Colorado Springs. I had never heard of it or tried it in over 20 years of hiking in the area. It was close to Catamount Reservoir and was a ‘balloon’ loop. Five and half miles, some climbing and a great late morning hike through woods. That is what I hoped for.
Pikes Peak 
Trail Flat
There was only one problem – my hiking partner, my husband, was on a mission to do it in the least amount of time and with no stopping. We were racing our own time, altitude and distance. I am not sure why, but I will not do that again. Those kind of hiking races can harm my marriage.
Slow down and enjoy the view…..
I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you’re unmarried, you’re free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God. I Corinthians 7:32-34 The Message
1997 – Catamount Institute was born as a private foundation in 1997 when Colorado College professors Julie Francis and Howard Drossman purchased 177 acres of the old YMCA Catamount Ranch on the north slope of Pikes Peak near Woodland Park and created a mountain campus dedicated to ecological stewardship, research, education, and leadership. Today – We serve over seven thousand youth and adults each year at schools, parks, camps, and business locations all over the Pikes Peak region. We use innovative research, current events, and lessons (consistent with Colorado Department of Education Science Standards) to fulfill our mission, and encourage people to think about their relationship to the environment. Source: Springsguide.com
Do you take the time to enjoy what you are seeing? How many times do you hike fast because you have something else you need to do? What have you missed?