Reservoir Road

I went hiking this weekend with friends, up the Reservoir Road on a fine Colorado day, one of those Spring days between March snowstorms when you cannot imagine staying indoors one more minute, when you know why you live here and manage not to resent all the other hikers because you know they cannot resist the day any more than you can. We ran into groups of Search and Rescue teams with their fine brave dogs and realized that a young man described as distraught had sought refuge here in the mountains west of the reservoir. We did not expect good news, but when we heard the search had ended, we were no less shocked. We are parents, we are wives and lovers and daughters and sisters, and our hearts bleed for each and all: the young man who lost hope, the family who lost Ryan, the community who banded together to search for a man who sought refuge in the wilderness between Winding Staircase and Ice Cave Creek. We light a candle, we pray for his immortal soul, that he find peace; we pray for the family and friends gathered in hope and despair; thankful for a community that responds to sorrow and loss and finds a way to continue the search, despite the odds. Back of the beyond, all souls come to rest.
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