As you drive into downtown Golden, Colorado, you’re greeted by a sign which reads “Howdy Folks! Welcome to Golden.” But for me, that sign now reads “Howdy, Mark. Welcome home!”
After of upwards of three years in the desert, I’ve relocated to Golden, Colorado. Golden sits about 10 miles to the West of Denver. Thanks to the geographic constraints of Access Fund managed parks and precipitously rising hills, Golden remains a delightful 9 square miles in size, and substantially isolated from the Denver metro area’s 2.6m other inhabitants.
In short, I’m in love. Golden (with its 19,000 residents) has a small-town feel, and huge recreation access. I now live within 30 miles of over 2,000 established climbing routes. Clear Creek, with excellent IV+ whitewater, runs less than 200m from my house. (Yesterday, after a solid morning of climbing, Sagar drove the car home, and I paddled home down challenging and fun whitewater.) Golden has one of America’s few dedicated mountain biking parks. Sagar and I walked to the Farmer’s Market two blocks from our house this morning, returning home with bags of fresh vegetables and a box of Pallisade, CO peaches.
I’ve returned to Colorado (after some 22 years of being away) to seek work in my own employ, and to reclaim a happiness which, for me, resides in mountain crags, high places, and the interstitial web of connections between those who share a love for the same.
Greenie!