3Rcks: a name, a story, a path

3Rocks – That is the name. A path of path born of one of those raw moments and without frustration filter that becomes a memory that will count for years. It happened earlier this year on a one -day walk through Young Gulch Trail in the steep beauty of Poudre Canyon, Northern Colorado

We were crawling along the path: my 8 -year -old son and my 7 -year -old daughter walk ahead, her shoulders sank when they saw each new inclination, while my 2 -year -old daughter stopped happily to collect each rock, point to each error and admire each flower.

In a moment of tired sarcasm, I released: «Walking with you is like having three rocks in my shoe!» We all laugh right there on the road. The mood changed. A new path of path was coined, and without knowing it, Through/Section-Hiker was born with Triple Crown goals.

🎮 🎒 🎒 from reappearance screens to trails

I just started walking again this year after a solid 10 -year -old pause. The turning point was a camp trip turned into a back trip with my son in Lory State Park that broke something inside me. What began as a way of spending more intentional time with him unearthed in something bigger: a long -distance craving, for quiet places where the signals of the cell fades and the only notifications are the wind in the pines and the constant crunch of earth under their boots.

Since then, 2025 has become unofficially my shock course in backpackers, through which a little and a little climbing. He has challenged me in a way I didn’t know I needed. I have gone from nervously criticizing the buttons in Call of Duty: Warzone to chase the sunsets in criminals, replacing communications with the headphones with hawk calls on top and the occasional surprised deer. I regret not having done time for this before, but maybe that is the point, it appears when you are ready.

This change has opened doors that I did not expect: new friendships, a feeling of clarity, pride and the opportunity to show my children something I never met at their ages. It has been a complete turn of 180 degrees in the lifestyle, and honestly, I will never look back.

⛰️ The Colorado path: boundary breakdown, link construction

On June 1, I completed a personal milestone when walking through the first three sections of the Colorado path: a section of sand, sweat and pure mountain magic. It was not easy. It was not perfect. But it was or

Our team began with three: I, my son Grayson and my old friend Travis. The plan was ambitious: Tackle Section 1 in a single thrust. It extends to about 17.4 miles from the path of Waterton Canyon to the southwest of Denver to the path of the South Platte river. The terrain begins gently along a wide road through Waterton Canyon, following the South Platte river, where we saw maroons, deer and a brave hummingbird that hovered so close that we could hear the buzz of its wings.

But around Mile 9, my son reached his limit. His little frame had the weight of the path, the package and probably more metaphorical weight than any of us realized. Still, he advanced. We camp Creekside under a light sky, the rain of the rain, seeing the stars to flash on top.

We move forward the next day, exhausted but determined. The path wins more than 2,600 feet of elevation through section 1, and every centimeter proves its patience and resolution. Grayson was a warrior, hit after section 1 and although he swore that he would never walk through the descent, when we arrived at home, he was already asking about our next walk.

🌼 Nature Classroom

Sections 2 and 3 of the Colorado path brought a change not only in the field but also in tone. Section 2 – About 11.5 miles from South Platte River to Little Scraggy Trailhead – He sits in the marked landscape of a past forest fire. However, despite carbonized roots and scarce shadow, life advances: vibrant patches Fireweedresistant columbineAnd even mountain lilies Get out of the ashes. In the midst of this marked backdrop, wild flowers felt like the protest of nature: life returns, no matter how much we fall.

Here and there, the clues of deer and mule classes appeared on quiet side gorges, and glimpsed a Golden Eagle Ceased the crest on top. Then came section 3 – approximately 12.3 milesWith deeper pine forest, granite outcrops and views where the sky feels low enough to touch. Is here, I met my first American Pikarummaging between rocks, and saw squirrels of squirrels through the path. Moments like these reminded me: the world outside our daily routine is delicate, wild and waiting for our attention.

The excursion alone changed everything. Without group rhythm or shared fatigue, my steps were measured, deliberate. My heart slowed. When I stopped for photos of water or wild flowers, I was not stopping anyone, I was honoring silence. I found a stable rhythm: walk, breathe, observe, write. The thoughts that had been buried for a long time began to emerge.

🧠 Clarity along the crest

Only on that way, I calculated with my roles: Grayson’s father and my daughters, companions, friends. I saw how easy it is to derive from the people who matter the most when life becomes strong and priorities change. Among the steps, I realized that I needed to connect again: being present, listening, appearing for them as the mountains were presenting me. I called a friend with whom I had not spoken in months. I wrote a letter to my girls. And I promised, that night, bring this clarity home, not only on the road, but in the spaces that imported the most.

✍️ Write through communion

With each mile, I heard: For my breathing, the wind, the author of the audiobook who spoke like Frodo and Sam walked towards Mount Doom. I started The Lord of the Rings: Ring Communion Before the walk, and finish it on the path made me feel that my own epic was walking. Each step forward echoed his struggle. Each summit was felt as a small victory against darkness, of the same type we face in our own heads and homes. I scribble notes about parallels with fatherhood, the need for communion and the importance of bringing hope after day.

🤔 Still looking for a parallel hobby

But among my miles, I realized that I needed more than writing and audiobooks. A repetitive and meaningless craft, perhaps to make bracelets, small photography projects (if I can discover a battery solution) so that you can have more images for the blog or draw the Ridera, something tactile to balance the internal dialogue while. I’m still looking for, but open to suggestions, if you have one!

🌟 What taught me this trip

• Nature not only sane, but teaches stable patience, attention and humility.
• Walking only opened my mind in a way that group trips never did.
• Sometimes, the strongest message comes in silence: it was time to reconnect, strengthen and forge deeper ties outside the trail.
• And finish Fellowship Along the way he felt like a crossroads, from one chapter from my life to another.
• Take more time to soak it on Take Sub to enjoy this gift (maybe take more photos).

What’s still for 3Rcks …

I see the Colorado path not only as a path but as my test terrain. It is where I am learning what works, what not, what to pack, what to leave and what kind of man I want to be when the path becomes hard. Each mile is a lesson. Each blister a badge.

The ultimate goal? The path of the continental division. And one day, if the stars align, the Triple Crown goals that I have in mind.

This trip is not the fastest times or lighter package. It’s about recovering time, making memories with my children and digging up the parts of myself that I left under years of stress, repentance and lost possibilities.

3Rcks is more than a path of path. It is a reminder that what once felt as obstacles, those metaphorical rocks in my shoe, can become the same things that take me forward.

And if you are out there, feeling that your time has passed or that they lose it, I promise you, it has not done so. The path is waiting. The Earth is forgiving. And it is never too late to win the name of its path. Be sure to check my Tiktok for video update of section 1