Last Chance to Catch the Fall Colors, Hiking Along The Mesa Top Trail in Grand Mesa National Forest

When I saw an opening in the weather, I headed up to my "secret aspen grove" along Mesa Top Trail hoping to catch it changing, but alas, it had already finished. The "hike" was still gorgeous showing off all the fall reds, yellows, oranges, and browns, and gave me an extra workout that I really didn't need having played hockey the night before. I parked off a different road than I normally do so that took the route to an unexpected 9.4miles total. Apologies for all the heavy breathing, I ended up trail running the majority of this once the rain started. 00:00 The hike begins 01:13 First signs of color up top 03:34 Cows 04:38 Grand Views 07:35 Arriving at the aspen grove 08:48 Heading back with pace 10:30 Light rain begins 10:50 More vista views 15:52 Interlude 19:03 Interlude 20:42 Made it back to White Lightning 21:04 Deer 22:04 Peak colors on the way down the Mesa