After a hard run, I wanted nothing more than to soak my aching legs in a nice, hot bath. I walked upstairs into the master bath, and turned the faucet on. Going back into the bedroom, I laid on the bed, feeling sweaty and tired. I couldn’t wait to climb into our deep soaking tub and relax.
Somehow whenever I really exert myself physcially, whether it be running, downhill skiing or a long day hike, nothing appeals to me more than a hot bath. Figuring the bathtub would be full of hot water, I wondered back into the bathroom. Gross!
Instead of a lovely tub full of nice clear water, instead it was a dark, dingy brown. I should have realized that would be the case with the tons of snow and rain we have had the past few weeks. But I had conveniently forgotten.
One of the perils of mountain living is the result of super saturated soils on the well system. With almost 6 inches of precipitation during the month of May, including 3 feet of heavy wet snow, the ground can no longer absorb all that moisture. So the tannins from the ground matter start to get absorbed into the well water.
We have a whole house filter to filter out the large sediment, including iron, but this is not particulate matter, but rather a brown tinge to the water. And it happens this time of year, when we get abundant amounts of moisture.
The good news is that this is indicator of just how abundant the snow pack is in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and how low the fire danger is right now. All good news for any mountain resident living in the wildfire danger zone. The latest snow pack maps for the state of Colorado show everything well above normal for this time of year.
Reservoirs are filling up, and we haven’t even hit the peak snow melt by a long shot. Unfortunately, the recent snows also put a damper on tourist plans for the holiday weekend, delaying the opening of Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park. Similarly, hiking trails above 9000 feet are still amply covered with snow, so it will be awhile before hiking season begins in earnest in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
Until we get a dry spell, I’m left to showers only, and drinking bottled water. While I wasn’t too happy about the state of my bathtub — I just couldn’t get myself to climb into those muddy waters — I’m willing to delay my own personal gratification for the greater good of reducing fire danger over the long haul.
