The museum at Mesa Verde National Park offered us two hikes to choose from, each about 2.3 miles: one down to the bottom of the canyon and back up, the other an uphill climb to see petroglyphs. After a quick family vote, we chose the Spruce Trail Hike over the Petroglyphs Hike, largely because my son’s face said, “No way.” What I didn’t know was that my wife secretly preferred the uphill climb.

As we began the Spruce Canyon Hike, we noticed a lot of people starting the descent with us. The path was winding and turned to gravel and sand as we descended. Shade was everywhere, but it was getting hotter, almost as if the rocks were radiating heat they had trapped in the canyon. The area was lush, green, and humid. After about 30 minutes, everyone else bailed, leaving us as the only ones continuing. We love hiking and nothing keeps us from it. We hoped to see some people at the bottom of the canyon, but it felt like we were in a hiking version of “Survivor.”

The trail was well-marked and clear, almost as if no one had hiked there in ages. We reached an open area and looked up at the path we had come down, definitely at the bottom where Pueblo Indians once roamed. The next challenge was to climb back up. The bottom of the path was not well-kept; we wondered where to step. The grass was overgrown, and we had to stomp it down so the kids could walk. Humidity clung to us like an overly affectionate sloth.

Having made it down, we now faced the uphill climb. No one was coming down or going up. Were we the only brave ones? It was getting hotter, and the path became rougher with tall grasses and boulders. We walked for about 45 minutes, thankful for the distraction of conversation. Slowly but surely, we climbed up, mesmerized by the beautiful rock formations, unusual colors, and the shady trees and shrubs.

As we neared the top, the trail became less clear, but my resourceful wife guided us back to the museum. After two hours and 2.5 miles, we were a little exhausted. And yet, our day had just started. The real adventure was still ahead, but for now, we had survived our hike at Mesa Verde.