It started as a challenge.
My sister-in-law Anne, who was living in Pagosa Springs, Colorado at the time, had challenged our son Jackson to a hike and climb to the top of the 12,640 ft foot Pagosa Peak, which is north of Pagosa Springs. Anne had made the hike to the top herself, and shot a photo of a cross that had been placed in the rocks on one of the peaks. She gave a copy of that photo to Jackson. It had been hanging on the wall in his room for a few years. The challenge was made.
Although we live in Kansas, Colorado is no strange place to our family. Chris, who grew up in the Dallas, Texas area has been vacationing with her family in Colorado since she was a child. When she was in her teens, she worked at a ranch near Creede, Colorado. Anne moved up there to work in the Pagosa Springs area in the late 1990’s, and Chris’s folks built and moved into a home in Pagosa Springs in the year 2000. The first trip Chris and I took as a couple was to the Creede area in 1989, and our honeymoon in 1991 was in Breckinridge. And since we’ve had children, Colorado has been a regular destination for us almost every year.
It’s been Chris’s dream to move to Colorado since I’ve known her. I loved our trips there too, but during those years after we were married, I was pretty focused to the point of tunnel vision on our business. Chris and I owned a commercial film production company called Third Eye Productions. We made TV commercials. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s we were in our heyday, and we were plenty busy raising three little Hadley’s too, so it never seemed like an option that we could really move to Colorado. Not for a while at least. But maybe… Someday…
Fast forward to July of 2014, the plan was finally in place to make the family trip to Pagosa Springs to do the hike and climb of Pagosa Peak. Anne, Jackson, Chris, our younger daughter Meggie, and myself were all scheduled to make the trip. Our oldest daughter Ali was living in Chicago and about to head into her final year of college, so unfortunately she could not be with us. Nevertheless, the plan was in place. We were scheduled to leave for Colorado on July 11. We were planning to be there for nine days. But sometimes life throws you a curve.
On July 9th I had my annual physical. I wasn’t expecting much. The only big issue I usually dealt with was the family curse of high cholesterol, and It was being treated. The physical that day in 2014 was pretty normal for the most part, and it ended with a blood test. The next day I got a call from my doctor that changed my life. I’ll never forget the conversation. She started off by telling me my PSA levels were very high. At that point I had no clue what PSA levels were so I asked her what that meant. She said very bluntly “It means you could have Prostate Cancer”. Say What?!?! I was only 57. I was floored. There’s no real good way to take news like that. She went on to say that she wanted me to go see a Urologist. I told her we were leaving for Colorado the next day and I asked her if I should cancel the trip, and just how quick do I need to see this Urologist? I’ll never forget what she said next either. “Just sometime in the next month or so, these things don’t move that fast”. As if that was supposed to help. I got the referral information and hung up. After Chris and I swallowed that news, we called immediately to make an appointment, but the Urologist couldn’t see me until July 21st, a couple of days after we were to return from Colorado.
We decided to go ahead with the trip. It was weird because on the one hand I was feeling some symptoms, but on the other hand my doctor sort of made it sound like no big deal. But if you hear the words “it could be cancer” that’s not something you just forget about as you set off for a fun vacation. But off to Colorado we went. It was an amazing and life changing trip. We did several hikes when we got there to get our legs under us, and to also to get us acclimated to the altitude. The hike to the peak was set for later in the week.
I always brought my camera and lenses to Colorado with me. Up until that trip it was mostly to get really awesome family photos. I have always loved shooting people, it’s how I got my start in the business when I was very young man. Shooting landscapes and nature was not really on my radar at that point, but something changed that week in July of 2014. And it started on that hike to the top of Pagosa Peak.
We set out before dawn so we could get to the beginning of the hike as early as possible. For us that was was hiking on a 4 wheel drive road first. We did not have access to a Jeep so we had to hike it. It was a four mile hike to get to the actual trail head. It was a good call. That road would have killed our little Honda Pilot. Once we reached the trail head, It was going to be a couple more miles up to get to the peak. And I do mean up. We were all in pretty good shape for the most part, and the hike, despite being extremely long, was not too hard until the altitude kicked in.
I made the decision to pack my trusty old Canon 5D MK 2 Camera and three lenses. My classic 35 mm prime lens, my beautiful 85mm prime lens, and my recently purchased 100-400 mm zoom lens for the hike. These were all the top of the line L series Canon lenses and with the camera, it probably added 10-15 lbs to my backpack. Not to mention food, water, rain gear, etc. I was carrying a load.
But it was worth it. I was stopping and shooting photos most of the hike. Since we started so early, we were hiking the road when the sun broke over the hills and backlit the trees. The flowers were in full bloom on the trail, and since there was a smoky haze in the mountains from some distant fires, it created a very moody but beautiful look. There are several shots from that trip on our site.
"Sunrise Hike"
"Mountain Columbine"
We finally made it above tree line and started the final ascent to the peak. It had clouded up and there was concern for afternoon storms, and we were worried about lightning. We had to hurry. But I was slowing way down. The altitude was really getting to me. I could only go about 25 feet before I had to stop and catch my breath. Chris and Meggie started to get some vertigo, so they decided to stop a few hundred yards from the top.
Meggie getting ready for the final ascent of Pagosa Peak
Jackson and Anne were able to pretty much keep on trucking, and eventually they got way ahead of me. I could have made it to the top but it would have taken another hour probably and I was concerned about the storms. So about 200 yards from the top I decided to stop and shoot photos. I caught Jackson and Anne as they made it over the first peak and out of sight. I was so happy that they achieved their dream of climbing that peak together. What an amazing sense of accomplishment and something none of us will ever forget. It was so cool!
Anne and Jackson cresting the peak.
While I waited for the return of the conquering duo (above photo), I just sat down and took in the beauty.
Something was changing in me. I could feel it. Certainly the thought of what may be going on in my body was on my mind, but it was more than that. I could feel my love for photography, still photography, coming back to me. It’s really hard to explain that feeling, sitting alone on that pile of rocks close to the top of the world, just looking out at the expanse of Colorado, it could not have come at a better time for me.
We made it down a lot quicker obviously. It did start raining on us for a bit but fortunately there was no lightning. But poor Jackson’s feet really started to hurt him. By the time we made it back to the cars we had hiked over 11 miles with a 3000’ ft ascent and descent in the mix. We were pretty wiped out.
Earlier in the week, while we were scouting our route to the 4 wheel drive road, we came across this beautiful view of the San Juan Mountains. The first time it was on a cloudy afternoon, but we stopped and shot some family pics while we were there. After the hike to the peak, I knew I wanted to come back at magic hour, that last hour of light when the colors of the sky and landscape are lit beautifully, and get some more shots.
That turned out to be our last night there. It was July 18, 2014. It was a beautiful night. Almost surreal. While I found my shots, my family just hung out and enjoyed the beauty of this place and each other. I looked around and saw them all hanging around our old Honda, I grabbed a quick shot of them. There was something about that photo that really hit me. I think it was my love for family that was coming sharply into focus for me. They were so happy just being together, and letting me do my thing.
I continued to shoot different angles of the scene, the beauty of the San Juan Mountains with a smoky haze at magic hour was just so beautiful. One of our most popular images that we have ever shot “Sunset in the San Juans” was the result.
"Sunset In The San Juans" - July 18, 2014
But more importantly to me, the location became somehow spiritual. I know that sounds corny, but I just felt something I had not felt before. Like this was a place and an evening that was supposed to happen:
“A Thin Place”. Where the distance between Heaven and Earth collapses.
That was how my sister described it when I told her about how it felt.. I knew it was true.
We returned to Kansas and I went to see the Urologist. After a brief exam he said there was a 50% chance I did have cancer. Great… We scheduled a biopsy for the following week.
On Monday August 4th, barely three weeks from my physical, I got the call.
“I’m very sorry to tell you this, but you have prostate cancer”. He went on, "It’s a very aggressive version of the cancer, but It is treatable”. “It’s going to at least require surgery, radiation and hormone therapy”. I really didn’t hear much more on that day. You have Cancer, it’s aggressive, and it’s treatable, that’s really all I heard. It’s like bad cop, asshole cop, and let me buy you a beer cop.
The rest of the story is for another day. After all, here we are ten years later in 2024 and I’m still alive, yet there are a few things I need to relay.
First, I woke up from my surgery in September of 2014 a very different man than I was before all of this began. Maybe it was the heavy duty painkillers I was on, maybe not, but I decided right then and there that whatever it took, I was finally ready to make the move to the mountains. That trip in July changed me forever.
There were many many hurdles ahead of us at the time back then, but now we are down to two or three hurdles to go. Chris and I are making multiple trips to the mountains to hike, shoot photographs and really just try and figure out where we would like (and afford) to live. It’s really exciting.
Second, after surgery and all my treatments, I was cancer free for almost six years before it came back in the fall of 2020. Of course it had to be 2020. The year of the Devil. There are several very small spots in my bones which means it is metastatic stage 4 cancer which sounds truly horrible. I’m now back on hormone therapy and my cancer is currently under control, it’s dormant as long as the meds keep working. There are some amazing new treatments coming and my doctors are pretty darn optimistic and therefore so am I. I always believed I would beat it long enough to enjoy the best years of my life. Besides, my Oncologist, who I really like, loves to talk about the mountains every time Chris and I go in for our meetings and my treatments. He knows some great Doctors out west too.
We had another family vacation to Pagosa Springs in 2020, right before I found out my cancer had come back. On the last evening of our trip, Chris and I returned to our spot. It was a perfect evening again. Even more beautiful than the last trip in 2014. I got my photograph, "A Thin Place" which is the cover to this story. I felt the same spirituality as before. Like God was just dealing Aces that night.
When I returned to Kansas and downloaded the images, I was hit with a surprise. Something I had not realized. We were there on the exact same date, July 18, and the exact same time of day as our first trip, six years earlier.
A Thin Place indeed.
In the spring of 2022, after several years, and many trips to the mountains, Chris and I officially opened Hadley Images, LLC. Our love for the mountains, and nature will be displayed and available for purchase here on this website.
But the birthplace of Hadley images can be traced to a dusty old road north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado on the way to a pile of Rocks known as Pagosa Peak.