Over the last three years, my wife and I have started a new tradition. We have gone camping in New England (Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire) and have climbed a mountain each time. For my wife, who hails from New York City, getting out into the New England woods is a dream come true. And I love it – always have – and that’s why we’re thrilled to share this love of hiking and camping with each other.
But in Colorado, hikers have taken their passion for the mountains even further. And while it is always fun to go out to natural settings and see what nature has in store for hikers, some outdoorsy people have taken it upon themselves to erect a structure that has people coming from all over the world to see it.
High up in the Rockies in the deep Colorado wilderness, you can stumble upon a fifteen-foot troll. Although this is not a living troll, it is a massive structure that you’re going to find rather interesting. It is an impressive artistic accomplishment for Danish artist Thomas Dambo. The troll is titled Isak Heartstone and is attracting global attention. Although you might not have heard of the artist Dambo, you should know that his work with trolls has gained international attention. He has displayed his cartoonish troll creations all over the globe, so Isak Heartstone is nothing too new for the Danish artist.
This particular sculpture took Dambo ten days from start to finish. He used recycled goods and parts to create the massive fifteen-foot-tall sculpture. One item that he used to create the troll is used building stone cairns, which are common in the area and known to the climbers of the Rockies.
The fifteen-foot troll can be found in the hills of the resort town Breckenridge, Colorado. You can find the troll near the French Creek on the start of the East Wellington Trail.
Out There Colorado lists the trail as a “beginner-level and family friendly” hike, which makes it the perfect place to put a troll, which children are going to love to witness for themselves. There is one caveat about the hiking trail though. Breckenridge is 9,600 feet above sea level in the mountains. So if you are vulnerable to altitude sickness or things like that, you might want to take the hike slowly – or allow yourself some time to acclimate to the altitude.
Although the troll has become a popular tourist attraction in the month since it has been installed, locals do not like having it. And Breckenridge residents are demanding that Dambo remove it immediately.
The Denver Post wrote, “With all that attention though, the troll has been taking a serious toll on some of the nearby homeowners in the Wellington neighborhood who are fed up with what they describe as ‘literally hundreds’ of troll hunters coming into their neighborhood on a daily basis. This traffic has led to safety concerns, illegal parking and littering, a loss of privacy and a host of other issues, they say.”
