The morning started off good, I arrived at the visitor center (and trail head) at 6:50am, got ready to go and was off by 7:30 or so. The plan was to hike two trails that paralleled each other with about 5-6 miles between them. Each trail was app 10miles long and to cross over to one another was a nice tough ~7mile hike up and over a mountain pass/flat that would take me near 12,000ft! Sounded like fun! I got rolling and took my time for the first few miles enjoying the scenery, taking in the sights, and snappin a few pics along the way. I saw a couple mule deer which is always nice to see, but still no elk or bears : (
Maybe 6 miles in I stopped for a quick snack and then picked up the pace. Eventually I made it to the last camp site on the south trail which was 9.2miles in and just before the big climb to the pass. I was greeted by a park ranger and we had a quick conversation. He looked concerned, asked me where I was going, what time I started, and didn't seem comfortable with my plan. I asked if I could make it before night fall, but he seemed way more worried about the weather which I hadn't even noticed till this point. Some clouds were rolling in which in the mountains means, don't go up, go down and prepare for the worse. See, mountain storms can come quick and be harsh, dropping temps 20+ degrees in no time and howling 40+mph winds. I decided to keep pushing on and he let me know where he was camping just in case I needed help.
At that point I was over 10,000ft and had a 1,500ft+ climb to get up on the pass. Climbing for me is not a problem, it's the decent that gets my knees calling out for help. Once I got up on the pass I could get a good look at the clouds that were coming my way, and they looked bad, really BAD. I had to make a decision, turn back and head in the way I came (boring), or roll the dice and try and get to the north trail before the storm hit (what a real adventurer would do). With no rain gear, hat, gloves, shelter, and weather worsening by the minute I should have gone back, but I decided to gamble and go for it. Not a wise decision!
The edge of the storm clouds!
Not bad for a little camera : )
I really picked up my pace knowing that getting over this 5-6 mile pass was critical. When you are near 12,000ft and have a storm over the top of you, well, it's not safe at all. Being that I was the tallest feature around, the chance of being struck by lightning was way too good, and with no help around for miles I could surely fall to Mother Nature's wrath with one strike. As I made my way across the tundra like ground I felt exactly what I knew was coming, but hoped and prayed would somehow pass me by. A cold breeze hit my light layers going right through them, the storm had arrived. At that point it was prob in the high 50's, but the temps fell quick along with small rain droplets. I started moving quicker, almost jogging to get across this death pass. As if Mother Nature wanted to test my limits, she started throwing down pea sized hail at me stinging my head, face, and hands, then they grew to marble size with freezing rain mixed in. Soon I was soaked to the bone and getting cold fast. I started to jog on top of the marbles that now covered the ground, splashing on the water that wouldn't penetrate the frozen ground. Rocks become more of a hassle because they were slippery now and begged to twist my ankles. I thought to myself, keep a good pace but be careful, your at 12,000ft and you can't over do it with another 6-7 hours to go, but all I could think about was keeping warm and getting off this stinkin pass! After a few miles I started to slowly descend and the hail turned to freezing rain then to a light rain. The temp was 43deg at that point and I was frozen. My hands had turned deep red and became immobile even though I kept shaking them in hopes to increase the blood flow and warm them up. It was not working and I actually got pretty scared, especially when my finger tips turned purple. I stopped at a sign that said "Grand Lake 12 Miles." I was glad I made it over the pass, but at the same time horrified at the distance I still needed to cover. I just happened to glance to my left and saw a herd of elk about 250 yards away. It was the first elk I'd seen on my adventure, and for a second it took my mind off the pain. I took my pack off, now soaking wet with ice stuck on it, and dug for my camera. My hands weren't working all that well, my fingers could hardly be forced to bend and it hurt to try, but I managed to get a few pics and a short vid of the elk. There was no time to stop, I need to get down in altitude where the temps would warm back up a bit.
The herd of elk off in the distance.
An hour later I was back down under 10,000ft and the temp hit 50deg, I was happy at that and surprisingly my pants had dried up fairly well, but my socks and shirt were still wet. I knew I had made it through the storm even though rain was still falling lightly, now I just had to focus on making good time to arrive back at the trail head before dark since I didn't have a light source (I was not very well prepared for this hike). The miles went by, but they went slower and slower and each one got harder. My knees were getting sore, my legs tired. I stopped for break to refuel, but the mosquitoes were so bad I couldn't sit in one place, so I walked slowing while I ate and drank water. I made it to a campsite that was 5.2 miles from my car, it gave me hope, but I was drained and loosing strength quick. The next campsite seemed to take forever, as did the next, and the next. At one point I thought I was under 2 miles from the car, but then another campsite sign told me it was 3 miles to go. My emotions started to get the better of me as it hurt to take a step, especially if it wasn't on flat ground. Each time I would take a step up or down a strong shooting pain would come from deep inside my knees letting me know I was done, I couldn't go on, but I had to, I had to make it, there was no other choice but to sit and rest and let the bugs eat me alive, or go on. At times I imagined Carrie waiting at my car for me, rooting me on, giving me hope, but soon those thoughts were once again taken over by pain. I was hungry a few hours back and had to stop to go both #1 and #2, but my body seemed to shut down now as all those feelings went away. I didn't even feel like drinking water, but I knew I had to. At one point I thought I saw a coyote pup, I even took a picture of it, but it didn't move, not a bit. It was a log. Was my vision getting blurry? Was I loosing my mind? Was I going to make it or collapse on the trail?
Back down in the valley:
A sign appeared up ahead. I knew I was getting close, I had to be. It said 0.5miles! A jolt of energy shot through my body and I took some quick steps, but my legs wobbled and hurt to bad to keep that pace up. That last 1/2 mile seemed to take forever, almost 20min if that tells you how slow I was going at that point. As I saw the parking lot I almost felt my emotions surface. It was the hardest physical task I've ever done in my life. I didn't know if I was proud of myself, or wanted to punch myself in the stomach for being such a fool. I was way too weak to throw a punch with anything on it and my brain couldn't fathom anything but sitting down, so that's what I did, in the men's restroom at the visitor center : )
After resting a bit I went into Grand Lake town and ate a 1/2lbs burger and cup of macaroni and cheese, it did nothing for me. My stomach was empty after burning up all the food I had ate throughout the day, but all I could think about was getting in my tent and relaxing. It was just over 10hrs of walking with no more than a 3min break for lunch at 12:15. The best I could figure out was 27miles, between 5 and 6 of that at over 11,500ft, and half of that jogging soaking wet freezing to death...literally.
I laid there in my tent, legs aching, knees burning, and a strong headache, pretty much miserable. For once my sleeping pad felt wonderfully comfortable. I talked to my Mom and Carrie for a bit. She reminded me that I still had some pain killers from my surgery a few months back so I popped one of them babies in and watched Lee and Tiffany Lakosky's Getting Close hunting DVD on my laptop until the battery went dead (ordered two extras today, take that!). By that time the pain killer had kicked in and numbed my pain so I could fall asleep. Early in the morning I woke to horrible pain in both my legs especially in my knees, so I grabbed a few breakfast bars and another pain killer and downed them with water. So far today I've taken three of them to keep the pain away, and it seems to be working quite well compared to what I thought it would be like all day. I've spend about 7hrs at the library uploading pics/movies, downloading songs, buying spare laptop batteries, and a summer tent. Unfortunately the connection here is super slow so everything is taking longer than it should. I did have a wonderful and huge breakfast at Carrie's Corner (I took a pic of the menu and sent it to my Carrie). The pancake was by far the biggest I have ever seen, prob close to 13in in diameter! The sausage patty was about 5in in diameter and close to 3/4in thick. They did some amazing home fries which were freshly cut potatoes seasoned and pan fried with onions and green peppers...yummy!
My brother arrived today with his family. They are staying in a cabin near Grand Lake so I'll go meet up with them soon for dinner and some relaxing. I need to give them some warnings about the great west even though I'm sure they will all blow me off.
So, lessons learned. Be prepared for anything. Take small steps in pushing yourself physically, and if a park ranger shows genuine concern you better listen to him!
More pics on my smugmug page, just click on one above and you be there. Some vids on youtube under my user name : iambquinn
thanks for reading
No comments:
Post a Comment