Racer D

July 25th, 2018:

It is morning now, and the plan for today is to climb up and over Trailrider Pass and down to Snowmass Lake. This seems easy compared to the two passes we climbed yesterday. We are still sore from our climb Monday on Maroon Peak, but a great breakfast snaps us alive and gets us rolling out of camp. Soon, the calm, tranquil walk along the creek from our waterfall home last night leads us above tree line again.

The flowers are popping and somehow this makes the climb bearable at first.

The aspen groves begin doing a crazy dance as they choose between growing or not at treeline.

But then the steepness and unrelenting climb become a living “Hell-o” to our systems.  In Johnan’s words, this pass has become pure misery. I continue to snap pictures and offer encouragement. Johnan is steadily growing unresponsive, and at times, totally ignoring me. I wish she could see how pretty the backdrop is, but realize now I need to be stealthy with my shots.

Our hearts beat rapidly while flowers in numerous colors are like candy to my eyes. The terrain is so steep but the views are so welcoming. For some, it is a conundrum trying to decide whether the pain is worth the amazement, but for me, I’ll take this any day to see these views.

I look back to where we have been, and soak it all in once again.

We crest a false summit, and are greeted with a nice view of a lake in a basin and the rest of the trail can be seen in the far distance, angling up the slopes to the saddle.

It is 11:30am so we stop for lunch and soak up the warm sun . It is quite peaceful here and not windy at all. You are pretty exposed in this area, but when the weather is nice, like today, the lunch view is amazing.

We are a colorful crew, and with fuel in our bellies, we get back on the trail, but it is deceivingly steep and we take breaks often with our heavy packs.

In Johnan’s words, “One step at a time”, to the next bend in the trail,

the next rock,

or the next bigger rock at seat height.

And not any too soon, face to the ground, we are at the top! We all deserve a much-needed break from the weight of the pack. We are at 12,420ft.

Despite the fact that Johnan calls Cary & I explicit names as we summit the saddle, she is willing to take a picture with us after enough time elapses to erase the pain. In her defense, the oxygen deprivation did go to her brain a bit. That is Snowmass Lake behind us, and it is as beautiful as they say! We send Cary on ahead with her fast-moving long legs to save us a great campsite at the lake, before too many others get down there.

Johnan and I take our time descending, and the beautiful stroll leads us to a very scenic view of the lake.

Once we are down at our campsite Cary has staked out, the lake is a great makeshift bath. I take a quick swim out and back (10 yards) before letting the freezing cold grimace on my face reveal the reality of how cold the water is. Johnan and Cary look on, as if in agreement I am loopy.

Bed comes early; Cary has an early morning departure for work, and I am going to climb again in the morning. None of us can believe how quickly this trip is almost over. I am nervous about the climb up Snowmass Mountain, but when I tell Cary about my reservations of my toenails being in bad shape, she tells me it’s a ‘no brainer’.

“Of course you gotta do it”.

And why would I not with the opportunity in front of me and perfect weather. Dan, the leader of the church group, says he will check the weather one more time before we depart at 4:30am, but right now it all looks good. The reassurance from Cary settled it ~ I am climbing tomorrow!

I lie in the tent, flat on my back, blowing up my sleeping pad that has somehow gotten a tiny hole in it. Even blowing up a small pad at altitude is hard at the moment. I close my eyes and am now only slightly apprehensive of the climb tomorrow. It will be my nephew’s birthday that recently passed away this past December. I will be climbing in his honor tomorrow.