Concurring the Mountain

AKA My Butt Crack is Frozen

So my dad and (great) Uncle Roger have been hiking the 2nd tallest mountain in the state every autumn for about the last 30 years. I have gone on this expedition a total of twice before this year. One year I was so out of shape and unprepared for the trek that I couldn't make it all the way to the top and had to wait about an hour for my group to finish their journey to the top and make it back. But the next year in 2005, before I had this kid, I made it all the top. It's supposedly only a 15 mile hike, but I think it's closer to 20 since it takes roughly 11 hours to get up and back.

This year I was worried about the weather. My father is no longer the young adventurer without weather information that he used to be and said if it was going to be raining, we wouldn't be going on the planned weekend and it could prove doubtful to plan for another weekend after that. That = no hike this year. I checked every weather forecast available on the interweb and sent my dad daily weather updates. I saw positive results and on Friday it was decided we'd try and if it got too wet, we'd just turn back. So I was excited. It's been 3 years since my last trek up the mountain and I felt prepared. Mostly. I didn't go on any mini hikes this year and so I was freaked out that I wouldn't make it up again.

So after waking up at 4:30 am (yes! On purpose! What is wrong with me?) and getting my crap put together and stressing about the forgotten knee brace, I took my junk to the meeting place of my parents garage. After more getting organized then should be going on at this hour we hopped into the car and headed to the wilderness. We're lucky that this deep wilderness is only about 40 minutes away. We met my brother Troy and our surprise guest hiker. My nephew Caleb, who is not yet 6. We worried because my dad and Uncle would never let any of "the kids" go on this crazy hike until they were at least 12. But Troy and Caleb couldn't hike for the whole day anyway, so they would just turn back after they felt they had hiked sufficiently. We started off in the dark with our flash lights and we definitely were not the first people headed up the mountain on this Saturday. My dad started to set the pace and our pattern for the day began. Caleb was excited to be hiking and wanted to either run and sit and eat lunch. At 8 AM. But he helped to set a pace that everyone could maintain. My brother Tee and Uncle Roger started in their discussions which ranged from politics, to history to songs half remembered that need to be sung at other's funerals, but always with a bend towards humorous. This is one of the reasons I want to go on this hike. The conversations that take place while you have nothing but time are priceless and my Uncle Roger is someone I that rarely see and every time I do, I'm struck again but his wit and intelligence. He was an elementary school teacher for more years then I've been alive and just recently retired. We all thought he would work forever. I wish I had a teacher who seems to encourage this kind of free thinking. He would pose hypothetical questions that could never be answered, only pondered and discussed. after hiking for about 4 hours and making into the Meadow section of the hike, Troy and Caleb turned around for home. Nest comes the crossing of the Lose Rock Fields. These can be treacherous and difficult to cross as the rock keeps falling away each year and can leave holes in the trail that have to be jumped over for those of us without a really long stride. We made it to the Saddle without incident. It was here that my first trek ended due to ankles that couldn't take the assault from walking over miles of loose rock. It's only half a mile to the top now, but this part of journey makes the rest seem tame. Now we past the point where plant like beyond linchins can't survive. If possible the landscape turns even rockier, but now we're also climbing a steep incline which is more in line with Rock climbing then hiking and trails are hard to follow since it's all just rocky out cropping and loose stone. Trails are narrow and it's only a slip and your going down the mountain faster then you wanted to. This part I've only done once before it scared the crap out of me, as someone who hates heights. The only way for me to make it is for me to be mentally prepared that it's physically possible and the proof is in all the people making their way down the mountain past us.

Oh and did I mention the wind? Coming up to the top of the Saddle I almost lost my ball cap, and others have also lost hats to the fierce wind. The whole hike up we are sheltered from the wind as we're climbing the leeward side, protected from the harsh wind, the Saddle is where you crest this ridge and start climbing on the OTHER side of the mountain, where you're exposed to the bitter winds. The wind chill must have been at least -20 degrees and probably more like -30. Add that onto the thin chill air and you have a runny nose, my friend. We all sniffed our way over the path, trying to stay close, but Tee has the longest legs and was the leader showing us the trail when it was difficult to find. Luckily I had packed a warm jacket (not wind breaker mind you) and a warm beenie cap. I had forgotten gloves and you need to use your hands or at least have them out at all times to steady yourself due to the wind and loose rock. I think my contacts froze on my eyes. That was how windy and cold it was. true, it could have been I had a speck of dust on my eye, but it sure seemed like my contact had frozen on my eye. But having to keep my hands at ready to climb rock and steady myself, this meant I couldn't keep pulling down my t-shirt and up my jeans. I just had to accept that if you could see my backside, so be it. But this also lead to my Frozen butt crack.

Okay, there wasn't that much skin showing I'm sure, but let's just say, I'm for sure wearing a belt next time. And gloves. And a wind breaker. And ear muffs or a hockey mask.

At the tippy top there is a metal shack that over looks both valleys, but the wind still gets you. We opt to have our lunch (since our 6 hours of hiking have only brought us to noon) on the leeward side that can only be reached from the top. The wind drops away and it feels about 30 degrees warmer, but still cool as we're sitting atop the 2nd highest peak in the state. While we lunched we could hear the harsh whistle of the wind over the peak, but not feel it very much.

We were also in the middle of clouds. The clouds would form as the wind pushed the cold air higher on the mountain and then, as it reached the top, pour over us in a chilly mist and head into the valley below us. That is another cool thing. We were looking DOWN on the tops of other mountains. We could see Emerald Lake below us and lots of mountain sheep on Robert's Horn. Everything was so tiny, but we could see the bomb shelter by Emerald Lake. Why would you hike for 5 hours to get to a bomb shelter? Are we really going to have that much notice? Anyway, lunch was a cold affair and while my sandwich was smashed into a little corner of my backpack, I wasn't that hungry. I'd been snacking my my home made trail mix full of nuts and m&ms and drinking water, but not too much as there is only a bathroom stop on the trail for us not happy with using the trees as cover. And that's gross, trust me.

Before we left, I picked out my souvenir rock. This is only my second one, but I agree with my uncle's philosophy that if every year we take home a rock, the mountain will be that much shorter the next year. I picked mine and we headed back down the mountain. Unfortunately we were not accident free. My Uncle Roger tripped on a loose rock and was hanging onto the trail when my brother helped him back to his feet. He had cuts and a nasty already evil looking bruise on his leg. As he commented, that after all these years, "The Mountain has drawn first blood." After we'd patched him up as best we could with our emergency kits, there was nothing else to be done but try and make it back.
Now, I was worried before the outset of the hike that my joints weren't going to make it, but when we made it to the top, I made a mental check up on my knees and ankles and they felt okay. Worked, but not painful. But after only 5 minutes of heading down the trail my ankles were very unhappy, my knees were quick to follow. That's the thing about hiking in, you then still have to hike out before you're finished.

It's insane how the trail gets so much longer on the way back down. About halfway back my feet felt like they were on fire and that I should count my pinky toes as gone. I finally used the change of shoes I had brought with me, but while they were slightly better, the damage was done and it didn't magically make me feel better about all the miles left to hike. Tee and I chatted and hiked down, I think it was mostly to take our minds off hurt of continuing to move. We stopped and waited for the older guys, to make sure they didn't get eaten by bears. Tee told a little white lie to make me appreciate him more. He told me there were 4 meadows to go past before we got the car. Luckily it was only 2, which was much better.

Most of the cars that had been in the heavily used parking lot were gone, as we took our 11 hours to make it up and down the mountain. We are obviously a worn out group, but Dad was able to manage a smile, while Tee almost passed out. I was very glad that I wasn't driving, as I was so sore and would have told everyone to just call a cab. That night I took my shoes off and didn't put them on again. My feet were so painful every step was pure pain. I limped around like an old lady. I soaked my feet for about an hour before bed. Which helped I think. The next day my feet were fine and it only took about 2 days before I could walk without feeling sore. And now that I'm all rested, I can't wait for next year!