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| High Altitude Surreal... |
The root of suffering is attachment…
- The Buddha
7/8/15
Since I am attached to my thumb, hip, ankle, lower back, and ego… I am suffering. The hike I departed on Monday turned out to be shorter, and more painful than planned. The original goal was to go from the East Inlet of Grand Lake to Route 7 (somewhere around 30 + miles). My back country permit was for three nights: Slick rock, Thunder Lake, and Aspen Knoll. To best explain how my hike went, check out the trip notes I took on the evening of 7/7/15:
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| Stark and wild... |
- Drove to East Inlet Trail Head off Grand Lake in RMNP - 9,000 ft. Raining
- Hiked 5 miles to Slick Rock Campsite. 10,250 feet. Raining.
- Set up tent. Raining. Began raining hard at 7:00 PM. Rained throughout the night.
- Woke up at 5:00 AM. Raining.
- Broke camp @ 6:30. Raining.
- Hiked two miles to trails end. Not raining!
- Broke off from Fourth Lake.
- Followed caribou path (?) to Boulder Grande Pass (?) and ascended 1,000 feet. Two miles.
- Took compass reading. Too far east. Raining. Distant thunder.
- Traversed 1 mile west through boulder field (not Boulder Grand Pass). Raining. Distant thunder.
- Followed several different caribou paths. Found stream / waterfall. Traversed through water fall. Completely soaked. Raining. Distant thunder. Very slippery "trail" conditions.
- Found top of pass. 12,061 ft. Lake of Many Winds in sight. Raining, hail, high winds, thunder, lightning. Could see lightning strikes nearby.
- Retreat. Exhausted. 12,061 ft.
- Traversed through water fall. Completely soaked. Raining, hail, high winds, thunder, lightning.
- Found guided group of six under tarp waiting out the storm. Gathered information on a direct path to main trail out. 11,000 ft (?). Raining. Distant thunder.
- Slipped. Grabbed sapling. Sapling’s roots pulled. Down hill pole-vaulted fifteen feet. Slid another twenty feet off trail over slab onto switchback below. Cursed. Let go of sapling. 10,750 ft (?). Raining. Distant thunder.
- Descended down to main trail. 10,250 ft. Two miles. Not raining.
- Went back to Slick Rock Camp Site. Two miles. Site taken.
- Hiked five miles to East Inlet Trail Head off Grand Lake in RMNP - 9,000 ft. Raining.
- Ate dinner. drank beer. Slept in van on main drag of Grand Lake.
Although I was soaked and beaten, the beauty of the area
far exceeds the discomfort obtained.
I definitely got my ass kicked… But! I did hike around 18 miles in 24 hours between 9,000 and 12,000 feet in REALLY shitty weather...
7/8/15
Every morning I am in any town I do a coffee for free wi fi trade. I buy a small coffee, get the wifi password from the establishment, go back in the van and make breakfast and coffee while dubbing around on the internet. It seems like a great deal for everyone involved.
After I left Grand Lake I went strait to the Back Country Permit office of RMNP to tell them I would not be showing up at Aspen Knoll for the night and made reservations to Boulderfield Campsite (13,281 ft) on the side of Long’s Peak (14,259 ft). I would have two days to recover and explore Long’s Peak…
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| The sun did peak through at times and the high alpine flora was everywhere... |
