Thursday, August 14. 2014
Mileage: 21 miles....should we spell it out? Okay! Twenty one miles!!!!! In one day!!!
It was a dark and stormy rain pelting night. Not a creature was stirring all through the mountains, not even a chipmunk, deer, coyote, or marmot!....or our tents for that matter. However, there was one exception.
At 4 AM in the rainy, stormy, monsoon morning, a tiny little light zoomed past our tent with speedy bike tires hauling at high catapulting speed down the trail next to our heads. It was the first place winner of the current hardcore bike race from Denver to Durango. Totally self-supported, these riders must supply their own food, water, and be the sole mechanic of any bike issues for the total 500 miles on the trail. The race began on August 10 at the trailhead in Denver.....and believe it or not, this speedy Gonzales racer that passed us in a blink of an eye hammered out 125 miles a day!!!!!
Anyway, let's get back to our morning. Soon after we set up our tents and went into bed, the rain came peltering down and never ceased to stop.
And then a little reprieve of no rain and seeing these happy purple flowers started out our day..
But... Not for long. I mean as soon as we passed these flowers the dreaded splat of humongous rain started ... Up went the umbrella.
Yep, the fog whispered in..
Oh but look , our happy meadow of pretty flowers entice and encourage us to press on through the on coming rain.
And.... Our beautiful trail that pretty much looked like this for 16 miles..,
It's these meadows that keep you smiling and reminding you what this trail offers . Rain and more rain.. Bring it on.!
Try finding a non wet place to squat and pee with this turrain.
Fog, rain , more fog, rain and a hint of
wind = cold, wet , trail hungry and praying for just a little sun.. Just a little.
Here is perfectly contented Pippy with her casual comnent... "What the &&@$ is up with this rain?? Zippy makes no comment and offers her a yummy yummy dry peanut crunch bar ..
Ah... A wee bit of warmth had broken through the fog. So pretty !!
Zippy and Pippy are happy !!
Pippy taking in the views on this
ridge and enjoying the sun.. It felt so good.
Look at this view!!! It really does take your breath away. We sat here and just looked . Said nothing , no talking . Just observing and experiencing this moment.
We caught up with our trail buddies, "Sparkle" and " Dr. Nooo".. We prepare to cross over the Indian ridge trail. The longest up hill forever never ended trail.
Can you see the beauty in "sparkle "?.. We all smell like mildew socks and our hair is clumped together by flowers and sticks and left over mashed potatoes . It's a trail thing.
Profile of the perfect pippy.. She is beautiful too!!
Pippy and zippy at the edge of Indian ridge trail..sun trying to stay out.
Because we love to take pictures.!! Our trail friends are what made this adventure so special .
We know we only have maybe at the most 2 more nights before the end of this epic -ness , we all pause to take in this perk a boo view from the trees.. Even after we have been trekking UP this ridge with tired worn out feet , we still smile .
The blue sky made our day!!
But like a mean old grumpy goat , those ominous clouds appear!!
Zippy in a field of tiny daisies ... The black clouds are in front of her view . It's still so awesome .
Pippy wanted to pose too..ta da!!
Sitting down for a well needed break , and this is our visual . Really ? Can it get any better ?
Our faithful and most adorned mascot, Sir Harrison the second .
Looks like another HILL.. Try this at 12,000 feet.
Yep, see that green grassy spot on that HILL?? We climbed it. Happily:)🐾
See little Pippy in red??? And see another HILL? We climbed that one too.
Holy moly!!! Not for the faint hearted with a tint fear of HEIGHTS. Zippy ... Not happy .
Sir Harrison the rescue dog with scared out of her pants Zippy.
Almost to the top .. Pippy encouraging Zippy to keep on moving... Ugh. It was a wee bit scary..
The wind was howling and thankfully you cannot see how far up in the SKY you are.
See the canyon drop off on the left? Yeah, the trail was inches from the rim.
The very last hellavious climb of the 20 mile day.. Omg.
The late after noon brought us more blue skies!! Hurrah.
But wait! We have another hill climb!! Is perfect Pippy happy!!??
And then our reward.., Taylor lake . It was like a mirage. Now we get to work our wobbling spongy knees down the side of this cliff to get to the bottom.
Magical lake with bright blue water. Peaceful and surreal.. And freakin cold.
We hunkered in our tents for the last night in the Colorado high country. Bitter sweet. Yet so complete. Just breathe.
Good night peeps, good night trail friends, good night scampering critters and the howling coyotes.. Until the break of day. Peace.
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