I can assure you that I have new respect for every last part of my aching body as we started the climb down from the mountain in making our way to the tree line and its protection from the wind and rain. I'm sure we had been out for a few hours by now and walked countless miles and we were ready to head back to the car and call it a day.
Some of the terrain we hit was not leisurely though, and under the rigorous hiking of the past few hours, was not necessarily deemed safest for tired and sore bodies. We hit all sorts of conditions, the first being the sheer angle downward on grass, and later on a rocky, sandy and dead tree laden forest floor. The ground was unstable and slippery due to loose dirt and rotting, dead trees. There were no stable handholds to grab onto and there were a lot of shallow rooted plants that looked like they'd give way to a single tug. It was descending hell but despite the conditions, I was still having a blast while being careful.
We hit a boulder field. It wasn't huge and most of the rocks were steady but grabbing onto them I realized they weren't the smooth rocks I was used to. The edges were jagged and rough and a single slip would have meant cuts and gashes on tender flesh that wasn't used to dealing with this sort of activity. I moved cautiously across this initial field only to discover a second field was our next obstacle... but so far, so good...
In between the different terrain, we encountered a lot of runoff from the ice and snow that accumulated into what I call the tundra bog lands... soft and squishy wetlands in the middle of places you wouldn't expect, some of which ran adjacent to the stream. Tufts of grass stuck up and we used those as stepping stones in that situation, trying to keep feet and ankles out of mud. We
We took frequent breaks, stopping to rest and reacquire our bearings against the map. We made it down as far as the creek which ran parallel to the main highway but we knew if we followed it to the end, we would end up miles from our starting point so we used the creek only as a loose guide. As we continued in the bog lands, the mud was thicker and widespread in some areas as it grabbed at the bottom of my boots making each step a little stickier. The mud seemed to be alive as each step created a sucking sound as the mud gave way to the force of my boot. It was eerie in a horror novel sort of way. The skies above alternated between cloudy and sunny and we were surrounded by endless trees. We would come across an occasional clearing and long, newly grown grass grew high while older brown and dead flattened grass was a reminder of the creatures that had once bedded here for the night.
Dead trees showed their age by their bleached appearance, perhaps doing their time in the hot sun under the lack of cover due to the altitude. Other trees in the deep undergrowth and shade of the thicker forest were brown from rot and crumbled as we walked over them. Crisscrossed in a haphazard pattern they would provide future mulch for the undergrowth of the forest floor in addition to the runoff that commonly gathered in small pools underfoot.
Funny as I was having these thoughts I came across the bleached bones of a carcass in a tiny clearing during the last part of our hike. The bones were scattered in a small pile and I kicked them around not looking for anything in particular but fascinated with the moment. I speculated the remains to be that of a deer as it seemed too small to be an elk and too big to be a sheep. Truth be told I haven't a clue, but the memory will stick with me... aside from watching nature shows, this was very real and I was in the center of it all.
A lot of time to think about my surroundings and events of the day seemed to happen all at once towards the end. I was ready to call it a day and relax in a bar with food and drink and get the mud and sweat cleaned off. The switch between hot and cold temperatures throughout the day was old hat and a shower sounded just heavenly. The mosquitoes were coming out and buzzing around my head and I had already slapped a few away... the only time I had a burst of energy left to run was when hearing an exceptionally loud something buzzing by my head. I didn't stick around to find out what it was... I just ran.
Just as I thought I just can't take any more, the sound of cars drifts by. Brian and I looked at other not knowing from which direction these are coming from. The forest is relatively quiet and the fear of acoustic shadows in which sound bounces around from an unknown location was not what I wanted to deal with as the sun went down and we were stuck out here. The sound came from up above and looking at this last hill to scale was not what I was looking forward to... 45 degrees straight up... the worst ever.
We hailed down a nice and roomy SUV with two guys in it and they stopped immediately... Good Samaritans coming to the rescue. I really think that that sight of me pooled on the pavement at the side of the road was probably their primary reason they stopped. I didn't care what their reason but I was relieved for the ride. Surprisingly enough, our vehicle was less than 1/2 mile down the road... very impressive for being sort of misplaced in the latter half and hiking it all the way down into unknown territory for lack of real paths.
Upon further reflection and despite the pain of this trip, I am definitely looking forward to additional hikes to places known and unknown... exploring this great state in its beauty firsthand is the only way to go as there is so much more to experience outside pictures or otherwise. The pain of reliving the moments is what life is really all about.
Long's Peak, a serious 14er is on the horizon... and a few months of intense training will definitely prepare me for this hike... I look towards the future in conquering this notable landmark and others in the great Colorado outdoors.
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