| September 17: sheltered campsite on the Highline Trail | |
My first challenge of the day was going over Lester Pass, and as I climbed up to the pass the wind got stronger and the rain turned into hail. For three miles, I had to concentrate just on walking so I would stay on the trail and not fall. “Left foot, right foot, watch that rock, watch the mud, avoid that puddle, is that snow? Is that ice? Don’t slip, keep your feet on firm ground. Good steps, follow the trail. Is that the trail, under the snow? Keep your poles planted, good steps, take good steps.” Yea, lots of fun here.
That being said, there were some views to be had today. Because of the bad weather, I choose to take the Highline Trail over the Fremont Trail, since the Highline Trail is actually about 500 feet lower and somewhat sheltered. As usual, I passed by roughly 1,000 mountain lakes, but the vegetation today seemed to be much more vibrant, the contrast was more drastic. The yellows and reds really stood out against the gray sky. It was nice, but I could have done without the rain.
Well, sure enough, about 1:30 in the afternoon, the rain did stop. The sky looked better and I was able to take a comfortable break along side a lake and even dry my tent out a little bit. This lasted for, oh, 30 minutes, and again the rain started falling. At this point, I started to personify the weather and I asked her why she was doing this to me. Why was she ruining my trip with rain that was so cold that is kept turning to snow? I guess this is how the Native Americans must have felt in some ways. To my surprise, I started to create a conversation with my newly created weather god and I began thinking in parable.
"The plants cry out to me", she replied, "look at the dying pines and the wilted crab grass. The are in need of water and I am the only one that can provide it."
This conversation went on for quite a while, but I think you get the idea. My friend Mike P. calls this the curse of the solo hiker, since hiking all day by yourself gives you more than enough time to think about things that you didn’t even know needed thinking about.
Neitzche, my favorite philosopher, did much of his thinking while alone in the woods and believed that by doing so, he was elevating himself above the masses. In fact, he advocated completely rising above mankind, creating a “superman”. This superman would not be bound by good or evil, by social morality or even by laws. The superman makes his own laws, judges himself and subjects himself to his own punishment. The life of a superman is a lonely one, since he has elevated himself above mankind. He loves man, but hates the masses. Of course, Neitzche died alone, broke, handicapped and completely mad.
Anyway, as you can tell, I was going quite mad today and at about 3:30 I realized that I was in the beginning stages of hypothermia. The rain had turned to slush, my breathing was labored and my legs had gone numb… oh yea and I lost the trail. Fortunately, I realized what was going on so I stopped and had a snack and took a breather. After looking at the map, I got myself back on the trail and heading for a stand of trees in the distance. At about 4:30, I entered the woods again and found a very nice, sheltered campsite. Setting up in the rain is no fun, and setting up in the rain with already wet gear is even less fun. Anyway, I did it, obviously, and now I am lying in my bag, psudo-dry and psudo-warm. The rain has now turned to straight snow, so I need to cook a hot meal pronto so that I can stay warm tonight. Here is to a better tomorrow.
-Chomp