Overcoming Obstacles

I got out of the backcountry around 3:30pm this afternoon and loved our trip. It got off to quite a slow start from the BCO folks since we had to meet over by the Fall River Entrance Station which is about twenty minutes from our office and we were late loading into the cars. Once we arrived at the Wilderness Crew's Cabin, we found out we were starting from a different trail head than we expected and had to go back to the BCO to grab gaiters and yak-traks for the snow. We finally got to the Bear Lake Trail Head, but had to finish repacking our bags because we needed to add the new gear inside.

During this whole time, our office was getting really frustrated because by leaving from the Bear Lake TH, we were going around the loop through the exact area that we warn visitors against going through because there is a HUGE snow slide danger. (We aren't allowed to say avalanche danger because we can get sued for "predicting" avalanches or something like that.) The total mileage from the Bear Lake TH to the Fern Lake Patrol Cabin was about six miles and we saw no snow for the first mile and just patches for the next half. After that, we were never out of snow and it even snowed on us twice during the hike.

When we came to the elbow between the Sourdough and Odessa Lake campsites, we saw the exact areas we give the warnings about. What we realized though was that rather than a snow slide warning, we should be giving people slide warnings! The snow was melting/packed down hard enough that a slide wasn't the thing to worry about. The issue was that we were crossing on a slope that was at about forty-five degrees with nothing on the way down to stop us if we slipped on the ice. We were crossing in single file and it took everything I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

My number one greatest fear in life is falling. Most people think I'm just afraid of heights, but I will climb out on the edge of a cliff any day if there isn't a drop that goes completely straight down. It's the drops that don't look like they will ever stop that make me very anxious. In the beginning of the snow patches, I slid on what I thought was a steep slope that was only a couple feet high and completely froze on the trail. John had to come back for me, but I wouldn't let him touch me. My goal was to talk myself through the problem and focus my mental energy to get me across the ice patch. The second time we came to an icy area, John lent me one of his hiking sticks to use if I felt like I was going to slide. I didn't use that and just kept my focus to get across. Even before the slide area, I was post holing up past my knee in some areas and landed on my butt once. By the time we got to the slide spot where there were drops at least fifty feet or more and snow fields that went up and around the corner, I was getting into a mental state where I would be able to handle the obstacles in front of me. I almost froze once, but made it all the way without needing help from Hannah or John (the rest of our hiking trio that separated from the other BCO crew) or even the three LE (Law Enforcement) Rangers who came by on their way from the West side of the park. The fact that I was able to overcome my mental block and tell myself that things were going to be OK really made me excited for hiking Long's Peak by the end of the summer. If I keep pushing myself, who knows what I will be able to accomplish.

We had lunch when we got to the cabin and went off with the group of about thirty for different backcountry training exercises. It kept periodically raining and/or snowing so the burrito dinner we all pitched in on really hit the spot. All sorts of bonding and hanging out happened in the cabin until people started going to bed so Alissa (25?), Hannah (17), and I (the BCO girls) went out to our tent to rough it for the night. It snowed quite a bit as we walked out, but we crashed as soon as we got into our sleeping bags.

It was nice being able to sit around with all sorts of age groups and talk a little bit of philosophy last night. Something someone said that stuck in my mind as we went to bed was a conversation stemming off a discussion about Into the Wild. The thoughts went along the line of when someone dies, the world keeps on spinning and things go on in nature and in the big picture like nothing was changes. In the smaller picture though, the lives of the people the deceased touched at some point are noticeably altered and it's surprising the impact one person can have on so many unrelated people.

This morning, we had an orienteering exercise where we got lost in the woods and used maps, compasses, and GPS units to get ourselves out. After lunch, we hiked out to the Fern Lake TH as a big BCO group of eight. I had a nice time hiking with Walt since we fell behind after speaking with some campers for a while. I took a lot of pictures at the site and on the hike back today. Often, I would just hold up the camera and shoot while walking and then look to see what came out and was really surprised. I also kept altering the colors--changing between color and b/w. It's funny how sepia seemed to be the perfect coloring for my China pictures but the b/w look fits better here. Maybe my mind has been influenced by Ansel Adams and his park photography, but it really does just seem to work.

Coming back out of the backcountry, I noticed all my bruises from my pack that I wasn't aware of when I was out there and took a nice hot shower to clean up. I talked to Dad and can't believe I get to see him from Thursday to Wednesday! Hopefully this will be a good Father's Day for him and I am just excited to have my first visitor to share this whole experience with!