Hmmm... Not immune to the altitude after all

It was an early morning, on not enough sleep or food... and maybe that's a contributor. I hope so because I can do better and feel better if that is the case.

I was in Rocky Mountain National Park before 8:30am. And 8:30 right now is feeling a darn lot earlier than it was a month ago.

The aspens had already lost a lot of their yellow leaves and the air was cool. Quite cool, with an even cooler breeze. And it appeared the animals were planning on waiting it out - 'til next spring because they were ABSENT today. :-(

At 11,700 feet, I noticed a headache. It seemed to be a lot of effort to breathe as I got in and out of the car for photo opps.  I pulled over and used my pulse oximeter to check myself. Then I used my smart watch too. After all, how could this be? I've had a spring in my step at 12,000 feet for months now. No symptoms!

My (sleeping) resting heart rate is typically 55-58  and my waking resting heart rate is a bit higher. No wonder my watch has concerns that at 11,700' and at least somewhat active, my heart rate is unresponsive. This is what a "bad day at altitude" looks like. My body, like all of yours, is a dynamic little work in progress. Progress is not linear or sometimes even predictable. 

An 90 mins post Diamox, my heart rate was really only about 5 beats faster and my O2 saturation was ... ehh. Passable but not impressive. Low 90's. But the headache had subsided and breathing felt easier.

I learned a few things yesterday. Mild symptoms tracked and addressed teach me about my body. File these teachings for Kili prep!

1. In the past Diamox has worked a lot faster than this... but I clearly can't rely on that and when it matters, I should be taking it hours in advance or maybe even start it the day before?

2. I'm NOT my best self as a driver, photographer or conversationalist when my brain is trying to adapt to lower O2.  

I cut the tail end off the coyote! This ranks right up there with cutting the feet off in a people-portrait. Definitely a pet peeve.  <sigh>

3. I'm going to repeat my performance at 11,700 feet in a couple of days - but this time with more sleep and food - for research.

And in the meantime; a couple of pics from yesterday that were not so bad.

NOTE: I revisited RMNP at the same time, same altitude and just increased the amount of sleep (a little) and added in an oatmeal breakfast prior to driving to 11,700' on October 10... just three days later. 

It was a new day and a different experience. No headache and no labored breathing at all. My heart rate picked up and so did my O2 saturation, with no Diamox needed. The spring in my step was BACK!!!

There's always room to add in a few pics too, right?!

It is definitely autumn here now. Shades of brown, gold and orange abound. My furry little friends are blending into rocks and tundra better than ever, so I'm less convinced they are absent, per se. Maybe just getting a better look at me than I am of them, these days! 

Coyote Friend

 The short story is I entered RMNP around 9am and proceeded to drive up Old Fall River Rd in little Audi. Nope... I don't have good clearance. Nope... the road is not nicely graded any more.  

But driving 10 mph and avoiding most of the large holes and deep ruts, I was able to use little Audi's stellar AWD capability to pull myself slowly around hairpin bends, driving only on the high parts of the dirt road. It helps to be kinda small.

It made keeping an eye out for wildlife damn near impossible but staying in the present, eyes forward, was vital for also staying on the road and not bottoming out!

Just before the final push up to the Trail Ridge visitors center, I stopped for a what looked like a steep hike up a ridge. (Audi was telling me that I had been driving 2 hours and needed to take a decent break. She's good like that.)

It was BREATHTAKING - in too many ways!

All of a sudden, there he was. A fluffy coyote, taking a break on the tundra. Admiring the view and the nice weather, just like me!

At one point he saw something yummy scurrying by and make a half-effort to catch it. But otherwise he was super-chilled. 

Animal sightings were slim. If it wasn't for the next guy, the coyote and a chipmunk would have been it for the day.

The adult males have chased off their juvenile male competition and are waiting for their harems to reunite at this time. I didn't see a herd all day and definitely heard no bugling. 

You betcha I'll be back in a week or two. This place is magical!

Woodland Lake Hike

 I went back to the Hessie Trailhead! 

This time, being a weekday in late September, there was no parking at the high school and taking the shuttle, instead I drove little Audi up the road through Eldora and parked her roadside not a quarter mile from the trailhead. And I took my friend Doug with me. Bonus!

It was the most perfect blue sky day you've ever seen.  The aspen leaves were bright yellow and the temperature was cool to start and warm, but not hot throughout.

We hiked up that rocky road I did a couple of weeks ago. Then at the split where I went yonder to Jasper Lake, we took the "other way" to Woodland Lake. The sign said 4 miles... we were 1 mile in already.

At Woodland Lake, we stopped for little rest. The view was lovely! (Alas not a moose to be found.)

While critters were few and far between, we did have cause to 'rescue' a caterpillar or two from the trail. I couldn't even tell you which end was the head on this one! Seriously though, he has put considerable effort into looking good today and all that eye-catching-ness paid off when I didn't step on him but instead, picked him up and gave him a lift to safer ground.

My watch ran dead flat at exactly 10 miles... I think it missed recording about .5 mile, so I'm saying I hiked 10.5. That's not the best part though. At mile 10 I still had spring in my step, breath in my lungs and no sore feet! I think all this hiking is finally paying off in a way that is visible. Ha!

As you can see, I went a bit faster than normal today. Doug is speedy... he spends a lot of time hiking uphill with 30lb of climbing gear in tow. I had to slow him down, for his own good. We were here to see the colors, smell the forest and picnic by a lake. I even had him eating Werthers candy with me. 

The joy is not found in finishing quicker, it's found in staying out there as long as possible. :-)