Quandary Peak. One the Colorado "14-ers" and reputedly an easy one at that. I mean challenging in that you have to hike uphill for 3.5 miles, ascending 3300' before reaching the peak. But easy in that it was not a technical trail - it is well trafficked, well maintained and easily identifiable.
I set out to do this one alone. The weather was forecast said zero percent chance of rain. I packed Goretex just in case, of course.
There was the 4am alarm clock. And the two hour drive from Boulder in the dark. Then I joined handfuls of other people at 6:30am, just after the sun rose, to begin the hike.
Not going to lie. My diamox-enabled legs were dragging but I was making my way slowly up the trail. The first mile through the forest. Very nice indeed.
The second mile featured pika's foraging for bunches of flowers to decorate their rock homes and my first view of the peak. I listened for the squeaks of enthusiasm and trained my eyes for movement, then shot a few pics of them. (I had been seeking out pikas all year!)
Then after climbing 2500' up, finding myself on the ridge just prior to the final push, something happened to the weather. It took a turn! Within minutes light rain became driving frozen pellets hitting me head on. Then came kinda white-out conditions with snow... and me huddled in fetal position, sporting waterproof shoes, pants and jacket and ice accumulating on my backpack.
I think I could have stayed a while longer and waited for a return of blue sky if it wasn't for 2 things:
1. My gloves were wet through and my hands were wickedly cold and very painful.
2. One of my fellow hikers pulled weather up on her phone and announced to everyone nearby that the weather was staying like this for several hours.
We all fled down the mountain. Over the icy quartz rocks that made up the trail stairs, and through the mud. I was one of the better prepared when it came to gear - think 21 year old gals with short shorts and thin windbreakers, flatlanders without gloves and hats, day-trippers in corduroy shirts and glamour sneakers soaking up the rain. But everyone understood that the snacks, photo ops and cheerful conversations with strangers, had come to a grinding halt.
One hour later, 1000 feet lower, I turned to find blue sky had returned. My fingers were almost recovered too. Drat!!! It was too late. I didn't have the energy or muscle strength to head on back up again. This little challenge would be revisited again really soon though.
C'est la vie!
What did I learn today?
1. Always bring hand warmers
2. Waterproof gloves in any season are worth it. (Experiment with which ones work with hiking poles)
3. Could take one less warm layer. (I forget how warm it is to hike up, up, up!)
3. Carry fewer snacks - there is no nice place to sit and eat once you are up in the rocks anyway
4. Drink more water. More water. WATER. (This one seems the hardest lesson for me and the price is paid later in the day.)
5. Get better sleep the night before.
6. It's OK to abandon the hike and try again another day for any reason. The goal is joy and a beautiful experience, not suffer and sacrifice just to tell a better story afterwards.
7. Bringing the big camera is a luxury and how that feels on the day of the hike, is the answer to "should I or shouldn't I?"
8. Going alone doesn't mean you should expect to be alone up there - and that's not a bad thing.
9. Remember to learn from others on the trail, give to others on the trail, don't judge others on the trail!
10. Stop to look around. Flowers, animals, views, fresh air and human moments are all worth a few seconds of intentional observation and gratitude WILL follow.
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