7-19-06
Start: Frisco, CO
Destination: Near Copper Mountain, CO
Elevation: 10,120 ft.
Miles: 12.5
Weather: Trying to beat out storms again.
We got a late start this morning, but we caught the free shuttle back to our trailhead. The trails we were on today were great. We had a big climb head of us today - above tree line again - about 12,400 ft.
What made our day really interesting was a combination of two things. Hickory got ahead of us and took a wrong turn, and storms were moving in. We sent a biker to tell Hickory to turn around. He was bee-lining for the mountain climb and went right by our intersection. He was pretty far ahead, and with some gray skies moving in, we had to move on.
So mom and I trucked on with Hickory about an hour behind. We stopped once to eat an energy bar, but after that just kept moving. Purple-black clouds were building in every direction, and we were just reaching tree line about ready to climb into the open tundra. We kept walking until we hit tree line on the other side. That makes it sound so easy. I think this has been our toughest climb yet. We just wanted to get up and over the summit before lightning started to hit. It was already all around us. So we walked through bathroom urges and hunger. But every hill we thought was the summit had a small decline and another climb shortly after. Finally we started to head down into a valley. With the clouds really closing in on us now, I tell you - I have never been so happy to see pine trees in my whole life! That means there is something taller than us. The whole way up that mountain and the whole way down I was praying that we'd make it to tree line before it hit, and maybe 5 minutes after passing our first pine tree, it started to rain. The storm got nasty. It hailed, poured, and lightning cracked so loud it made mom scream every time. It was right over us.
We were terribly worried about Hickory. If he was an hour behind and decided to keep going and try to get over the mountain, that would put him up there right in the middle of it all. We hoped that he decided to set up camp on the other side. But I could see him going for it.
So we set up camp in the rain and got into our bags to get warm. We were pretty much soaked, so we had the chills. The rain here is so freezing cold! Once we were settled, I called Hickory's cell and desperately asked him to call us so we knew he was okay. I was thinking to myself, "I would just crap if he came walking up to our tent..." Not 2 minutes later we hear a male voice - and I don't even remember what he said, but we were so glad to hear it. He ended up walking up there through the worst part of the storm. Hickory is officially crazier than us! He said it was pretty freaky - he'd count the seconds after a strike, and it was 6, then 5, then 3... then one came down right next to him. Thankfully he made it. I asked him if he was happy to see our little yellow tent when he came around that corner, and he said he couldn't even explain it. He's got a great sense of humor, so he was laughing about it the whole time. What an experience it must have been for him!
Now camp is set up, and everything is damp. But our bags are warm and our eyelids are heavy, so that means good sleep. Hopefully things will clear up overnight so we can dry out tomorrow as we hike.
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