La Plata 6

Down into the basin...
I wasn't able to pick out the trail through the basin from my perch on the crater's rim, so I decided to drop down into the basin to try and find it. Dropping down into the basin is a bit of an understatement, from the rim of the crater it was a 200 feet drop that was very steep. I zigzagged my way down to reduce the angle of descent and quickly made it safely into the basin.

The floor of the basin was covered with dense brush. Finding the game trails and hiking through this stuff is always a little nerve wracking for me...I continually worry about a bear or a wolf lunging out at me from the brush. In reality though, the brush is so thick that a bunny would have difficulty lunging out at me. There were a few areas of the basin free from the brush but these were very swampy and hard to walk through.

I worked my way across the basin and couldn't find the trail. After thirty minutes or so of searching, I make it to the lowest point of the basin, where the creek drains into the valley. I found a large rock to sit on and take a final look back up into this magnificent scene and thank God for this stunning place!

Descent
As I edged over this lip of the basin, I decided to stay on the north side of the creek as I believed that is where the official trail would be. My strategy was the same, zigzag back and forth while descending in hopes of coming across the trail.  I quickly had to abandon my strategy as the trail became too steep to allow that option, I had to focus on the descent AND staying mostly upright...

Skiing in July
To say that I was descending is true...one could also use the phrases controlled falling, slip sliding, or skiing in July. The steepness was the main problem (easier going up than down) but add the dry dirt and lack of vegetation because of drought and you get a very difficult trip down. There were many times that I had to sit down, pick a rock or a tree or some target that would stop my descent, and then slide on my posterior. It is a wonder that my pants made it down fully intact.

Unidentified (large) Furry Object (obscured by dense forest)
As mentioned earlier, there was no trace of humanity in this part of the world and no telling how long it had been since human feet had trod in this valley. And this human (me) caused quite a ruckus while going down, a few miniature rock slides, a few expletives, and a lot of dust. About halfway down to the valley I flushed out a UFO from the dense brush twenty yards below me. The brush was so dense that I could not make out what it was but I could see that it was brownish in color. It also seemed very large by the sound of it tearing itself out of the brush trying to escape the foreign creature coming from above. Could have been a bear or an elk, but no worries, I am fairly confident about how to behave in case of an encounter with a bear AND I have an unproven method for dealing with an angry bull elk. So I was ready for anything...

Valley of Familiar Footprints
The second half of my descent was uneventful as I mastered the art of July Downhill Skiing; no encounter with a bear (though I wouldn't mind seeing one) and no testing of the Angry Bull Elk Evasion Technique (ABEET). I emerged into the North Fork of Clear Creek Trail valley with a few abrasion wounds, dusty pants, and two very tired legs.

As I walked on the dusty trail back to the car, I noticed a set of footprints headed the same direction as me. There was only one set, not a pair (the fishermen/false leaders) and the print left by the sole looked very familiar. I began to wonder if Nic had turned back from his summit attempt.

View from the trail back to the east, pyramid peak at right center is Huron Peak

Reunion
I passed by the fishermen/false leaders truck and noticed that the familiar footprints were still on the trail. By now I was fairly certain that Nic would be waiting for me back at the car, a reversal of last year's Tabeguache adventure. When I rounded the corner and spotted the car, I saw Nic sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. When I walked up he said, "I was getting worried and was about to call the sheriff." Yes, an exact reversal of last year.

Nic made it to this ridge...

When we separated at Alan Lake, Nic quickly climbed the cliffs that separated us from the La Plata Basin. At the top, he determined that he couldn't connect with the Southwest Ridge because it would have been far too dangerous without ropes. His other option was to descend into the southern part of the basin several hundred feet, go all the way across the broad basin, and then go up the Southwest Ridge at a safer entry point.  This didn't look like a walk in the park from his perspective considering the loose rocks on the descent and the length of the hike to get to the ridge. He was right, I saw this route from the Basin and it looked fairly difficult. So Nic decided to hike back down to the car. He took the direct route and beat me back by at least an hour...

 We exchanged stories of our adventures for 15 minutes, then got in the car and headed back to Salida...

A couple of videos that I shot on the leisurely walk back to the car:

Sermon on the Mount Prayer List

- 5.3 – help me to be humble today

- 5.4 – help me to be aware and mournful about the condition of the world today

- 5.5 – help me to be meek today

    5.6 – help me to crave true righteousness and help me to learn what this is

- 5.7 – give me an opportunity to be merciful towards someone today

- 5.8 – help me to be pure in heart and mind today

- 5.9 – give me an opportunity to be a peacemaker today

- 5.10-12 – help me to live in these ways today; give me peace and patience as I experience the inevitable disfavor.

- 5.13 – remind me of the usefulness of salt, remind that salt must come into intimate contact with what it is to affect, and remind me that you call US the salt of the earth!

- 5.14-16 – help me to live in these ways today and remind me that I represent YOU!

- 5.17-20 – help me to better understand your ways, bring someone into my life to guide me, and help move about today in harmony with your kingdom

- 5.21-22 – help me to curb my anger in all situations and help me to not use my words to destroy

- 5.23-26 – I confess that there are broken relationships in my life, help me to make reconciling these my number 1 priority

- 5.27 – help me not to lust today

- 5.29-30 – help me to take my failings seriously and not rationalize them away

- 5.33-37 – help me to simply be a man of my word and help me to live consistently so that my word has credibility

- 5.38-42 – help to forsake the normal ways of the world – revenge, protecting what “is” mine, and giving just enough to stay out of trouble. Rather, give me strength to NOT seek revenge; help me to NOT go to painful measures to protect what “is” mine because I want to believe that everything is yours anyway; and help me to love and serve others extravagantly today.

- 5.43-48 – give me an opportunity to love an enemy today, real or perceived

- 6.1-4 – give me the humility to serve others without an agenda and to deflect all glory to YOU

- 6.5-7 – help me NOT be a religious showboat

- 6.10 – help me to be COMPLETELY subservient to YOUR will

- 6.11 – help me to be CONTENT with what I have today

- 6.12 – forgive me of my sins and give me an opportunity to forgive someone that has sinned against me

- 6.13 – give me the wisdom to recognize temptation and flee from it instead of flirting with it

- 6.24 – help me to worship YOU only today and not the false of god of the economy

- 6.25-34 – help me NOT to worry today; rather, help me to appreciate the sustenance YOU give – use the birds of the air and the flowers of the field to remind me of this

- 7.1-5 – help me to NOT judge others today; rather, remind me to use the energy that I consume in doing something reserved for YOU to work on the sins of my own life

- 7.7-8 – give me strength, wisdom, and reminders to ask, seek, and knock!

- 7.12 – help me to take the Golden Rule seriously, and let it rule all of my interactions with others

- 7.13-14 – give me courage to NOT follow the crowd but to pursue life found on the narrow road and through the small gate

- 7.24-27 – give me wisdom, strength, and courage as I build my foundation

Walking to the Tops of Mountains

or, an answer to the question, "why?"

Me, fully alive at the top of Bard Peak...can you tell?

Climbing mountains makes me feel completely awake, alert, and alive! There is no other experience that is as fulfilling for my body, mind, and spirit. Every climb, despite the different geography, different weather conditions, different companions, and different results, energizes my whole being.

During the ascent my body comes alive. The first mile of the climb creates aching thighs and gasping lungs. After the first mile my endorphins kick in and my body begins to feels alive. My heart is pumping and blood is flowing from top to bottom. The legs still ache and the lungs still struggle for oxygen but they now seem to be motivated to pursue the goal.

Meanwhile my mind is rebelling to the same degree that my legs and lungs are. We always start our climbs early in the morning, around 5:30. Let the record show that I am not a morning person. My mind does its best to convince me that being in bed would be a much better alternative and this is the best time to turn around. If that doesn’t work, my mind will try to convince my left knee or my right hip that it is not strong enough to continue and our whole self should turn around lest we get stranded high up in the mountains. Then the second mile begins and the endorphin rush causes my mind to become alert. I must pay careful attention to navigation, the challenges on the trail, and the ever-changing weather conditions. My mind is fully engaged in the successful pursuit of this goal!

The only part of my being that is prepared for the pursuit is the spiritual side of me. I know from experience what to expect from beginning to end, good and bad. I feel fully alive when I experience the beauty of the created order that is revealed to me with each step up. I feel fully alive when I get above the treeline and see the expansiveness of this part of creation. This feeling is expanded when standing on the top of a mountain. I also feel fully alive when I recognize the loneliness at the top of the mountain. As beautiful as it is, it is not capable of sustaining life. This creates in me a deep appreciation for the life and relations back down in the valley. I am convinced that is where we are created to thrive, sometimes it takes a mountaintop to remind me.

It sounds silly to say this but I enjoy feeling alive. I also tend to become lethargic in body, mind, and spirit. As such, I must intentionally pursue abundant, whole life. There are many kinds of exercises and activities that awaken my body. My mind can become alert when I am reading a good book or solving a difficult problem. My spirit becomes alive when I allow God to reveal himself to me in nature, word, or people. Walking to the tops of mountains, with all of its challenges, danger, and possibility, is the way I have found to energize all parts of me simultaneously. It is here that I feel fully alive. That is why, dear Mother, that I climb mountains.