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Friday, August 31, 2012

This blog was meant to be about horses...

...but every so often it seems that life has a method of getting in the way.

Hoof issues
Heat issues
Weight issues
Any other excuse issues?????

How about MOUNTAIN issues?

My S.O.'s bleu eyes light up when he talks about Cottonwood Lakes in the Eastern Sierra's
Directions?  Drive on down to Lone Pine...hang a right and drive STRAIGHT up!
Not really...definitely switchbacks on a road without guardrails!
The road takes you up 12.5 miles from 4000 feet above sea level- Lone Pine in the Owens Valley up to 10,000 feet-and did I mention NO GUARDRAILS????  UGH  I panic!

So follows a snippet of a true story of endurance-not the kind that this blog was meant to entail.
This story is about TRUE LOVE...because without it...I would never have done what I did last week.


 Maybe this book will give you a hint
If not....it is a fantastic read!
The goal was 14,042 feet or so
Summit on Mount Langley
Base camp was at 10,000  Ft
Bending over at this altitude makes one dizzy, headache, out of breath
Yup....Backpacking
Something I have NEVER DONE in my life and would NEVER CHOOSE to do
But then there is LOVE
YUP
TRUE LOVE
The things I do for "MY MAN"
Heretofore to be called MG (Mountain Goat)
His pack pictured below was only slightly heavier than mine since he carried the tent.

MG later tells me that sleeping at that elevation is difficult
Elevation decreases sexual desire too-well-all one can focus on is getting enough air to survive
Altitude decreases apetite too-maybe if I spent a month I would lose this horrid weight
The nights were cold
The nights were my enemy
The nights gave me the sensation that I needed to get up and pee
DARK COLD NIGHTS
Find the nearest rock, pee, dash back into the tent
Toss and turn
Dash back out
But if I hadnt had to "GO" in the middle of the night I would not have seen those magnificent stars
The Milky Way....
THE SKY WAS AWESOME at NIGHT!
But DAYLIGHT was my friend
First Light
Cold Mountain Lakes with leaping Golden Trout
Pondering the Day
Thinking the Crow is Ominous
Wouldn't YOU say?
Trekking mountain trails and scaling the scariest heights
Trails that should never be hiked
Do you see a trail? Not really?
(yeh, and they told us a guy died here two weeks ago when he missed the trail due to snow)
MG made it to the Top...14000 ft Mt Langley
I stopped around 12,500 feet-nauseated from the altitude
But in the end
A cool plunge in a lake at 11,000 feet
Draping the clothes on a Rock to dry
Any Rock or Tree
Under which to pee... : )
The question must be asked...
Would I do it again?
Only for LOVE my Friend...
Only for Love!
hhhhmmmm...
The next question is...
When will I get the MG on the back of a horse
and show him MY side of endurance?





1 comment:

Unknown said...

What a neat post! Great photos. I go off on my husband's adventures at times too--it's definitely his turn to climb back on a horse and pay it forward!