Snow! No snow. SNOW! No snow. I'm ready to have consistent snow. But we don't always get what we want, do we? No. No, we don't. But this was good enough to last me a while.
There was nobody at the trailhead when we arrived. I don't understand why no one else was there at 6a. In the dark. Having driven through the snow. On a terrible road. Don't people have a sense of adventure anymore? Sigh.
By the time we got to the lake the snow was knee-deep. Thankfully, the Gully of Doom™️ had far less snow so we were able to get up to the ridge. Big views in every direction. And wind. Lots of wind.
I had toyed with the idea of a much more ambitious destination, but that wasn't going to happen without snowshoes. No. I didn't have snowshoes with me. As is tradition, there's always a first trip of the season where I needed snowshoes, but didn't have them.
Instead, we climbed to a familiar high point with views down to the lakes and deep into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. So amazing.
I would have stayed all day except for the wind. With the wind whipping across the ridge and standing knee deep in the snow (in trailrunners and shorts) I quickly chilled. Not in a relaxing way, though. In a people-get-in-real-trouble-like-this kind of way.
I'm familiar with snow-related injuries. It's usually cold fingers and toes or scrapes on my shins from an ice crust. I experienced all the usual on this trip, but also maybe something worse. I didn't realize it at the time, but later that night the fronts of my legs were red and incredibly painful. They were either sunburned or windburned or frostbitten or maybe some combination of all three. For the better part of a week even the slightest touch electrified my nerves. The lesson: Wear pants. (No. I won't listen to my own advice)
By the time I was back to the trailhead I was shivering uncontrollably. I got Tink situated in the car, cranked up the heater, and changed into dry clothes. I was still very cold 45 minutes later when I arrived at home. A luke warm shower and lying in front of the fire wrapped in blankets helped.
Totally. Worth. It.
But I might not do it again this season. I need some distance to help me forget how terribly I felt. A couple of months at least.
