I am wondering if our crazy wind event on Saturday sapped my life force. We decided to brave the elements and climb Little Cone, up the Fall Creek Road near Woods Lake. We drove the Volvo up the road and had to chain her up to a fallen aspen and drag it out of the roadway to continue on:
The peak proved to be a lovely ascent with incredible 360 degree views, one of those high -profile peaks I have looked at for years but never set out to do. We ambled through aspen, fir and spruce glades with little open meadows interspersed, saw a few deer go prancing away with a fluffy-tailed coyotes loping after them. Early season wildflowers are popping up and the spring-green aspens were shifting and sighing in the increasing breeze.
And then the wind event hit us full-force. How windy was it?
- It was so windy that local forest fires and dust obscured the views of the nearby peaks and ridge lines.
- It was so windy that the bread on my sandwich became crispy like toast before I was halfway through it.
- It was so windy that I got blown down - literally knocked to my hands and feet on the summit.
- It was so windy that walking was difficult - the wind would push my raised leg behind me, then release it between gusts, where it would land in an unanticipated and undesirable location, like on loose scree.
- It was so windy that when we finished...
(there is Little Cone in the background)
...two more aspens had fallen across the road and we were tapped, 8 miles from the highway.
So we started walking and calling friends for a pick-up. We made a valiant effort to build a log "ramp" over one part of the first fallen aspen, but got the Volvo stuck when we tried to drive over it. I was on watch for more falling trees as the gusts were up to 70 mph and random cracking noises were slicing through the forest on occasion, while JC chained the tires and tried to pull her out.
We ended up getting rescued by Eamon, as well as a nice couple who own a solar house up that way and were headed into town for a drink at the Buck.
Needless to say, by the time we were home and stuffing our faces with organic butternut squash ravioli, we were wiped out.
Hence, my post-coffee "nap" on Sunday morning. We loaded up the truck with chain saws, earplugs, axe, chain oil and fuel, drove all the way back up to free the Volvo, and found the aspens had been moved already.
Back to town where we risked falling into a slumber on the deck, roused ourselves and did a nice hike behind the house up Liberty Bell Basin and down Tomboy. Today I feel much as I did when I was taking an 8:30am nap, but I am headed off to work.
The good news: I have been given the green light at work to go to part-time and work 4 days a week! It will start mid-June and we will reassess for the winter season, but I am thrilled to have Fridays off so I can teach Marcella how to swim and go to the Farmer's Market on Fridays when we have the kids, then take a extra day for our peak-bagging weekends when we don't have the kids. Yes, we need rain, but summer is looking good. Now, for a latte....
No comments:
Post a Comment