This week is all about winding down, and gearing up for the longest trek I have done in my life… here's to the adventures in the great unknown!
Theme: Into the Great Wide Open
Year Fourteen Of My 365 Project
Tags: Into the Great Wide Open 365 Days 365 Days 2022 365 More Days in 2022 Photos In 2022 365 Alumni Year 14 365 Days Year 14 Daily Photo Photo Journal Day In The Life 2022inPhotos A Pic A Day 2022YIP Photography Canon Canon Photography EOS 7D
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The final hours of countdown have begin, and I am ready to load up the truck with all my supplies and head out West!
Theme: Into the Great Wide Open
Year Fourteen Of My 365 Project
Tags: Into the Great Wide Open 365 Days 365 Days 2022 365 More Days in 2022 Photos In 2022 365 Alumni Year 14 365 Days Year 14 Daily Photo Photo Journal Day In The Life 2022inPhotos A Pic A Day 2022YIP Photography Canon Canon Photography EOS 7D
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I finally made it to the mountains of Colorado, in the north end of Rocky Mountain National Park. Usually on the first day I drive high then walk around and acclimatize so I don't get bothered by the elevation. Because I lost 2 days, I wanted to try and make up time so I drove to a high elevation and then back down, and then I did a hike on the same day.... huge mistake.
The hike was a great hike, taking me to a 12,000+ ft summit well above tree line. The climb went straight up, and most of the hike was spent climbing across the Continental Divide, scrambling to the top providing beautiful, breathtaking views of the Rockies. After summiting, all hell broke lose.
On the way down, elevation sickness sunk in and came very fast. My heart was racing and beating so very hard; my head was throbbing- not hurting, but actually throbbing, and nausea set in along with cramping. This was the worst I'd ever felt elevation sickness. The best thing you can in this is to hydrate and get down, but that's not easy to do fast on an 11-mine hike. I knew even if I called emergency services it would take them time to get to me, so I just moved as fast as I could to get back down.
I ended up in the Emergency Room, where I seriously contemplated just coming back home. Dead battery- sick- dead truck- bad weather... was this a sign, or just a long series of bumps in the road? The doctor told me she thought I'd be okay, but I was the only one to make that call. I was told to take a day off, and if possible sleep at an even lower elevation. I had no energy to set up my tent, so I went to my campsite and slept in my truck. This is certainly not the way I planned to start my adventure... so far none of this was going to plan- but I was determined to make the best of it.
Theme: Into the Great Wide Open
Year Fourteen Of My 365 Project
Tags: RMNP Mount Ida Sumit Into the Great Wide Open 365 Days 365 Days 2022 365 More Days in 2022 Photos In 2022 365 Alumni Year 14 365 Days Year 14 Daily Photo Photo Journal Day In The Life 2022inPhotos A Pic A Day 2022YIP Photography Canon Canon Photography EOS 7D
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I started an early morning hike to Deer Mountain- my second hike on this adventure. I had done this summit before, but when I did this it was raining. I had almost no views in the midst of the rain, and I only did the summit instead of the trail loop which was just over 11 miles.
About 20 minutes into the hike my brand new water bladder failed and I couldn't get any water out of it- no idea why. I had the choice to turn back or press on, knowing the temperatures were going to start warming up very soon. I decided to press on because I didn't lose water- just the ability to access it easily. Then... my GPS map services failed and I was off the grid.
I reverted to my training and didn't panic. I knew where I was and the trail was one I was familiar with. I told myself if I summited and still didn't have my GPS back online I would turn back after summiting. Thankfully GPS came back online, I made the summit, and on the way back to the trailhead I was able to fix my water bladder. All in, I had some moments of unnecessary panic, but it was a beautiful hike. I felt good at the end of the hike and thought I could make the rest of the trip a success... well that was the hope at any rate!
Theme: Into the Great Wide Open
Year Fourteen Of My 365 Project
Tags: RMNP Deer Mountain Into the Great Wide Open 365 Days 365 Days 2022 365 More Days in 2022 Photos In 2022 365 Alumni Year 14 365 Days Year 14 Daily Photo Photo Journal Day In The Life 2022inPhotos A Pic A Day 2022YIP Photography Canon Canon Photography EOS 7D
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Today I headed out on my third hike to Frozen Lake. This trek took me to Mills and Black Lake- both of which I had done before. But Frozen Lake was a few miles beyond Black Lake, in a steep and scrambling path that took me well above where I had been before. The path was.... an adventure. Trail markings were either false or misleading, and it took much longer to get to the lake than it should have because of the mis-markings.
At some point during the climb, again I found myself with Elevation Sickness symptoms and found myself back in the emergency room. Another day of rest was ordered, but this time I was given oxygen and some additional directions.
I found myself in an unusual position: I didn't have any regrets or sadness about missing hiking time. I almost didn't know who I was to be in such a state. I spent the rest of the day thinking through what I needed to move, adapt, and change on the trip to have fun, enjoy the mountains, and most of all- quit going to the emergency room!
Theme: Into the Great Wide Open
Year Fourteen Of My 365 Project
Tags: RMNP Frozen Lake Into the Great Wide Open 365 Days 365 Days 2022 365 More Days in 2022 Photos In 2022 365 Alumni Year 14 365 Days Year 14 Daily Photo Photo Journal Day In The Life 2022inPhotos A Pic A Day 2022YIP Photography Canon Canon Photography EOS 7D
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