I got up at the alarm at 6, but decided to sleep in an extra hour. Or try. I woke up around 3:30 and had trouble getting back to sleep. My tummy was hurting. I didn’t get any more sleep through 7, but I felt a bit better about getting out of bed.
It was kind of hard to get myself moving for my hike. If Ambrose were here, then he would have been complaining about how long I took. But if he were here, then breakfast would have been a lot faster. I had oatmeal with raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon, along with half a can of corned beef hash. I wanted something nice and solid to sustain me on my hike. It took me some time to get out the door, but I didn’t mind starting a bit later. It’s still early season, so it won’t be getting hot in the afternoon.
The morning sky was beautiful. It had rained in the night, and I wondered if it had snowed up on the mountains. But they didn’t look any more snow covered than they had the day before. I figured I might be able to make it up to the peak.
Despite my long preparations, I forgot a couple items. I should have brought a buff to keep my ears warm. I only had one trekking pole with a snow basket on it. And I left the GPS at home – though I did have my inReach mini, so if I ran into trouble, I could call for help.
I got another audiobook from the library to listen to on the half hour drive out to the trailhead. I stopped at the Brownlee Campground bathroom for a last pit stop. There was a truck parked at the trailhead when I arrived, much to my surprise.
I started out wearing my down jacket, which felt good while I did my warm ups by the car, but quickly got too warm to wear as I began the ascent. I stopped and took it off not too far from the trailhead. This route is pretty much all up, which is why it’s such a good training hike. When I’ve been walking up my hill, I’ve been pushing the pace hard, but now that I was hiking on trail, I didn’t push the pace. I tried to find a comfortable pace for this first hike of the year. The speed will come.
And I managed to hike the first mile in just under 40 minutes. Considering that’s a gain of 800 feet, I was happy with the time. I kept on hiking until my 50 minute timer went off, and then I took my first break. I’d encountered a little snow, but not enough to turn me back. Yesterday, when I was looking for Ambrose’s headlamp, I found a bag of food in his day pack. I decided to take that with me today and eat what he had packed. I snacked and drank about 350 ml of water. Then a quick pee break and I was back on the trail, minus the short sleeved shirt I’d been wearing as an extra layer.
I knew my next mile would be slower because I didn’t stop the timer when I took my break. My calves were hurting, but they were also getting used to the rhythms of hiking uphill. I used my trekking poles to take some of the burden from my legs. I should probably put a bit more weight in my pack, because it didn’t feel like much at all. More weight would be better for training.
As I kept going up, the patches of snow across the trail grew more frequent. I could see boot prints and paw prints in them. I was grateful to follow the boot prints through the snow. Since it was already compacted, there was less chance of me post-holing. I was also glad that I’d put on the knee high gaiters instead of the ankle high gaiters. It’s just not the season yet for short gaiters.
When the trail took the turn away from the ridge towards the first junction, the proportion of snow to trail completely flipped, and the boot prints and paw prints disappeared. Since I hadn’t seen any boot prints doing down, that person or persons must have continued straight up the ridgeline instead of turning to follow the trail. I never saw them. I basically knew where the trail was going, so I followed it over the snow. I wanted to keep going at least to the first little climb past the junction, both to prove to myself I knew where I was going and to get to two miles.
Hiking on the snow was difficult, especially with only one trekking pole equipped with a snow basket. I really need to get the other one back on before next weekend. The snow basket gripped this snow with ease, while the other trekking pole sliced right through, providing very little stability or purchase. I leaned on the right trekking pole and made my careful way to my desired turnaround point. And while I was tempted to go on, without the GPS, I could not tell if I was going the right way to find the trail again. I decided to go ahead and turn back.
I retraced my steps through the snow, and then back onto the trail. I came across a lot of elk scat, and a bit of deer scat. Plus some wolf, I think. Going down was a lot faster than going up had been. The same mile that took me nearly 40 minutes going up only took 22 going down. On my way down, I encountered a couple hiking with a very well behaved dog. I warned them of snow ahead and exchanged pleasantries. There had been grey clouds overhead while I hiked up, but the sun started to peek out as I went down, revealing blue skies.
It felt so good to be out in the woods. As green as it is getting at home, it’s so neat to drive such a short distance and go backwards in the season. Snow covering everything, and plants not yet shooting out their leaves. I love to see the differences and the changes. I thought I might look for morels, but the place I know has mushrooms is still covered in snow. And I’ve never seen a morel there anyway. Plus, I don’t really like them. They were Ambrose’s thing.
When I got back to the trailhead, my car and the original truck had been joined by two more trucks. I hope the folks ahead of me didn’t suffer any misadventures. I plan to go back next weekend, and see how far up I can go. Even 4 miles is a good training hike when you’re going up 1500 feet. Driving home, when I was almost at the junction of the forest service road and 71, I saw a deer on the road. It bounded up the steep embankment. I tried to get a picture of it, but I don’t think I caught it very well.
When I got home, I walked to check the mail before getting out of my hiking clothes. Then I showered and ate a late lunch. And then I drank the water that was left in my water bladder, and slowly prepared to go shopping. I should have gone shopping last weekend, but I was sick, so this was really my first big shopping trip in April. I had a coupon for a grocery store in Payette, so I decided to make that drive. The audiobook helped keep me focused and on task for my driving.
It makes me sad to go grocery shopping without Ambrose. That was a thing we always did together. We had a list, and sometimes stopped at multiple stores. He would often drive, though I did my share. Now it’s just me. Just me and I hardly know what to buy. I hope I can get into the habit of planning and prepping meals, but for now I’m still kind of recovering my equilibrium. On my mail walk, I thought about how I just need to let my body decide how to direct the energy. That all my mind needs to do is let go. Stop clenching. And the body will figure itself out.
When I got home from shopping, I made dinner. A frozen pizza cooked in the oven that was supposed to have a crispy crust, but even though I cooked it extra long, it was sadly saggy. I guess I’ll just have to try the pizza place in town next time I’m craving pizza. After dinner, I did my Shoulders & Arms exercises. I still have staff spinning to do this evening, but I’m feeling pretty good about my day overall.
It was so good to get out in the woods. To hike and remember hiking that same trail with Ambrose. To think about how he probably would have turned us back a little sooner, though he might have followed my lead. And he definitely would have brought the GPS. Two years ago, we closed on this house out in Cambridge. And now he’s not here, and I am. I wish I could have hiked with him today.
Sunset is bringing storms.
