Clip from the top of Emigrant.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Dos Stories
First of all: very sorry folks for the delay in updates.
It seems the working season has declared a free for all on free time: sleep, hike, ride, read, write, so much to do with so little time.
My deepest apologies.
Nevertheless, even in my silence... I have been busy.
------------------------------------------
1. My first horsey ride (in a very long time):
"Maybe I should have started at the beginner level."
The thought barely existed before being immediately replaced.
"Too late now."
Joining the advanced group made sense at the time.
The front wrangler gave the signal to start loping and the riders ahead of me took off.
The wind-press on my eyeballs reminded me of driving my motorcycle.
But this was no machine.
Machines don't huff and grunt, fart (a lot) and bite other machines, stumble, or spook at scary pieces of shit on the trail.
Horses do though.
Loveable, skittish, hilarious, and terrifying.
The heat from the working horse-muscles made my saddle hot... I could feel the huge lung bellows pump... hear the metal horseshoes pound and clack on rocks.
Yes indeed... I was hurtling forward atop a moving blacksmith shop.
Release the saddle horn, move with the rhythm, grin... I caught on. I got hooked.
Have been trying to ride a lot lately.
Last ride I was practicing my posting and totally sat on a testicle.
Yeah it hurt that bad... but everything still works, so don't worry.
--------------------------------------------------
2. Solo Summit
Yeah, noon is a little late to start up a 5,000 foot ascent.
But I had slept in, and was going to climb Emmigrant anyway, dammit (a 10,900-ish ft. peak).
I had my bear spray, lunch, gps, and four bottles of water.
Hot day... the water was done by the summit.
Emigrant was a fairly strenuous hike with steep inclines on loose shale.
This meant that, until I got the hang of it, one step up slid me two steps back. That is unless I slipped off one of the dramatic drop offs skirting knife blade ridgelines... but that didn't happen.
The trick is baby steps.
There were at least six false summits.
Which means the inner monologue went something like this six friggin separate times:
" I can see it!
The TOP!
Almost there... pant* pant*... I did it!
[behind a rock the next false summit murderously reveals itself well above and beyond]
... shit."
But after 4 hours I made it.
The peak was very exposed, which unfortunately didn't mean much as the weather was perfect.
If you know me, you know I like a little rough weather or at least some wind at the top of a mountain.
A six hour solo hike, complete with a summit, is a wonderful thing. I highly recommend it.
I practically ran down the mountain, racing the setting sun and reached the car just as the light went out.
Shavin it close.
----------------------------------------------------
Coming next:
Skinny dipping in Yellowstone
It seems the working season has declared a free for all on free time: sleep, hike, ride, read, write, so much to do with so little time.
My deepest apologies.
Nevertheless, even in my silence... I have been busy.
------------------------------------------
1. My first horsey ride (in a very long time):
"Maybe I should have started at the beginner level."
The thought barely existed before being immediately replaced.
"Too late now."
Joining the advanced group made sense at the time.
The front wrangler gave the signal to start loping and the riders ahead of me took off.
I tried my best to appear calm and confident.
A definate challenge considering my inner voice was doing an impressive impression of the Home Alone Scream.
Hands barnacled to the saddle horn, body bent forward, mouth set, teeth grit.
We were hoofin it.... fast.
I knew I had a rational sense in me somewhere because at that moment it was rather loudly insistent on my certain impending doom.
Sure, a possible outcome... but again, too late now.
The wind-press on my eyeballs reminded me of driving my motorcycle.
But this was no machine.
Machines don't huff and grunt, fart (a lot) and bite other machines, stumble, or spook at scary pieces of shit on the trail.
Horses do though.
Loveable, skittish, hilarious, and terrifying.
The heat from the working horse-muscles made my saddle hot... I could feel the huge lung bellows pump... hear the metal horseshoes pound and clack on rocks.
Yes indeed... I was hurtling forward atop a moving blacksmith shop.
Release the saddle horn, move with the rhythm, grin... I caught on. I got hooked.
Have been trying to ride a lot lately.
Last ride I was practicing my posting and totally sat on a testicle.
Yeah it hurt that bad... but everything still works, so don't worry.
--------------------------------------------------
2. Solo Summit
Yeah, noon is a little late to start up a 5,000 foot ascent.
But I had slept in, and was going to climb Emmigrant anyway, dammit (a 10,900-ish ft. peak).
I had my bear spray, lunch, gps, and four bottles of water.
Hot day... the water was done by the summit.
Emigrant was a fairly strenuous hike with steep inclines on loose shale.
This meant that, until I got the hang of it, one step up slid me two steps back. That is unless I slipped off one of the dramatic drop offs skirting knife blade ridgelines... but that didn't happen.
The trick is baby steps.
There were at least six false summits.
Which means the inner monologue went something like this six friggin separate times:
" I can see it!
The TOP!
Almost there... pant* pant*... I did it!
[behind a rock the next false summit murderously reveals itself well above and beyond]
... shit."
But after 4 hours I made it.
The peak was very exposed, which unfortunately didn't mean much as the weather was perfect.
If you know me, you know I like a little rough weather or at least some wind at the top of a mountain.
A six hour solo hike, complete with a summit, is a wonderful thing. I highly recommend it.
I practically ran down the mountain, racing the setting sun and reached the car just as the light went out.
Shavin it close.
----------------------------------------------------
Coming next:
Skinny dipping in Yellowstone
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