But that doesn't matter! It was great being in the mountains. I've been on two other hikes so far and am planning on going on some more later. Let's get down to business and explain the fun.
(if you sang that, give yourself a high-five and a cookie, my treat)
It was a pretty grueling trail for the first hike of the summer (and the first truly physically challenging activity of the year), but I enjoyed it. I got some pretty sweet pictures out of it.
But that's not what you want to hear about. No. You want to hear about the week where I peaked a mountain and then three days later hiked 46 miles in 13 hours. Oh, you sadistic person, you. Don't worry, I like recounting the pain as much as you like hearing me talk about it.
On Wednesday, I peaked the Middle Teton, which is the third largest mountain in the Tetons. We started right at about midnight and ended up getting home around 6:30-ish. It's better to climb the Middle Teton in June because there's still snow on the ground. Its packed solid so it's easy to walk on (much easier than the rock field that are there when the snow melts). We had to wear crampons and helmets and use ice picks. All in all, it was a blast.
There are two major fears when hiking the Middle Teton in June. The first is that since the snow is melting, rivers of water are running underneath the snow. At one point, we had to cross this particularly dangerous area where the snow was already starting to melt through and we could see the water. The scariest part about that is that I could hear the water rushing right underneath my feet. If it had broke, I would have been caught, sucked under, and probably drowned. If not, the water is ice cold and I could have gotten hypothermia and died from exposure. Luckily, there were no incidents there. The second fear is when we were almost to the top. At one point, I reached a ledge where I had to walk across it. On either side were steep drop-offs that fell at least 100 feet before slanting down another few hundred feet. I had to crawl across that type of landscape for about 30 minutes before the peak, where it's windy and steep on all sides. Luckily, there were no incidents there either.
I contracted altitude sickness about three hours from the top, but I still pushed on, moving extremely slowly. It wasn't that I was exhausted, it was just that if I moved any faster I felt like I would puke. But no biggie. I made it through and once we descended a few hundred feet, I felt fine.
The view on top was absolutely astonishing. It was definitely worth the entire trip. Besides the Grand Teton (about 1000 feet higher), I was on top of the largest mountain in sight. It felt like I was on top of the world. It was simply spectacular to be on the Middle Teton. We were almost level with the clouds and the valley just stretched in front of us. It was beautiful.
When we got off the top of the Middle, in order to save time and energy in descending, we glissaded, which is basically sliding down the hill on your behind using your ice pick to slow you down. It was a blast, and I won a free Frostee because I slid down the furthest.
On our way out of the mountains, we walked through a canyon (I can't remember the name right now). The mountains around us were gargantuan. I just felt dwarfed in comparison.
Anyways, I wasn't actually very sore after that hike, despite it being physically demanding. I recovered quite well.
But then *insert dramatic music* I went on the 50-20 *DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN!*
*insert dramatic narrator voice* We arrived late Friday night to prepare for the hike, and already it was raining. Little did we know that it would rain all the way until lunch the next day. The tent was woefully unprepared for this rain and leaked like a leaky faucet. Everyone was wet, and that just made the hike even more miserable.
Actually, I have to admit it was better than getting it all dumped on us on the last five miles.
It was actually a lot of fun, that is, until about lunch, and then it became really tiresome. The same old trail and nothing to do but talk. And after we ran out of conversation topics, well, that's when it became terrible. I was thankfully forced into quitting right around the 45 mile mark on account of my blisters. They were really bad and I could hardly walk. Seeing how I'm marching with the band in the 4th of July parade tomorrow (Friday), it was a good idea to quit so they could heal. And they have. Thankfully.
I've really missed being in the mountains, away from society and problems. It was a pleasant break from a lot of things, and I've really enjoyed the semi-solitude of hiking through the wilderness. I can't wait for my next hiking trip next week!