We are gearing up for something big. A big European adventure that requires physical conditioning. And so, today, we set out for a training hike that should replicate the efforts that will be required of us.
We got up, showered, ate breakfast, and were out the door shortly after 7:30. We drove up through the interesting mountain town of Ward, and were ready to hike by 9 am.
It was quite windy and chilly at the Rainbow Lakes trailhead. Never a good sign for this particular hike, which climbs out of treeline right after the two-mile mark. We did not pack our day packs for fall temps, so we might end up with some regrets, but at least we each have a long sleeve UPF protective sun shirt.
The first mile in, we ran across two guys hiking back already. I stopped one of them and asked him if he made it above treeline. He said yes, so I asked about the wind. He said that it was really windy, he had been running, which was difficult, but made it to a large snow field and turned around.
Awesome.
We continued on, and Nathan tells me I’ve got my sunshirt on inside out. Wonderful. Good grief. I stop to turn it right side out, and tactfully point out that it was on the hanger that way, and that I was pretty sure he was the one who hung it up. 🙂
At treeline, the wind was intense. There are several instances where we have tried to do this hike in the past and have turned around due to the wind. Motivated to try and keep going, we decided to put on our jackets. This is where I discovered that I didn’t pack my thermal jacket, only my rain jacket. I also did not have a thermal hat or gloves, (because it’s June!), but Nathan did.
We kept hiking, me with my rain jacket, and Nathan in his thermal coat. We met a few other hikers heading back towards the trailhead who looked cold and miserable in the wind. We kept going.
We were completely exposed at this point, with a significant uphill climb to do, all while battling the wind. My hands were freezing, so I put on Nathan’s gloves. Our sunshirts have thumbholes, so he used that to keep his hand covered and warm.
By now, it was 10:15, and there was no sun, but constant, howling wind. The kind of wind that you can’t hold a conversation in. We were pretty close to the ‘I’m not having fun’ talk, but I told Nathan, let’s stick it out until 11, and then turn around.
With gloves on my hands, my wind-chilled right ear became my pressing concern. I didn’t have a thermal hat, but my sunshirt had a hood, so I took a break to put my hood over my head and put my sun hat back on.
The uphill climb was brutal. 15-20% grade, in 50-degree temps, with a nasty wind. Right foot, left foot, pause, right foot, left foot, pause. 10:45. Take a drink. Catch your breath.
When 11 am came, we both had the same thought, which is, in a few weeks, we won’t have the option to turn around or stop when the weather is bad. We’ll have to keep going, no matter how wet or windy it is. Dinner and our beds for the night will be at the end of each day’s hike.
So we persevered, and the sun literally came out, and the winds gradually died down. We crossed an easy snowfield and found a spot at noon to have lunch. We were about 5 miles in, and now we knew we would make it to the Arapaho Glacier overlook. After lunch, we had one or two more snowfields to cross before we got to the glacier. I led the way, and found the trail on the other side, with the help of our hiking project app and the cairn seen below, and Nathan and the dog followed.
At the overlook, we stopped to take a few pictures and turned around for the 6-mile hike back to the trailhead. We made it to the car by 4:30, home by 5:45, and at our local pub enjoying a burger and well-earned beer (wine) by 6:30. It’s super close to home, but we drove. We blame the dog.
Today’s stats: 12 miles, 2,700 ft gain, 10,000 ft start and end, 12,700 ft high point. Burgers and beer/wine for dinner and our own bed at night.