My goal for 2020 was to do a backpack trip for the first time in 28 years. Before and even after the hip replacement, I did not think this would be possible. Lugging a heavy pack around in the wilderness would be a little risky on an artificial joint held together by 3 screws. Then a distant friend called and changed my mind.
Back in the late eighties and early nineties, when I again found myself single after 13 years of marriage, I started doing canoe, bike, ski and backpack trips with a couple from Minneapolis. I was introduced to Mark and Phyllis by my canoeing friend from Mt. Morris, Illinois, Tim. We met in 1987 for a long Labor Day weekend canoe trip on the Namekagon National Scenic River in northwest Wisconsin. Choosing adventure partners is a touchy area, as personalities sometimes clash, but we seemed to get along well and that weekend, made plans to Cross Country ski in Yellowstone the following February. That was followed by a trip to the Beartooth Mountain Wilderness in Montana, numerous canoe and bicycle trips in Wisconsin, and a series of backcountry and hut to hut ski trips in Colorado.
It was Mark, who called in March with encouragement to keep working through the therapy. He suggested that things had changed a lot since our backpack trip in 1988. Gear had become much lighter and while I generally carried 55-65 pounds back then, now you could easily make a multi-day trip with 30 pounds and possibly less. It mostly depends on how much money you spend on ultra-light equipment. That was all the incentive I needed. I purchased an Osprey pack, new down sleeping bag, as well as a single person tent. My son Tyler sent me a new JetBoil stove as an early Father’s Day gift, a strategic move on his part, as I believe he knew it would be hard for me to change my mind and back out because of it.
Next, I needed a destination and a date. I needed time to get in shape, so the date needed to be very late summer. September can be dicey, due to the potential for cold and snow in the Rockies, but insects have all but disappeared by then and so have people. Students are back at school and their parents back at work. My first thought for a destination was the Beartooth Wilderness, a place I had hiked several times in the past. However, I then came across an article detailing a grizzly bear attack in 2019 near my favorite trailhead. It seems that the bear population had increased quite a bit from the early 90s. Being solo, it seemed wise not to hazard too much risk all at once. So, I chose the Snowy Range in the Medicine Bow National Forest near Laramie, Wyoming. The trail meandered around a prominent peak, averaging between 10,000 and 11,000 feet in elevation. There were also a good number of alpine lakes populated by Brook and Cutthroat trout.
I increased my weekly hiking miles all summer, culminating in a 5-day hiking trip on strenuous trails in Rocky Mountain National Park in August. The difficulty in mountain hiking, is the altitude. Near timberline and above, you experience a lot less air pressure than in the mid-west and that had slowed me down before. I had always read, that sometimes as you aged, you acclimated to the elevation more easily. The trip to Colorado showed that to be the case for me.
I hit the road on the afternoon of September 11th for the long 20-hour drive. I passed those hours listening to an audio book, “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari, a book recommended by my cousin Diane. Saturday night was spent at the Hampton Inn in Laramie.
Early Sunday morning, after breakfast at Perkins near the University of Wyoming campus. My drive to the Snowy Range was interrupted by a small group of Pronghorn Antelope before I even got out of town.
The previous Tuesday, my destination experienced its first winter storm, with 11 inches of snow. My next 4 days were spent with daily temperatures in the 60s and nighttime down to freezing. A lot of the snow had started to melt, but the trail was still covered in many places. This was fine with me, as there were few people in the backcountry, and I had all the fishing to myself. And the fishing was pretty good. The end of the first day, I left the trail and headed across the meadows to a couple of less fished and more secluded lakes.
I did meet a few people here and there as I made my loop around Brown’s Peak. All I met were seniors. Most were around my age and a few older. Unless retired, everybody else was back at work or in school. I ran into 3 ladies on the 3rd day. We conversed for a while. They seemed surprised I was alone, and more surprised when I related this was my first trip after a February hip replacement. They were very chatty, but fortunately, they were headed in the opposite direction.
By noon on the 4th day, I was back at the trailhead. I gathered up all the Downy Softener sheets I had strewed about my car (they keep mice out) and started the scenic drive south into Colorado. I was headed for a 2 day visit with Tyler near Boulder.
My trip was not over for another week, as I had booked a tiny cabin near Estes Park. I had been working remotely from home all summer due to the pandemic and figured I could work from a cabin just as easily. With the time difference, that meant working from 5 a.m. until 2 p.m. each day, after which I headed to nearby trails and streams for afternoon hiking and fly fishing.
For the drive back to Michigan? I listened to an audio Stephen King novel. It made the miles fly by.
Next up: “The Plan”
Starting All Over 