Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Goal: Be a Mountain Girl



With every first step expect more subsequent steps, straight uphill until you feel like you might pass out. I think Teddy Roosevelt said that. While my lovely pals, Traci and Susy were writing beautiful posts for me, (check 'em out down there), I was heading up a mountain. I've been heading up many mountains in Aspen. My brother, the insane scientist mountaineer and his two girls lead the way here, early in the morning when the moon was still up in the sky, just a few feet above where we are headed. We are trekking up to Buckskin Pass, where we are about to gain 4140 ft. in 8.28 miles. (sounding mountain-y huh?)


Easily reaching a view of Maroon Lake. No problem.



Pretty wooded trails where we witnessed "behavior": A red-bellied woodpecker protecting it's squawking baby birds from a hole in a tree, a weasel running past with a vole in it's mouth, a marmot complaining from the rocks, me breathing really hard, possibly experiencing some nausea and trying to say, "please let me turn me back...please..."

We get to Crater Lake where we water the woods, eat some gorp (that's mountain talk for granola or something) and rush off straight uphill.

See how far ahead they get? Not that it's a competition between me and some teenagers or anything...



Not bad mountains! Nice work at being beautiful!!! Thanks clouds for moving fast and never being the same twice! Also, thanks for not turning into "weather" (mountain talk for lightning and cold hard rain.)

Mountain confession: this is as far as I made it. I used to live at the top of a five floor walk-up in Manhattan and we were leaving oxygen canisters right around the third floor, soo.... I was able to chill out, eat my lunch, take pictures of
lichen shaped like map of the world and lots and lots of wildflowers which I will show you some more of some other time.



See these pictures below?

That's the pass up there, the swath with the snow under the cloud. I was in plain view of it and kept wondering if I should keep going. It felt pretty great when my body gave me the big f you you crazy wench. I listened. Finally the nieces and the brother came down. The rest was a piece of cake (if the cake's calves and feet hurt really bad at the end).

The end.

Next installation: how I decide to give up fashion girl and become a true mountain girl.

19 comments:

onesilentwinter said...

oh my goodness, i miss it so. will show this to k tonight and we will surely talk about it for hours later:)

enjoy!

Laura said...

Fun facts: the bird was a Red-naped Sapsucker and the weasel was an ermine. We had a fantastic time on the hike with you!

Poke Salad Annie said...

wow! those photos are absolutely stunning. how beautiful!

Elizabeth said...

Beautiful but too healthy by half
looking forward to your return........

Anonymous said...

Wow. Makes our brooklyn seem a little, uh, less than verdant. Hurry home, bonbon....

cindy* said...

you sound so mountain-y w/ the trekking and the 4000+ feet! well done ;) i definitely wouldn't make it...

limonana said...

stunning!! these photos are just beautiful & so lush! i can practically smell the sharp fresh air...

Marie said...

An Ermine?! Wow.

Gorgeous.

Now I hef longink for mountains...

Cindy said...

i'm really sorry you were feeling the burn, but thank you for doing it and sharing your photos. it looks so clear and fresh up in yonder mountains. love your photos. looking forward the mountain girl in the city girl. have fun!

heidi said...

WOW. Great photos. I love the mossy one (or is that lichen?)

AC said...

i am SO loving the white flower! is that anise?? hemlock? i always forget. regardless - beautiful photos!

heidi said...

can i please be transported to Crater Lake immediately!?? xoh

{tig} said...

the photos are gorgeous -- what an exciting outdoor adventure it must have been!

xo

Katrina said...

oh how fantastic! look at that scenery, my goodness. something about the mountains and blue skies just melts my heart. enjoy your trek!

Estrella said...

THis place is a dream, so beautiful, i hope you enjoyed the mountain

Amy@OldSweetSong said...

Unbelievable. It looks like you walked right into a postcard.

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

Gorgeous shots!! I went to CO for the first time this winter and found the landscape breathtaking (or maybe it was the altitude, lol!). I was bummed to see/hear that the Aspen trees were being overtaken by a nasty bug that was wiping out entire groves (in the vicinity of Denver). I'm optimistic to see all of the greenery in your pictures.

hmstrjam said...

beautiful! Now you need some Bon Bon inspired mountain jewelry!

muralimanohar said...

We have mountains here in Hawaii...I actually live really close to the Koolau Mountains. But I just can't see the air being that sparkling clear as the mountains in your pics!! Breathtaking!