Dia's Birthday, Hope Lake and Telluride Colorado

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  Telluride, Colorado
Friday, July 29, 2011

Hi Everyone! Sorry I've been somewhat lazy about blogging lately, but sometimes at the end of a long day, the last thing I want to do is get on the computer. But today, before I start in earnest about yesterday's activities, I'd like to give a big warm, written piece of gratitude to my friend Mary Gravning who was the first to hit the "donate to my travels" button on my blog and send me a few much needed bucks. Mary, you are a queen among women and I am so grateful! Your money equates to a full tank of gas and some groceries - you are my hero!!!
Ok, now let me tell you about the most wonderful and terrible day I had yesterday. July 28th is my friend Dia's birthday and when I asked her what she wanted to do, she told me she would like to make a hike she's made one other time with her husband to an alpine lake called Hope Lake. It's about an hour from Dolores by car to get to the trail head and only about 15 minutes from Telluride. She said she'd like to get up early, complete the hike and then ride the gondola into Telluride from Mountain Village. She said it was only about three miles, so I thought, no problem - sounds fun. Little did I know that I would be pulling out every ounce of strength in me to complete the upward portion of the hike, praying to all gods and angels to get me to the top of this mountain. I actually thought at one point I might just die beside the trail without ever getting to see the lake - but I'm stronger than I sometimes think and I managed it against all physical odds - I'm pretty proud of myself.
So I got up early, around 7 AM gave Dia her card and present (a beautiful sarong I've had forever but haven't used for some reason) and packed up some PB&J, protein bars, water, rain gear, a sweater, my camera and got everything in my pack. Dia brought dried apples, almonds and lots of water, we got the dogs in the car and started on our way. It was a beautiful morning, bright blue sky and lots of sun, traffic was light on the highway and we made really good time to the turn off at Trout Lake where we then hit a gravel road that rose up at least a couple thousand feet through switchbacks. The road was awful, full of huge rocks and big puddles from the recent rainstorms. I was hanging on for dear life and had taken a pain pill first thing because I didn't want my hip pain to get in the way of me completing the hike. The medication sometimes makes me nauseous and the bumpy road certainly contributed to a wee bit of nausea, but once we parked the car I was feeling good!
I started up the trail feeling confident, energetic and excited! Little did I know we would gain another couple thousand feet before we got to the lake. I'm fairly certain we started out at about 10,000 feet and climbed to 12, 000 feet to get to the lake. It felt waaaaaaaaaaay longer than 3 miles due to the lack of oxygen at that elevation. Dia and Tim live at about 6,000 feet, which took me awhile to acclimate to, but I had no idea how much the change in elevation would affect me.
Anyway, the beginning of the trail was beautiful - shady and not too much climbing, a small hill here or there and we crossed several mountain streams as the air began to warm up which was soothing to my skin in my amphibious shoes, looking back, maybe not the best choice for this particular hike.
We'd been walking about 45 minutes or so when we finally began to start climbing and took a rest next to a beautiful stream for our first water break. After that was when the real upward path began... I was starting to feel a little shaky and Dia suggested we take a lunch break since it had been awhile since breakfast. We sat on some big boulders at the side of the trail and had some lunch looking over a gorgeous view of the valley and Trout Lake below us. It was absolutely magnificent. We gave the dogs some lunch and hung out for about 30 minutes before we got going again and the climbing just got tougher and tougher with constant switchback. Dia, being in incredible shape was pretty far ahead of me and the dogs were with her since they were full of energy and didn't want to go at my slow pace. As I was walking I felt like I just could not get enough air into my lungs to power my body, so I would walk 10 or 15 steps and have to rest until my breathing slowed down a bit.
 The first time I thought I absolutely couldn't make it, we'd been going uphill without a flat or a downhill for about 30 minutes. I could see Dia above me about 3 or 4 switchbacks ahead of me walking like she was just beginning, not even breathing hard... it totally frustrated me and I was beginning to ponder just quitting... but I remembered this was Dia's birthday wish to do this hike and show me this awesome lake, which I really wanted to see, and as I was struggling up the hill, some of the folks coming down looked like they were in their 60's and 70's (but they all had awesome walking sticks - note to self; get one of those for the next hike) and I figured if they could make it to the top, so could I. At this point I'd been hiking for about 2 hours at least one of them fully uphill, so I felt confident that it couldn't be too much further.... boy was I wrong.
Up until now I'd been hiking mostly in the shade of the forest, but as I continued to climb there were fewer and fewer trees until there was no shade at all. The path got even rockier and I had to concentrate on exactly where I was putting my feet. Everything in my body was totally on-fire and I felt muscles in my thighs that I don't think have been put to much use in years. Even my stomach muscles were exhausted and screaming in agony from the constant heavy breathing and my heart rate was so fast it reminded me of when I used to take kickboxing.
At this point Dia and the dogs were so far ahead of me I couldn't even see them.... but the scenery was absolutely mindbogglingly beautiful. The mountainside was covered with Columbines and Indian Paintbrush, Queen Anne's Lace, Buttercups and all sorts of other flowers that I couldn't identify. There was the sound of rushing water from all of the mountain streams hurtling toward the sea, and I began to see patches of snow slowly melting in the sun. The air smelled so sweet and fresh, it was something to behold. But I noticed all this through a veritable fugue state of discomfort and pain. One part of my mind was saying, there is no way you can do this, just sit down and wait until Dia comes back. But the other part of my brain was saying, this is all mind over matter, you can do this, pain is temporary and imagine how great you'll feel when you get to the top!
So I would look into the distance and set a goal to just get to that next outcropping of rock and then I could quit or rest, whatever I wanted. So I'd get there and then set a goal for that log, or that clump of flowers and that's how I went for the next 20 or 30 minutes. My legs felt like jello and lead at the same time and my steps were smaller and it seemed there was no end to this upward motion.
All the hikers on their way down were really encouraging and every time I passed one they would say, "You're almost there!", "Just another five minutes!", "There's some downhill coming!" (that one was a total lie), "You are at 11, 800 feet, aren't you proud of yourself?!", "It's just over that next ridge!". But that five minutes I was promised turned into another 20 and at one point I sank to the ground and cried out of frustration with myself and my body and thought, I am not moving one more step. But once I'd rested awhile and my tears had dried I knew I had and could keep going so I stood up and looked, and there was Helo, who I hadn't seen in quite awhile since he was so far ahead with Dia. He was running back toward me at full speed with a grin on his face and his ears flopping wildly as he ran. When he got to me he leaned against my legs and gave me some licks and I hugged him and petted him and thanked him for coming to check on me and that cheered me up. As I started to walk, he would walk a few steps and wait and I just followed him like that for a couple minutes. Then I looked up the trail again and I saw Dia waiting on this snow covered ledge and I couldn't see anything beyond that so I knew I was close and I got excited and forced my legs to keep moving. And finally, I was at the top!!!! Looking down over this incredible clear lake, surrounded by the peaks of mountains and it was so perfect. Although I was exhausted, I had made it to the top. This family that had passed us on the way up when we were having lunch broke out into applause and it cheered me up to be so encouraged.
We took a lot of pictures on this hike, and though they are beautiful, I swear to you these do not do justice to the scenery. If ever you have the chance to make this hike, even if you aren't in good shape, do it anyway. Just take your time and don't quit. It really is worth it. It took me over 3 hours to walk this 3 1/2 miles, I'm sure Dia could have done the hike on her own in about 2 hours. When we were sitting at the edge of the lake with our toes in the water, I asked her, are you even sore or tired at all, and she said, "no, not really". In that moment, I hated and envied her to a disgusting level. But I love her and I'm happy she's in such great shape, really. And, I want to let you all know that I brought some clothes with me, that I couldn't part with, that didn't fit me when I left, and now they do, so I am making progress on the whole getting in shape thing. Baby steps. 
We hung out at the lake for about an hour before heading back down. As we were going down I was just more and more impressed with the fact that I actually made it to the top. The trip down was tough too, but in a totally different way. Since I had used up pretty much everything I had to get to the top, my legs were just trembling the entire way down and I was concentrating hard on picking up my feet so I didn't tumble down the mountain.  Even the dogs were getting tired, or course they probably walked 2 or 3 times as far as we did since they were constantly off the trail chasing moths, or chipmunks or heading down to a brook they saw in the distance for water. When we were about 20 minutes away from the trail head Helo laid down in the middle of the trail and I had to coax him for a bit to get him back on his feet. But whenever I stopped to rest, he would lie down and then I'd have to coax him again. It was nice though because he was happy to stay with me at my slow pace while Dia and her dog Waipu walked up ahead. By the time we got back to the trail head I was completely spent, so Dia walked up the hill to get the car and picked me up, that was sweet of her.
At that point she asked if I was still up for taking the gondola into Telluride, and I was. So we drove to Mountain Village and parked in a free lot and took the dogs to the gondola. It's pretty cool that they let you take your dogs, and the gondola is FREE! And the view is amazing. The ride only takes about 13 minutes from Mountain Village, but you've just never seen anything so beautiful. I was really surprised when we mounted the crest of the hill and got our first view of Telluride; it's tiny! Like a little village. All nestled picture perfect in a valley between these huge mountains. There is a ski lift right at the edge of town, so if you are a skier and live in Telluride, you can just wake up in the morning, take your skis, walk to the ski-lift and head to the slopes. Pretty convenient I'd say.
We met a guy as we were waiting for our gondola to arrive, he was with a group of other guys, but he came up to pet the dogs saying that he really misses his dogs when he travels. So, we invited him to ride with us in our gondola and he jumped at the chance. While we were riding he told us he was scared of heights so it was nice to have the dogs to pet for a distraction. He was visiting Colorado from Texas - he said he was in the oil industry and was telling us about all the fun things he's been doing in Colorado. Of course, we didn't tell him that we don't have unlimited oil money for fancy restaurants and Jeep tours of the mountains, but he was a really friendly and gregarious sort and not at all obnoxious, so it was a nice little visit.
We got to Telluride and all I could think of was sitting and eating a slice of pizza. We found a bakery, and I got my pizza and a diet Pepsi. I was in heaven. Dia had tacos and the dogs layed quietly.
 We didn't spend much time in Telluride. I was wiped out, but Dia wanted to check out this Free Box they have in town. My understanding is that when people want to get rid of clothing or housewares or whatever, they take it to this big wooden box with cubbys that sits up against this building and they just shove it in the corresponding cubby and then whoever wants it can claim it. It's pretty cool.
Once we hit the free box we headed back to the gondola for the return trip to the car and then got back on the road for home. By the time I got out of the car my muscles had stiffened up so much I could barely walk, Helo was really stiff too. I've never seen him like that. He had a hard time getting up. Helo and Waipu both laid down and slept for the night once we got back, around 8 PM... I took a long hot shower and watched So You Think You Can Dance online and Dia went off to visit some other friends who wanted to see her on her birthday. Her energy is mind boggling.
A beautiful and terrible day. But it's nice to remind yourself that you can push through pain and discomfort to reach a goal. It's nice to be reminded that my only limitations are the ones I set for myself. My body will cooperate with my mind. It gives me hope for the present and the future. Maybe I'll be one of those 70 year olds some day, passing some 40 year old whippersnapper on an alpine trail.
Enjoy the photos! To all my friends and family, I miss you and hope that you get to visit Colorado someday. It's something to behold!

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Lunch on boulders	View from Lunch Spot	The trail where I almost gave up	Me in the distance
So close...	Dia is standing at the top, and there I am	Dogs play in the snow	Finally, the lake!
Dogs have a drink.	Mountains surround the lake	Another lake view	Another lake view
Dia at the top	Helo takes a dip	Helo takes a dip II	More Views
Forgot the name of this flower	Purple and yellow together	On the way down	Telluride from gondola
Me and Telluride

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