Some views just stick with you. I can remember the first time that I ever made the drive into Arches National Park with our friends Tad and Sonya. Even though I have seen the same views several times, I remember the first trip well. I can remember the first time that we drove down into Yosemite Valley…wow! I can remember the first time that we drove down into the valley in Zion National Park. Man, do I remember the first trip to Zion. If you come in from the east, you exit the tunnel about halfway down the valley. The asphalt is burgundy to blend in with the rock. The Great White Throne is off to the left. It was a wow moment for sure. Today, I saw some views that will stick with me. 

5:15 came early, but we had a big day ahead of us. Mt. Sneffels was on the docket. This is one of the Colorado mountains that is over 14,000 feet above sea level. These are also known as 14ers. We would experience 2900 feet of vertical gain on the hike/scramble. When we arrived at the four-by-four parking area, there were only four vehicles. This was encouraging. I mentioned in an earlier blog that it was a big snow year for several areas out west. The area that we were in is running about three to four weeks behind where they normally are. There is much more snow on the ground than in an average July. 

On the hike up, when I saw these flowers with the mountain in the background, I immediately thought of Chris. She loves to take pictures at odd angles, so I got down on the ground to try to take a picture the way she would…I miss her.

We were prepared with micro spikes (these are like mini crampons) and mountaineering ice axes. This hike/scramble ascends a rough four-by-four road that crosses several streams from snowmelt to a trail that crosses several snowfields to an endless talus slope to the saddle. From the saddle you ascend a couloir that is full of coffee can to larger than microwave blocks of rock stacked on top of each other that only seems to move when you get all of your weight on them. After several hundred yards of these blocks, you reach the snow. When we arrived, it was crunchy and slick. As you near the top of the snow, you have to exit through a v-notch which leads to a short scramble to the summit.

It took (in my best Sandlot voice) “Forever!” to ascend the talus and couloir. I don’t think that I have ever done anything as slow as I moved up that mountain. Sometimes, a step forward equaled a loss in elevation because the rocks you were standing on were sliding downward. If ever there was a place to break an ankle, this is it. We would climb for 15 minutes, and it would seem as if we hadn’t moved. It took us almost four hours to climb three miles.

Near the top, there is a third-class move through the “V-notch.” Most wouldn’t give a second thought to making that move a couple of feet off the ground, but things change when a slip would cause you to fall several hundred feet. After tackling the third-class move, we scrambled to the top. There were a few people there, but they headed out shortly after we arrived. Maddie and I had snacks and sent a few pictures as we had cell service on the summit. I filmed the intro for the service at church today, but I got choked up. I wish I could write it off to the altitude, but I miss the rest of my family and my church family. As I was thinking about missing another service at PFBC, a lump the size of an orange was in my throat as I spoke. Maddie was laughing in the video because a marmot was running around in the lower left of the frame. 

Elevation wreaks havoc on some packaged food. In the picture below, you can see that a package of my trail mix was ready to explode. We videoed me opening it, but it was anticlimactic.

The elevation didn’t bother me as bad as I thought it would, but the grade of the talus slope and the couloir was insanely steep. If you zoom in to the picture below, you will see several people behind Maddie.

On the way down, we had several what I call “Tada” moments (actually, we pronounced it Ta-dow). These include every aspect of a fall except actually hitting the ground. Sometimes your arms would flail out to the side to regain your balance…”Tada.” Sometimes one of your feet would slide out on the snow causing you to jab your hiking pole down to keep you from falling…”Tada.” The best ones were when all four limbs got involved. Most times, these looked somewhat like a bad dance routine…”Big Time Tada.” In fact, some of the “Tadas” hurt more than a fall would have, but we continued on the seemingly never-ending journey down the talus and snow. It took us three hours to descend the three miles. We gained time when we got to the four-by-four road, but we didn’t gain much time in the couloir and on the talus slope. It was a little scary and slow-moving.

About two-thirds of the way down the talus slope, we met a friend. We saw several marmots on the trip, but this one had a cool white spot on its nose. We called it “Super Sport.”

We passed over a dozen off-road vehicles on the way down. The weekend was in full force. After what seemed like an eternity, we made it back to the Jeep. The final numbers were like this: four hours to ascend three miles and three hours to descend the same. Counting the time on the summit, we were on the mountain for about seven and a half hours. It was a knee pounding stressful seven and a half hours. 

We haven’t done laundry since we left two weeks ago. We, well, we smell. There doesn’t seem to be a laundromat in town, so we bought a $5 membership to a campground that gave us the ability to use their washers and dryers. While we waited on our clothes, I was able to catch up on the blog. 

After the laundry finished, we went to the dispersed camping area outside of town. We ended up parking beside a man from Texas named Dee. He went to Texas A&M and now lives near the campus. He has a West Highland Terrier (a Westy) named Maddie that looked like a much smaller Roo Dog. We talked about dogs, sports, military, religion, and how he has been battling cancer. He is living out of his camper this summer so that he can work out at the pool in town before going to the hot springs. Please pray for him as he continues to heal from his treatments.

We cooked Ramen noodles, and I had the last can of Spaghetti-O’s. I’m not sure why I liked those things so much as a kid. We made plans for tomorrow and went to bed.

We arose to a brisk morning at 10,000 feet. Dee shared about his military service with me. I got to hear about his time in Europe and Vietnam. Just before we needed to head out to church, we had a great conversation about Romans 6 where Paul talks about a “wage” and a “gift.” As we bid our goodbyes, he assured me that he would ponder our discussion.

We went to The First Southern Baptist Church of Ouray this morning. I won’t take time here to explain the use of the SBC in many of the church names out west. If this interests you, we can chat later. We met a few nice people and heard about a mission effort in Africa. I was shocked and encouraged that the church was nearly full.

We decided to take a rest day for the joints and the brain, so we had lunch at a little place in town. Keith, don’t get the BBQ in Ouray. It was subpar, but the views made up for it. PB&J is taking a break today as well.

Ephesians 3:20-21 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

I miss everyone back home, but I am having a great time on this trip. I wanted to talk about perseverance, but I did that a few days ago. I’d like to close today by saying that I have noticed day in and day out on the trip how God provides opportunities to bring Him glory. I know that we are all busy, but when He opens a door for us to have a conversation about the Gospel, we should take it. I hope I am as attentive to these opportunities when we get home.

Because He calls, Old Climbing Dad