Gore Range Trail 10.01.2007

We heard some folks talking outside after 2am. Les and I looked outside and there it was…only white. It dropped well below freezing at some point and the covering began. It was 26 degrees on our way to church. Aevyn and I stepped outside to load the car and she said, “Ohhhh, pretty.” I tell her she’s pretty nearly every day.

Last weekend Les’ mom came in for a visit. She was nice enough to keep Aevyn while I worked and Les went to a conference in Denver. It was good that Les could get away for a night and join 14,000 other women for the annual Women of Faith. I’m glad she got to do that.

I took advantage of someone keeping my wife company and reached another “outdoor goal.” The Gore Range Trail stretches for many miles in the area and I have had my eye on a particular section for a little over a year. It starts in Wildernest, outside Dillon, around Buffalo Mountain, through the valley between Red and Buffalo, up Red Buffalo Pass and down nearly 4,000 feet to Vail, CO. It’s about 12 miles from one end to the other with a gain/loss in elevation feet of 5,400+. I planned to spend the night at some point in some fancy equipment borrowed from work. After a good, quick trail start I headed off trail with map and compass in hand. Quickly the clouds set in and it began raining, and continued to rain for 10 hours. I made it up and over Red Buffalo Pass and took off for a blind descent into the Western half of my journey. I say blind because visibility was, I’d say, 200 yards with the foot-level clouds. There was only a few real scares - one of which was a spooked Porcupine. I screamed, yes, screamed, imagining getting a face full of quill projectiles. He scampered off trail and watched me pass.

I ended the first half of the hike after dark. I feel asleep to rain slamming my bivy, a waterproof sack just big enough for a sleeping bag and a pair of shoes, oh, and my pistol. The elk’s bugle keep me on edge. If you’ve never heard it it sounds like a female alien screaming for help. It’s not so relaxing. I woke up at 11pm to snowfall, snow that continued for the last 12 hours of the traverse. It was so cold when I got up I couldn’t make breakfast. So what do you do when you can’t eat because it’s so cold? Well, you run a 5K with a 25 pound pack, that’s what. I ran three miles to my next land mark, just to stay warm. It’s a bizaere landmark to say the least. Right after you cross the Gore Creek there are two graves of Swedish settlers from the 1800s - just sitting there under a tree.

I ended up back at the car at 11am and headed off to a staff meeting at 1pm. It was nice to be in the woods for a while. Life seems a little better after a hike with God. See a few photos in Gallery - Outdoor Life.
It sounds like a fortune cookie but challenging times lay ahead. Please pray for grace and patience and mercy and wisdom and abandon.