The Enchantments

 

The Enchantments are definitely enchanting!  I’ve never seen such beauty as I did on this 20-mile hike I went on last weekend with Randy and Marcus and the Stinchfield’s.

Luckily I’ve been training for a half-marathon or else I never could’ve done this hike.  Tom and Tracey run marathons for fun and make it look easy and their son is a cross country runner so naturally there was a lot of running mixed in with hiking, climbing, and just trying to catch my breath.  

That red arrow points to Aasgard Pass, the 4,000 foot elevation gain over one mile. We pretty much crawled up it.

This picture was taken at 8:15am. We didn’t know it, but we wouldn’t see Randy again until 10:40am

Our first pit stop waiting for Randy

I had no idea what I was in for except that I knew it would be a pretty hike, and it was.  I also didn’t expect to mourn Randy’s death or plan his funeral as I climbed Aasgard Pass.  But I did. It’s a long story (that I’ve told too many times in the past week) so I’ll be brief. 

After we took a few pictures of the lake and the daunting Aasgard Pass, we all proceeded to follow Tom back to the trail and around the lake.  The last time any of us saw Randy was as he headed off in the opposite direction to get his water pack.  We thought he was right behind us until we got to the other side of the lake and he still hadn’t caught up to us. So we took another pit stop, waited, yelled for him, and wondered where he could be.  Eventually we kept going, stopping two more times to watch, wait, and yell for him.  Halfway up the pass, Tom decided to wait for Randy for a half hour, then climb the rest of the way up.  By then we were all really worried and I was trying not to panic. Tracey and I both agreed that there was no good outcome as Randy must have been injured because why else would he not have caught up with us? As the air grew thinner and the views even more breathtaking, I played out a million scenarios of why Randy was missing. I was pretty much in full panic mode and was trying to figure out who to call first about his untimely death, my Bishop or Randy’s parents. We finally made it to the top and lo and behold, there was Randy, waving his arms, and wondering why I was crying and everyone looked like they wanted to kill him. Somehow Randy had been in front of us the whole time and must have bounded up the pass like only Randy or a mountain goat could, while we waited and worried. It took me a good mile of hiking to get my breathing and rage under control so I could enjoy the fact that my husband was still alive. We eventually stopped for lunch and we were still shaking our heads at Randy. Good thing the Stinchfield’s are such good friends of ours. 

Leprechaun Valley and Lucky Lake

Marcus at the top of Aasgard Pass

No filters on these pictures.  It's really that beautiful!

Pausing for a lunch break and to rest our aching bodies

I lost track of the number of lakes we hiked around

This is Marcus almost at the top of Aasgard Pass, searching for his dad down below

We hiked through snow, crossed streams, walked around the clearest blue lakes, and stared in wonder at the jagged peaks and rock formations around us. We saw a few mountain goats and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch in the warm sunshine. Then our next adventure/mishap began...

Around mile 10, we stopped to filter water from a stream and replenish our empty water bottles. Marcus opted not to fill his water bottle and I only filled my small 8oz water bottles in my running vest. We were in lots of shade and the rest of the hike was "downhill" which I equated with easy.  Bad idea!  Randy and Tom took off trail running and somehow Marcus and I got ahead of Tracey and her son, but then we got lost. We missed a cairn and started wandering around little side trails that eventually led to a dead end. Luckily, we found a couple hikers who had a map and after a few minutes we were back on track.  But while we were lost, Tracey and her son got in front of us along the trail. Randy and Tom kept their fast pace, stopped to filter more water, and left a few water bottle along the trail for us slow people.  When Tracey saw the bottles, she took all of them because she had no idea Marcus and I were now behind her. This meant Marcus and I had no water for the last 8 miles of the hike. It was torture!! The sun beat down on us as we left behind the canopy of trees we had enjoyed for so long. The trail was dusty and every switch back seemed to lead to another long switch back. We talked to pass the time but eventually we had to conserve our energy and we walked in silence, only stopping when we finally saw a road, so far below us it was hard to see it. We finally passed another hiker, and were so disheartened when he told us we still had four miles to go. It was terrible!  But eventually we limped into the parking lot, thirsty, sweaty, stinky, dirty, and sore. I made Tom drive us straight to McDonald’s where I quickly downed in no time, two of the best tasting lemonade slushees I’ve ever had. 

The hike was epic. I felt like a true pioneer and vowed I will never go hiking with Randy ever again unless it’s on a short, easy hike that even Henry can do.