First off: good news, we weren’t eaten by a bear, so, woo! But today has been a day.

I was still a little sore this morning but a hike was doable. Planned is 2700ft up, 1800 ft down, so it should be easier on my knee. We left at 10 or so, and it should be a 6 hour hike, so, ideally, an early day.

 

Lara and the start of hikes are not friends – she’s cranky. The views, though, were nice, but a bit windy. The weather forecast called for winds of 16-18mph with gusts upwards of 25mph. The hike was slow going – it sucked at the start for some reason.

Once we left tree line, it got worse. The winds kept getting stronger and shelter was harder to find. Once we began the switchbacks up to Red Gap Pass, the wind was extremely intense. The winds plus a sheer drop scared Lara with visions of me tumbling down the side from an errant gust. But, we plodded on. We encountered a hiker coming down who warned us that the winds at the peak were strong, but said that the wind died down on the other side. The wind gusts at this point (about 150ft feet from the pass) were up to 60MPH. We stopped a lot to hold on.

A group of hikers passed us and checked to see if we were OK and then continued up to the top. About 10 ft from the top, a gust of wind claimed my hat. I’m saddened by the loss of this hat – I’ve had it for 11 years and it’s gone on all adventures with me since. I tried chasing after it for a bit but the 80 MPH winds were trying to force me over the cliff that my hat went over shortly thereafter.
I struggled back to the trail and made it past the cairn that denotes the top of the pass. I went a bit further down, attempting to seek some refuge from the winds, while Lara took a picture from the top. A few seconds later a 100MPH gust got me. I flew about 5ft (entirely off the ground), my face finding the flat end of a rock. I slid another 5 ft and rested for a minute. I noticed that my jacket was wet; so, I was bleeding. Lara, also caught by the same gust (though just knocked down), was beside me a few seconds later. It took her a minute before she saw the blood on my face (it was on the down-slope side) and mildly panicked. Once she realized it was just minor scrapes, she calmed down. A minute or so later, another hiker crested and joined us, complaining of the wind, and then he saw my face. We assured him that I was OK and he went on.

We crawled from the peak to avoid the wind, and it was then that I realized that I also hurt my left arm in the unpowered flight. My right knee also hurt more than before from bracing against the wind on the ascent. I was convinced at one point on the initial descent that death was near and that I wouldn’t be able to get down off the pass. Somehow, we made it to treeline and out of the reach of the wind.

We stopped for a bit, cleaned my wounds, rested, and then continued. The hike from the pass to the camp is around 6 miles. This was extra painful.

We left the pass around 4PM, and got to the camp (bitching the whole way) at 7PM, so a 9 hour total hike. The two other groups of backpackers there were relieved we made it and horrified by my face. The hikers that passed us near the top also had a story of being unintentionally airborne, with one going of the cairn at the top (which is about 5 ft tall, though he could have meant a smaller one that is about 18 inches tall). The other group (the father and his daughters) helped Lara set up the tent while I dutifully sat. The other group asked if we needed anything and offered us some leftover hot food (which was pretty good). I’m glad for the kindness of these people and the genuine concern they have for us total strangers (if any of you five are reading this, please contact us, we want to say thanks).

We survived today, though barely – a few inches different and my head would be in much worse shape.

Tomorrow we leave the back country (and not a day too soon). It’s a 6.4 mile hike to the trailhead, with 400ft ascent and a gradual 1300 ft descent. Hopefully it will be uneventful and easy.

STATS: 3 hikes, 31.3 miles, 1 lost hat, 1 lost pin, 1 lost camera sun glare guard, 1 near death flight, 0 bears.