Climbing Mountains

As Autumn wears on the mercury quickly falls. Sub zero temperatures greet us each day, hopefully peaking into the positives sometime during the afternoon. Fahrenheit starts to take on some appeal, 32 degrees sounds much better than Zero!

The bright colours of the leaves have given way to browns. Large deposits collect at tree trunks and swirl around the neighbourhood in the wind. Snow has fallen on the surrounding foothills and you can tell it is only a matter of days before it makes its way into town.

I had planned to hike the local natural icon Heart Mountain for my birthday, but I caught a nasty cold and then it snowed. Friday I decided to take a look and see how much snow was on the mountain and if it was still accessible. So I rocked up there in my jeans and track shoes and went for a little walk. The snow was heavy but walkable and so I kept on going and going and three and a half hours later, trekking through heavy snow, I ended up on the summit.

Its a beautiful view! You can see the Big Horn mountains in the distance and the badlands in the foreground. The Beartooth mountains on the other side and Cody township nestled in the valley. Powell township is isolated with a huge flat expanse all around it.

Getting down the mountain was much harder, should have brought a sled. My old knees playing up every step a little jarring. Towards the bottom I got disorientated (could of been lack of water or food which I failed to bring with me), I lost the path. I could see where I needed to get to, but not the way to get there. After awhile of retracing my steps I realised that I needed to take some action. The light was fading and I wasn't keen to be alone on the mountain in the dark. I knew I needed to make a decision.

So I left the track I was on and headed for my goal. The snow was heavier and the terrain unforgiving on my sore knees and hips. I realised 10 minutes into my diversion that I could get myself into some trouble. There were a few moments of concern, how close should I get to being desperate before I asked for help. I determined that I would for this time in my life seek assistance a little earlier. So I used the last remaining battery on my phone, and called a local who would know the terrain and find me if I didn't make it back to my car.

Fortunately a few minutes later I found the path and everything was ok. On my return Lyndi was pretty worried, friends told her about the bears, wolves and mountain lions that frequent the area and as it got late she couldn't get me on the phone. She was even less impressed when she found that I had not called her with my last phone call. Whoops!

Climbing mountains can be dangerous, especially if you are a bit impulsive like me, the weather can change without warning, fatigue can skew your perception - you have to be prepared. But it is life affirming. Mountains get you a little closer to heaven, and give you a different perspective. The effort to get there rewarded with a view to inspire. I think we all need to conquer, its part of the reason for living. Hopefully we wont die in the process!