More snow? No thanks.
Yesterday, Jason and I attempted a hike to Nambe Lake via Winsor Trail #254 in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Santa Fe. The weather had been nice and warm and our guide said that attempting the hike in May was doable. We wore our usual hiking kit, thinking that that would suffice for a spring hike. Though we did notice that the temperature plunged to about 40 degrees near the trailhead, the little snow on the ground there was already melting. Little did we know what was in store for us. For instance:
Hip-level snowfall.
Snow, you and me are fuckin' done professionally.
The initial ascent would have been an intermediate challenge had the snow not gotten thicker and thicker as we went. By the time we reached the Santa Fe National Forest gate 45 minutes later, Jason's blood sugar had dropped over 100 points even with his basal insulin suspended. It was hard work, and it didn't get much easier from there.
The 'path'-- ie, the sorta trampled snow about 2' - 3' high was very narrow, slippery, prone to drop off without warning, and bounded by steep cliffs. So, not exactly 'safe,' but we pressed on. For about two miles (each mile taking roughly an hour in that terrain), before we turned back because people COMING from that direction were wearing spiked ice boots with snow poles. It was impassible without that equipment. And so began our two hour hike back through that same terrain. It might have been a little quicker, as I was, by that time, keen to get the hell off that damn mountain. Sinking in between my knees and my hips was no longer a novelty, and I was cold and ill-prepared clothes-wise. At one point I sunk so deep my boot got stuck and Jason had to dig me out because my leg was not moving. We got back about an hour before nightfall. In one piece, thankfully, and are probably going to stick to non-mountainous hikes for another month or so until all that freaking snow thaws out.
But hey, I have pictures.
What gate?
Size reference: Jason is 6'1".
Coooooold.
Tripping? Yeah. Tripping would be bad.
Woke up this morning with a terrible bellyache. Tea, tea, and more tea.
Hip-level snowfall.
Snow, you and me are fuckin' done professionally.
The initial ascent would have been an intermediate challenge had the snow not gotten thicker and thicker as we went. By the time we reached the Santa Fe National Forest gate 45 minutes later, Jason's blood sugar had dropped over 100 points even with his basal insulin suspended. It was hard work, and it didn't get much easier from there.
The 'path'-- ie, the sorta trampled snow about 2' - 3' high was very narrow, slippery, prone to drop off without warning, and bounded by steep cliffs. So, not exactly 'safe,' but we pressed on. For about two miles (each mile taking roughly an hour in that terrain), before we turned back because people COMING from that direction were wearing spiked ice boots with snow poles. It was impassible without that equipment. And so began our two hour hike back through that same terrain. It might have been a little quicker, as I was, by that time, keen to get the hell off that damn mountain. Sinking in between my knees and my hips was no longer a novelty, and I was cold and ill-prepared clothes-wise. At one point I sunk so deep my boot got stuck and Jason had to dig me out because my leg was not moving. We got back about an hour before nightfall. In one piece, thankfully, and are probably going to stick to non-mountainous hikes for another month or so until all that freaking snow thaws out.
But hey, I have pictures.
What gate?
Size reference: Jason is 6'1".
Coooooold.
Tripping? Yeah. Tripping would be bad.
Woke up this morning with a terrible bellyache. Tea, tea, and more tea.