Rushed. Our day began in the type of darkness that can only be found beneath low, heavy rain clouds and thick evergreen forests. I don't even remember what time our alarms went off - I blocked out the clock and moved on autopilot as we broke camp and drove through a sleepy Breckenridge toward the trailhead to our second 14'er in as many days. When our car was the first to the lot, however, my bravado failed me as I tried to peer through the night to locate the trail, instead opting to nap a little while longer as we waited for dawn and (admittedly) more people. What is it about the forest at night that forces the little girl who's afraid of the dark to the front and center of the decision-making part of my mind? Torrey and I didn't have to wait long, however, before the lot began to fill and we finally felt safe enough in the crowd of peak-baggers to venture out into the pre-dawn forest, still shrouded in shadows of the night. Hoodoo took up what was to become his customary spot resting on my right shoulder, watching the world awaken around us as we began the day's ascent. Despite the toll Pikes took on us the day before we set a good pace, eating up the distance to treeline before the sun had risen above the mountains around us, though we couldn't see it; the skies had been weeping on our drive to the trailhead, and still threatened to do so even as they lightened to a dull grey.
Of course, it was above treeline, with no cover available, that it began to drizzle, then rain hard enough for us to pull out the rain gear and for me to zip Hoodoo up inside my jacket to keep dry. And then it started to hail, tiny little pellets that stung our faces. And the hail turned to sleet. Then snow. Somehow, though, we pushed on while keeping an eye to the skies - while the wet wasn't appreciated it was a storm we were worried about, being caught with no shelter when thunder begins to rumble. We did manage to get slightly distracted when we spotted a trio of mountain goats on the trail above us, heading our way. We scrambled off the trail as quickly as we could, putting as much distance between us and their path as the slick rocks and our own stumbling footsteps could get, though it still wasn't really enough considering they had a kid with them. As they drew closer we gave up on distance and just held still, trying to make like statues unworthy of notice. Clicking statues, as it turns out, due to my camera being attached to my fingers like an extension of flesh and blood. They passed further down trail with no incident, and we continued on our way with a new spring in our step from the cute encounter. I don't think Hoodoo even registered their presence, tucked into the front of my jacket as he was, huddled into my abdomen to avoid the rain/hail/sleet/snow and wind. Too bad, he probably would have had something to say about it (the kitten has something to say about everything).
It was also above treeline that we began to play in the clouds. When it wasn't rain/hail/sleet/snowing, the clouds swirled around us, obscuring first the path ahead, then behind, and sometimes isolating us on an island of granite in a soft, grey world. Rivers of clouds filled the mountain canyon beside the trail, flowing like the glaciers that had once carved their names into the rock. It was around that time that we got a good view of Quandary's summit, theoretically not that far from where we stood, though it would take some scrambling on slick granite to reach it. We slowed down considerably the closer we got, taking care with our footing on loose rocks and trying to keep the wind from knocking us over. Eventually though, after what at the time felt like forever but in reality would turn out to be our quickest ascent of the week, we summited our second 14'er and were graced by a brief moment of sunshine at the top.
I probably should have realized before we reached it, but I really had no desire to linger at the summit. In my defense I'd only ever been to the top of Pikes Peak, and usually reached the top via a vehicle, then had a warm summit house to shelter within if I got cold. I quickly learned on Quandary that Pikes Peak is an anomaly, not the norm for a 14'er summit. As soon as we summitted I wanted to turn around and go right back down to at least treeline, if not below. I wanted out of the wind. I practically forced myself to sit behind a rock wall built by others seeking a respite, choking down a handful of almonds and some water while I persuaded Hoodoo to come out of my jacket and explore a little bit. He, of course, didn't seem phased by the wind or the chill, hopping over the rocky summit like he was born into it, gaining himself coo's and excited whispers from fellow hikers who had never seen a cat on a mountain before. Before long, however, my fingers were frozen and both Torrey and I were ready to be done. We'd summitted, we'd met our goal, we just had to make it back to the car and call it a day.
It was on the way down, still above treeline, when it began to thunder. We sped up, already flying down the mountain so much faster than when we'd been going the opposite direction, and when a particularly long and loud peal echoed off the mountains around us we broke into a run, dashing for the safety of trees. I could feel Hoodoo bouncing indignantly against my chest and crossed my arms to keep him in place, earning me a disgruntled, if muffled, meow in response. It was either squish him, or trust him to hold on, and at the pace I was going if he'd slipped I would have run right over him before I could have stopped myself. So he got squished, at least until we made it back to treeline. He immediately clawed his way up my collar and settled himself on my shoulder, digging his claws in to the fabric of my jacket any time he felt me attempt to shift him. The storm that had been threatening us seemed to stall, and the sun even made a watery appearance for our last half mile on the mountain. Even with the weather Quandary treated us so much better than Pikes, and I'd be happy to make that summit again some day. Ya know, after we finsh the other 14'ers first.
Read about the first 14'er here:
Pikes Peak
Interested in learning more about Hoodoo? Read about how I got him and chose him as my adventure partner here.
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