The Summit
Our cell service has been dicey the last two weeks so we are a bit behind on chronicling our adventures. A bit over a week ago, we returned to Great Basin National Park. This was not in the plan, but then again, the plan evolves on a pretty regular basis. While we were hiking and enjoying time in Bryce Canyon National Park, Alanna asked me where we should go next. I thought about it for a bit, and then said “Let’s go back to Great Basin. I want to try Wheeler Peak again.” This was the 13,063 foot peak that Alanna summited in just the second week of our trip. I was unable to make it to the top, you may recall. I became lightheaded and was simply worn out as we got above the tree line. Yes, I have asthma and that played a role, but the real reason that I did not reach the summit with her last year is that I wasn’t in good enough shape to make such a climb. It’s 3,000+ feet of vertical, most of which happens in the last two miles.
On our second day in GBNP, we did a shorter hike—a little over six miles with 1700 feet of elevation gain to get our hiking legs moving again. We had spent two days of that week at the Ford dealer in Mesquite, Nevada getting our AC fixed, so we needed a nice hike and a good night of sleep before heading back to Wheeler. The next day, we got up early and drove the ten miles to the trailhead, climbing a few thousand feet from our campground to the 10,000 foot starting point. The hike up is beautiful, passing through aspen groves and pine forests, gorgeous green meadows, past views of alpine lakes, always with the peak in view. I didn’t look up much for the first few miles. I just put one foot in front of the other, happy to have another chance, happy to feel so much better in my body, and happy to have a clear and relatively warm day to make the push.
We encountered a new twist to the hike this year: snow! Down in the tree line we crossed over a number of snowbanks, slipping and sliding a bit, but nothing too treacherous, then we hit the scree field and the switchbacks that lead above tree line to the rocky summit. Alanna pointed out to me later that I stopped constantly during that portion of the hike last year. Winded and tired and cranky. This year, I stopped once or twice to catch my breath as the air got thinner, but I just kept walking. We took a break with a few others before beginning the final climb up the steepest portion of the trail. A gentleman who was on his way down warned us that the trail ahead was snow covered and that we would need to climb a nearly vertical boulder/scree field to “earn” the summit. Uh-oh, we both thought.
When we reached that point, we were both scared and nervous as it looked dangerous and difficult, but we went for it. I’m a scrambler, and going slow in order to find a safe route up meant that my asthma was a non-issue on this difficult portion. Ironic, I thought. Next thing you know, Alanna is telling me to head left in order to reach the true summit. I’d made it to the top! I was just about to start crying like a baby, but a bunch of folks were close on our heels, so I held my emotions in check. Another hiker took our photo, with me squinting, of course, and then we sat down to lunch, chatting all the while with what turned out to be a number of other folks who had left SF recently.
The top was incredible! It felt like I could see forever, and I certainly had a very clear sense of the basin and range topography stretching before us for hundreds of miles. After about thirty glorious minutes on top, we headed down, literally crab-walking down the boulder field. It was really, really tough, and we did it. We did it, Alanna and me, we did it together, and I know that I could not have done it without her. Not a chance.
I’m really proud of my accomplishment, and I am really glad that we circled back to Great Basin NP. It’s a special park that seems to be getting busier from what the rangers tell us. The campgrounds were full each night and we saw a good many people on the ample trails available.
So, that Friday was a big day. Summit day! Saturday, June 17 was a big day as well—we celebrated nine years of legal marriage (thank you Gavin Newson!) and our friend Amy drove to GBNP from Salt Lake City to hang out for the night. After a short hike through the bristlecone pines, Alanna cooked scrumptious chicken tacos for dinner and we sat around the campfire for hours catching up. As the Milky Way began to appear above the tree line, we finally headed to bed. On Sunday, the Minnie got a break and Amy drove us all out to the Serviceberry Trailhead for a stunning three-mile hike. We all stopped frequently to take in the beauty.
As of Monday June 19, we’ve been on the road for 365 days! One year of living the Minnie Life, a year that we will never forget, that has been instrumental in allowing us to reset and reassess who we are and what we want. Alanna said on Sunday afternoon that she’s learned life for us has to be about time and experiences. Time together to have great adventures but also to just be present in each other’s lives, which was such a challenge in the hectic life we were leading back in the Bay. Certainly our next life will present challenges in this regard as well, but I think we know more today about how to make the seconds count when we are together and how to devise rich experiences, even for a weekend.
What an incredible year we have had, what an incredible life we have together. Today more than ever, we recognize and acknowledge the courage it took to walk away a year ago, to have faith that we’d be taken care of and to open ourselves up to a whole new world of possibilities. Gratitude. We are overflowing with it, and there’s just no clear way to express the enormity of gratitude we possess at this exact moment.
