JoDo Chasing Rainbows

Avalanche Peak Trail

I had high expectations for hiking the summer of 2023. I knew that I wanted to hike Avalanche Peak and one long hike such as Mary Mountain. I boldly with my full chest proclaimed that I would be hiking Avalanche Peak by the middle of July. I asked if anyone wanted to join me. Chrissy stated she would join me. I spent the rest of May, all of June and early July preparing for this hike. It is only a little over 2 miles to reach the peak; but the change in elevation is 2,100 feet in that short hike.’ I hiked along the south rim of the grand canyon and elephant bank numerous times to get ready for this hike. Another co-worker, Caleb, joined Chrissy and me. Donna stated she would drive us because she wanted to see what we looked like when we finished this hike.

We started early on a beautiful July morning. This is a hike you want to get to early since the wind has a tendency to blow in the afternoon. We made a pact that we would stop whenever any of us were tired. No judgement. No questions. The hike starts right off the main road. There is a creek that meanders near the trail. With this type of elevation change you can imagine there is aren’t many switchbacks. It is up, straight up. There was a large group from REI that started when we did. We criss crossed each other almost to the top of the mountain. We all had nicknames by time we got to the end of the tree line.

You think you know what a hill is but once we hit the end of the tree line, it is nothing but steep incline on rocks. I am glad I was very brave people. This is when my fear of heights kicks in. I just look down, put one foot and front of the other and rest when needed. I could (I thought) see the peak. I just knew I could make it. When I first had this thought, it was about an hour later when I got to what I thought was the peak. Nope, false peak. By then it was very windy. You have to cross a narrow peak which had drop offs on both sides to reach the peak. By this time, I can really see the peak. I knew I had traversed the worst of the heights. I had to make it. I turned to Chrissy and Caleb and told them to tell Donna I was brave. I crouched low and moved as fast as I could to climb over that peak to make it to the end. I did make it. It was worth it. What I did not realize that the climb down was going to be much worse than going up. We slipped. We fell. Our hiking poles saved our knees. It was worth it. It was the last trail that I needed to complete hiking on all trails on the east side of the park. Goal completed.

Heart Lake Trail

Chrissy, Caleb and I felt like we could conquer the world after finishing Avalanche Peak Trail. We stated we would do a hike through of Mary Mountain in August. We were all prepared to do this 20 mile hike when we were thwarted by a carcass being on the trail. The rangers closed the trail due to a increased animal activity due to that carcass. Damn, damn, damn. Safety first though. We were thinking where could we possibly go and do our hike. I suggested Heart Lake. It is a hike in/out. It would be about 15 miles. I had never done this trail before. We all agreed and off we went. This hike is through about a meadows that open up to a spectacular views of Heart Lake, thermal features and beautiful wild flowers. There was an incline going down. We all thought it would be okay because it was fairly gentle with just a couple of switchbacks (easy peasy). We sit and eat lunch when we got to the lake. It was beautiful. Unlike Avalanche, we did not see a lot of people. In the morning we see a few groups of folks hiking out. After sitting about an hour we start our trek back. We are enjoying the beauty when we hit around mile 9 and we start going up the incline. We keep going up and up and up. We decided to figure out how long this incline lasted. It was 3 miles. Three miles!!!

Let me just set the scene. We did not bring our trekking poles because this is supposed to be an easy hike, albeit long. When we finally finish the incline we start seeing people hiking in. They asked us if we stayed the night. We said no, we hiked in this morning and are hiking out now. They looked at us in disbelief. I thought once we got to the top of the incline that we had two miles left. No, we had three. I had gotten it into my mind that if I did not go the bathroom that relieving myself in a vault toilet would be a reward (crazy, I know). Once I realized that was a one way ticket to a UTI, I relieved myself behind a large tree. We stopped talking in the last two miles. You know when you are hiking in prime grizzly bear habitat you are supposed to be loud. To make matters worse, it starts to rain. I start to think, if this ground was dry I would lay down, take out my whistle and just blow it until a ranger finds me. We were all deep in our misery. I just knew that bears were holding onto trees laughing at us. We were too stupid to attack. When I hear cars I knew we were near the parking lot. I was never so happy. Let me say, please learn from my example. I could barely walk for two days. I was sore for a week. Don’t be like me. Get a backcountry pass and spend the night down in one of the campsites and hike out in the morning. Don’t do it one day. Your body will thank you.

This hike took 7 hour and 4 seconds.