6/26/01 Mom and Dad drove me up to Rollins Pass amidst pouring rain and frightful lightning
and thunder. I folded down the back seat of Ru (the Subaru) and packed my pack. Late in the
afternoon there was a break in the weather. I took it. An emotional fare well. Mom and Dad
sending off a son on a journey that held enormous potential, for growth, adventure, and
tragedy. My Mom gave me this note: "If it were one word it is: Fare Well.
Two words: God's Speed. Three words: Take Good Care. Four words: I Love You Brad. Mom.
Grandma Marion would say: 'Be good, and if you can't be good, be careful.' Grandpa Avery
would be proud...so am I." I felt very lonely. Scared too. What had I talked myself into?
Could I really do this? I awoke in the middle of the night to a pack of coyotes howling not 50
yards from my tarp. Was that my welcome? 6/27/01 I got going early. It was cool and windy
and clouds were whipping over the Continental Divide. I hiked several miles south, and navigated
by peering east, when the clouds allowed, to identify the lakes below. Over Rogers Pass and up
the shoulder of James Peak. A guy was descending the peak towards me out of the mists. I had
to reorient him--he'd been turned around in the fog. Turns out his name was Clint, a guy I met
on a hike up Longs Peak in May. We were both heading to Berthoud Pass, so we hiked together to
James Peak Lake to camp. 6/28/01 Clint was following the Continental Divide Trail. Here it
loops down off the Divide and through a labrinth of dirt roads in the rural community of
Alice. I'd planned to hike over James Peak, Mount Bancroft, and Parry Peak, but I figured I'd
go with Clint since we had the same destination. Turns out I should have gone over the peaks.
The dirt roads seemed endless and the route back to the Divide anything but obvious. Fearing
blisters were forming on the bottoms of my aching feet, I sent Clint ahead and cooled them off
in the creek. I felt better after an hour or so and headed up the Fall River, finally gaining
the Divide above Slater
Lake. This boosted my moral and hiking became enjoyable again. Up and over Mt. Flora (13,133')
and on to Berthoud Pass. Hitched a ride into Winter Park for an early dinner and then back up
to the pass to camp (under a rock!). 6/29/01 West along the Continental Divide. Eight miles
in, a 13,000' ridge before me obscured my view of developing weather. Climbing hard to get
up it for a view I developed chest pains. At first I thought it was from
my shoulder straps being too tight. No relief came from loosening them, so I sat down for
about 20 minutes and the pain slowly subsided. I pushed my heart too hard on only
my third day out. A little taste of what a heart attack is like!? Still about 4 more miles to
go for the day. Though the chest pains never returned,
neither did my strength. The last mile off the Divide down to Hassell Lake took forever. Even
going down hill I was overwhelmed by fatigue and had to stop and rest several times. I set up
camp and bathed and snacked and napped very hard! 6/29/01 A bit lethargic. Had hoped to hike
to Loveland Pass, but that wasn't in the cards. Hiked up and over an unnamed pass and on to
Herman Lake, then out to the Herman Gulch Trailhead on I-70. 7/6/01 Returned for a day hike.
Headed up
Herman Gulch to the Divide and over Pettingell Peak (13,553'). Continued south to a summit I
could not navigate over. Spent some time scouting it out and ended up descending its eastern
shoulder to the basin below and back up just south of the peak. Headed down the Divide as
storms blossomed around me. I'd hoped to make it all the way to Loveland Pass, but headed down
to the Eisenhower Tunnel when electricity began to flow between the heavens and earth.
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