(And the spiritual truths we can all use when we are feeling lost in our own lives.)

Grandma Rosa's Monthly Inspiration for August  2007                                                      

Dear New Guest,

I like to hike in the high mountains of Colorado . And sometimes I will go alone, on a hike up a mountain that has no trail. (That means there is probably no easy way up and there won't be anyone around.) I know this may seem like a strange thing to do, but I find it to be very fun, challenging and spiritual….. In mid July I scouted out a hike from a main road and decided on a couple of different ways I may be able to climb it. Then on Tuesday evening July 24, I drove up near the mountain to sleep and get up very early because I knew it would be a long day hiking. (Little did I know, it would be much longer than I thought!)

A view of the mountain ridge I attempted to climb.

It started out alright.

    I began hiking on a trail at 5:30 a.m. (All times mentioned are approximate.)  I started on a trail down low in the valley that would eventually run near the base of the mountain. Around 9:00 a.m. I arrived near the mountain and started to climb in a trailess area that I thought might get me up there. But I encountered too many obstacles and had to go back to the valley and the trail. (The yellow line in the photo below.) Then I hiked on to another part of the mountain that I had seen from the road and thought looked possible to climb. I arrived there at 10:00 a.m. …. I hiked up for about 2 hours. (The red line in the photo below.) I made it up near the top. But I kept running into cliffs and having to go back down some and up a slightly different way.

   By 12:00 noon I was very close to the top, but I could not see a good way up to the highest point..... (And in Colorado , it's not wise to be on top after noon because thunderstorms are common in the afternoon and it's easy to get struck by lightning up there.)… I was getting tired, but very tempted to keep trying to find a way up since I was so close. At this point, I had been hiking for 6 ½ hours. I had probably come 10 miles. And had gained roughly 4600 feet in elevation. ( In other words, I was 10 miles away and almost a mile higher than where I started.) I could see dark clouds forming above me…. I didn't want to quit now… But I TRUSTED MY INSTICTS which said “start going down now”. My little voice said “don't get some kind of ‘peak fever'. You don't see a clear way up, you've got a long way back and the weather is changing. You can always come back and try again.”  So I started the long descent.

FIRST SPRIRITUAL LAW OF THIS STORY ---  TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS

Trouble begins

    With all the false attempts and investigating I had now circled around to the back side. (See photo below of backside.)  I decided to go down a different way than I came up because I wanted to scout out other possibilities for getting to the top next time.  (And in fact I think I have spotted a way up.)  However these high mountains are very rugged. I kept going down into one cliff area after another and then having to climb back up and around. It was very slow going.

Back side where I came down.

    By about 1:30 I was finally getting down into the beginning of the trees. Good thing, because it started thundering, lightening and hailing hard. I was glad I trusted my instincts and wasn't still up on the exposed ridge…. I was now following a little creek down the mountain side. Soon hail turned to steady, cool rain.  By 2:00 I came to a definite trail. At first I thought it was the valley trail I was looking for. I went on it. But it started climbing and climbing and it's supposed to run in a narrow flat valley. So after 15 minutes or so, I turned around and went back to where I had run into it. I was perplexed. I looked at my map and made a guess where I was. I also guessed maybe this is a different trail than the one I was looking for… Even though there are no other trails around!   ...

      I decided NOT to go on the trail.  I kept going down along the creek…. IT TURNS OUT I WAS WRONG... ALMOST DEAD WRONG.   It was rugged. I became lost.... Wildly lost. I shouldn't have gotten lost because at home now, looking at the map I see exactly where I was.  But when you're tired, in the hail and rain it's not always that easy.  What resulted was a very tough go of it for hours and hours. Which took all my endurance and experience just to get through it.

  SECOND SPIRITUAL LAW OF THIS STORY – Although this was an extraordinary moment, one should try not to make decisions under pressure. If at all possible, always wait till you can think clearly……. ALWAYS try to “take a step back until you can think clearly.”

 (And remember, often when someone puts pressure on you to make a decision, they are trying to get you to do what's best for them, not for YOU.)

Here's what happened next….

3:00  I realize I am lost. Soaking cold wet. Alternating between cliff areas where the creek is going over waterfalls and flat, marshy areas.  I'm thinking “I'm alone and lost.  I absolutely can not get hurt now.  No one would find me here.” So when I get to cliffs, I don't take any chances. I climb back up and find a way down around them and then back to the creek... This happens again and again.

4:00  I'm beginning to realize I'm wildly lost. I need to come across any kind of trail.  Could the trail I crossed 2 hours ago really been the valley trail I was supposed to take? Yes, probably…    I haven't even seen a footprint in 2 hours. No sign of anyone being this way, at least anytime this summer.  I occasionally see bear ?? poop and very little trails made by animals coming to the creek to drink. But no one hikes this way. I have no idea on the map where I am???   It would be a moral victory if it would stop raining. Oh shit, my cell phone is in an outside pocket of my pack and everything is soaked, including me. I'd better put the phone inside my pack…. The last couple of hours have been very intense.

5:00 Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. You can not stop. Sooner or later you will hit a lake with a trail,  Maybe  there will even be people camping on it with a fire. Or maybe you'll hit a forest service road. Civilization is always downstream.  More marshy area with thick vegetation. How am I going to get through this?  Oh God I'm falling in again. I'm already totally soaked but now I shivering. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

6:00   I am wildly lost I have no idea where I am. It will be dark soon. It's off and on rain now. Everything is wet. If I am walking west, it might be two days before I'm out. I am going to keep following this creek though. It's big enough now that I know it will lead me somewhere. There are lots of creeks on the map. How did I ever miss that valley trail? I am going down in elevation this whole time. Down is always good. People live down. People do day hikes in lower areas. (Not fools like me that do full day, trailess climbs alone.)   I need to find a trail or at least a lake.  Yes,  a lake with backpackers camping on it. They probably have a good fire going and extra food. I can stay with them for the night. I climb a small hill. I see a lake or maybe a small pond ahead.  Maybe somebody's there.  This is getting to be pure hell…. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

7:00 I need to just keep going downstream. Get your cell phone. Turn it on. Call Frank. (When I go on these hikes I always tell a friend where I'm going and then call when I'm out.)  Tell Frank not to panic…. Oh God my cell phone is so wet it won't turn on. Well I can't tell anyone where I am anyway. I've got to get out of this on my own. It's going to get dark soon. I fell in the marshes again. I'm cold. The wind is picking up now. It's starting to rain again. It's so cloudy I can't tell what direction the sun is. So I don't know what direction I am going in.  Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. You must keep moving. Focus. Moving will help with the cold. You've got to get downstream. Easy, don't hurt yourself in this steep area. Don't try climbing down this cliff. Turn and go climb back up for a few minutes and then go around.  I hear the creek. Just keep going along the creek. I am all sore and scraped up from this very difficult day.

8:00  There's a worn area! I can tell people have camped here. Look around. There's a path! There's another worn area! Maybe I'm near a trail to a back road. And people come in to camp here?? I don't see a real trail.  Hey, here's a trail! …. Seems to dead end at this creek and run up the side of a mountain. Here's a weird looking railroad tie type thing across the creek. But no obvious trail on the other side. Weird.  Look at the map. I don't see anything like this place on the map?? Let me start climbing up the trail away from the creek. I'm shivering. It's raining. Should I climb it? I'm not sure I want to climb. I can keep following the creek. Water always leads out eventually. O.K. You've got to think straight. You're cold. You're shivering. It's getting darker. Calm your emotions down.  You're starting to panic. What do you tell Grandma Rosa customers when they're upset?  Relax. Try to think clearly. O.K climb up the trail. It comes from up there and seems to dead end at the creek. Obviously people are coming from up there, right?

8:15  It's windy and cold up here. I don't see any possible end to this trail. I like the creek. Think straight, you're sopping wet and shivering. O.K. go back down to the creek and look to see if the trail goes across that smooth railroad tie thing and follows the creek down. If not, start a fire and try to get warm.

8:25 I need to cross the creek to see if there's a trail on the other side. It looks like there were once at least two smooth railroad ties crossing the creek here but the spring melt destroyed them. I can't cross on this wood. It's high above the water. It's slippery. Everything is wet. If I fall in here, I could die in these rushing, cascading waters. O.K. I'll shimmy across on my butt. Oh it's cold….. O.K. I'm crossed. But there's no trail going along the creek. This is where the trail should be…. O.K. It's getting dark and cold. I've got to start a fire and stay here all night.

8:35   I've got a small fire going. But everything is sopping wet. I can't find any good, big pieces of wood. Maybe I've got to go searching under pine trees for dead wood that was protected from the day long rain.

8:40 I'm running out of light. There is no way I'm going to find enough dry wood to keep me warm all night. I'm going to be in for a very uncomfortable night or worse. I can tell I'm shaking like I'm in the first stages of hypothermia. (Freezing.)  I may not make it through the night. Yes you will. You'll just have to keep moving. O.K. don't panic. Relax.

THIRD SPIRITUAL LAW OF THIS STORY…. You always tell Grandma Rosa  customers “Talk with God. Don't ask God for help.. Ask God for advice and guidance. And then listen to the little voice inside you.”         Calm down……… O.K. God says I should look at the map again…. Where's the map? Unfold the map. O.K.    Easy.    My little voice says trust the universe.    Stop. Footbridge?  What is that word printed over there in small letters on a trail all the way up on the side of the map? …. The words “Footbridge”.  (Being well into my 40's, my eyes are a little weak in reading!)   Could I be over there where it says footbridge? Could the railroad tie thing be part of a washed out footbridge?  I don't know. Maybe. Now that I look at it, makes sense that I cut across this huge rugged area that this creek on the map runs through. But maybe not….. I don't know????  O.K. the Little voice led me to notice footbridge on the map. My fire's now out. I'll never find enough dry wood to keep me here all night. It's only going to get colder. What do I got, 8 hours till daylight?? I'm already shaking from wet cold. Look, just take that trail and climb. If it's the wrong trail, just climb all night. It will keep you warm. Go back over the railroad tie thing and climb back up that trail you started on a few minutes ago .   Oh God,  I gotta go back over that railroad tie again…   O.k. on your butt. Don't fall off. You may not survive it.  O.K. Just go up this trail if this thing is really a washed out foot bridge indicated on the map in 20 minutes or so you'll hit another trail. Make a right turn there. And you'll know you're on the way to a road!   If not, just keep climbing it will keep you warm.

9:10    It's an intersection with another trail! Go right here. This feels right! … It's a dark night with solid clouds over head. When the trail's in the trees, it's extremely dark and I keep walking off the trail. Or hurting myself tripping over rocks. Plus I can tell it's very seldom used by other people because I keep going through spider webs. When it's in the open, there is wet vegetation all around which makes my already sopping pants colder and wetter.

9:30   What is that up there?     2 elks.    And the one looking toward me is a male. Big horns. Do these things charge????  At this point I'm just going forward. I've been through to much already.    Hey!  I yell.    He looks up and turns and runs away. So does the female…. He could probably sense my intensity. I know I'm getting out of here tonight.

10:30   The road!!!!  And close to where I started…    17 hours ago !

10:40   My car!!  Thank you God.

FINAL SPIRITUAL LAW OF THIS STORY – Count your blessings. And be grateful every single day.

                                   Blessings and Safe, Happy Summer,  Steve – Grandma's DreamTeam

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