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Up Maiden, down to Maiden Lake Trail via Leap of Faith...

December 13, 2014 (Afternoon)

Exercise Type: Walk

Weather: 30s, absolutely gorgeous

Comments:
Slept...OK. It was constantly "just a little too cold" all night. I got up twice, and the second time I had to re-start the fire from nothing at 3:30AM. I went back to sleep 'til around 7:30, then went down for coffee and tea.

Both Callie and I were well-behaved all night; nothing happened, though admittedly it was tough to not put an arm around her, as it was pretty damn cold up there, and she was much colder than me. But we all warmed up well around the stove with StarbZ ViaZ. We all took our time, but the beautifully, crystal-clear morning was beckoning and it was time for adventure.

Around 10AM we all suited up for the snowshoe up Maiden. There was about 8-12" of snow at the cabin, steadily increasing as we made our way around to the Maiden Peak trail, and up. The conditions were perfect: right around freezing and no wind, and the snowshoes stayed above the crust of the snow.

It was a perfect workout uphill - pretty moderate, powerhike effort - 'til we got to the steep part, then it was legitimately tough. Right around then, the route-finding got tougher, as it did when I tried a winter summit back in January of '11: the trees were coated in snow, obscuring the blue diamonds, so the last kilo or so, including the section to the summit, was a bunch of random blazing.

But once we got to the turnoff...wow: open, clear, bluebird skies. Incredible!

We couldn't find the climber out and back to save our lives so...we just went straight up! This is the shit you can do in snowshoes - it's almost easier, with sticky snow covering the baseball-sized rocks.

The five of us summitted, the hung out for a good 20 minutes up there. I was all-in for more hiking, but the rest of the fellas were going to go straight down. Callie REALLY wanted to come along, but she'd irritated her knee pretty badly on the hike in last night and it was rough today. So, after we tried to find the real trail to descend, I was on my own.

I followed what I thought would be the Leap of Faith Trail for a while, before I said "Fuck it" and just went mostly straight down the mountain. The plan was to go down for a while...then turn around and follow my tracks back! Simple stuff in snowshoes and a clear sky!

It was utterly peaceful. The solitude and silence - save the crunch-crunch of my snowshoes - was a tremendous gift. I shuffled along, weaving in and out of tree branches and snow-covered fallen logs.

I kept going downhill, resolved to hit at least 5 miles on the Suunto and just when I was about to, I hit some tracks...and some blue diamonds. It was the Maiden Lake Trail, and they were Ann's tracks from last night: a single 'shoe'er and two dogs. I followed them west for a while, toward the Rosaries, but I decided I wanted the big climb, so I turned back. I overshot my entry point, so by the time I looped back again, I'd logged over six miles.

From there...I just backtracked. And damn, when I hit the Leap of Faith, it was tough. STRAIGHT uphill! But it was exhilerating, in the clear skies with a few big, puffy clouds.

I thought a lot about Callie Alice on that solo hike: of how fantastic it was that she came and on how much of a "trouper" she was: leading the charge, being ultra-low maintenance, never complaining, and always having a smile on her face. The bond was strengthening, for sure. And I couldn't wait to get back to the cabin to see her.

I got back to the trail junction, but I thought I might wanna re-summit. I didn't really care either way, so I "flipped a glove": heads it was, and up I was going. I hauled straight up again for another worthy view. Then, I hammered down.

I ran about 90% of the distance from the top of Maiden, back to the cabin. It was fantastic. Running in snowshoes can be a challenge, but when you get a rhythm, it's a blast. So I went, getting the HR pretty high at times, but not really caring.

The crew, plus the other three guys, who made the trip after us, had completely tamped down the path, so in the last mile, I actually took off the 'shoes and ran, then put them on for the final flat kilo.

And I was back! Just under 5hrs of feet time and >11 miles, and about 3600' of climbing. GOOD DAY.

I got back to the cabin just before three, and I was beeming - the feeling of a GOOD day's work, with a little riskiness, and the thrill of being back with civilization. Kelly let me know immediately that "Callie was worried about you". :-P

The rest of the day? Sitting around the stove, eating, playing games, and BS'ing. Callie and I had like NINE beers left between the two of us (or was it 11??). So, as we had the night before, began to share them between us: I'd have about 58% of the can, she 42%. I love doing that, but what I loved more is it turned into this ritual of us coexisting, as teammates or partners. It's silly, but it meant something.

After a few brews, we ate a meal consisting of all things Callie had cooked and brought beforehand, including an outstanding soup and broccoli. Then, it was right back to beer! She'd also brought "Cards Against Humanity", and we were able to pry the fellas away from "Settlers of Katan" long enough for a few spirited rounds, most of which were won by Dan-o!

After that, KRW went to sleep, and the fellas played one more game of "Settlers". That left Callie and I next to the stove, which was fine by me. More chatting about...well, everything. It was great.

Around 10ish, we finally went to bed. It felt colder that night and I had a bad feeling I'd sleep like shit from all the beer we drank.

Almost everything I do is pre-meditated. I guess because I think a lot about things. On my solo 'shoe, I thought a lot about Callie, and I KNEW, after this weekend, I'd have to confront her at last and lay down some boundaries and limitations - on paper to protect her, Eric *and* me from any impropriety, but also as a challenge: is it possible she's interested enough in me - and unhappy (as I think she is) with her relationship - to do anything about it?

That said, it seemed that in order to necessitate a talk about boundaries, they had to be over-stepped. At least mildly. So I decided that afternoon, that I would cuddle with her: that I would draw her close to me - in our separate bags and pads - should the opportunity and vibe arise.

I felt like, if that happened, she would either like it, necessitating the talk, or she would NOT (and define her OWN boundaries), making the talk not necessary. Either way, it was a relatively harmless way - after the build-up of the weekend - to make a gesture of relatively safe intimacy.

It got COLD that night. I'm not sure if it was the beer or what, but it did. At the start of the night, Callie's sleep pad was RIGHT next to mine, but I didn't do anything. But past midnight, when it REALLY got cold, and after she'd gotten up to go to the bathroom, I sidled a bit closer. And when she laid back down, right next to me, I turned beside her and put my arm around her.

She grabbed my arm and tucked it in. So I drew her closer.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE her hair? It's like this natural blonde, naturally-curly, free-flowing but graceful hair of a mermaid. And, even after two long snowshoe hikes and a day spent in a musty cabin amongst seven guys, it smelled amazing.

She didn't say or do anything, and neither did I (thank God for that), but we both just laid there, awake. I bet it took a good half hour for me to settle down long enough to fall asleep.

I disengaged - then re-engaged - with her several times over the course of the night: when my shoulder got sore, or when I got up to pee and stoke the fire (which was numerous), but I always came back, and she always drew me in.

Finally, Kelly got up around 5:30 (just shortly after my last get-up), and the rest of the guys at 7 or so. I awoke just after that, to her eyes locked on mine, lying beside me. Without a hint of awkwardness, she rolled over again, nestled close to me, and I drew her in. :-)

Then we got up.