The hiking on this trip, together with the sights, has been nothing short of superb. Southern Utah is a gem,
South-West Colorado is beautiful and along comes New Mexico which has to at least try to make up a good third place.
(Nevada has rugged beauty, too.) We set off for Wheeler Peak, the highest mountain in New Mexico at 13,161 feet
above sea-level, knowing not what to expect. The elevation gain is over 3,000 feet, the distance about nine miles
but the real tough part: The entire trail was covered in snow and in places, ice. This made it difficult, slow-going
and we estimate more draining by a substantial percentage . (We love the beauty snow creates but dislike walking on/in it.)
Having mentioned that, it was an exceptional experience, quite extraordinary. In fact, on our visit to Seefeld Spitze
in Austria a couple of years back, we had a similar type of adventure.
An incredible effort from Jenni, an incredible position. (We're heading for Texas eventually where
they say, "How dem slopes". (A current favorite picture).
A scene on the other side from the ascent, at summit.
Crossing the third false peak and about to summit. "Whatta girl!". Love the snow-capped peaks in rear.
On the way back, deep snow and even deeper drop-offs.
So many mountains, so much snow, an enormously beautiful place.
We left the car park in 2 degrees (F) below freezing although the sun was shining brightly from a cloudless sky.
We warmed up soon enough as we struggled through the snow. Although this is reputed to be a popular climb, there
were only two young women ahead of us. On our return, we came across another few youngsters who were tiring and
would run out of daylight should they have made the summit. The snow was firm at lower elevations but soft as
we reached higher altitude. This caused our legs to sink as much as three feet at times, a little precarious
on some of those narrow ledges. A fascinating aspect, as shown in some of the photographs, is the steepness
of the slopes.
In New Mexico, it does not get higher than that...13,161 feet.
'I'm not amused. I did not sign-up for this snow. Even the lake below is iced and most of
it covered in snow.'
And what took you so long...
On top of a beautiful world.
We also learned something paradoxical, we think. In South Africa and Southern California, snow is an unusual
phenomenon and occurrence so it's not something we were familiar with until we hit the slopes some years back.
By the time the weather warmed to an almost perfect late-summer day, the heat caused the snow to melt which
ruined the trail surface somewhat. Counter-intuitively, the ideal would be to have had a much colder day so
as to keep the snow from thawing and relying on the struggle on the mountain to keep us warm. Talk about being
difficult!
One other point: There is nothing like reaching a stunning summit such as Wheeler and looking down at each
and every surrounding peak, into the valleys, even the clouds below and along the steep slopes. It provides
the hiker with a tremendous sense of satisfaction until realizing we still have to find our way down. Now we've
gone and ruined that moment.
The natural side of America continues to stun us; we are in awe. What a country…now what about some leadership!
Another highlight, bighorn sheep preparing to charge. (Good thing we never travel without Am...MasterCard.)
Each scene is a 'blow-out'.
Approaching the summit after three false peaks.
Gives an idea of some of the ledges although this is in the early stages and the widest of all.
A plaque at the summit.
At lower altitude, the snow was compacted fortunately, higher up it was soft.
'Hits' the spot.
Walls of snow.
First there was: "The Loneliness of a long-distance runner", now...'The sitter'.
Talking of lonely, a 'bag-boy' on his own.
A video follows below for those who have not had sufficient punishment:
Vocals and guitar by Brian Murray with Neville Stanger on bass.
Click on icon, bottom right, to display full screen.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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