Expedition

My shoes froze overnight and it was hard getting my feet in them.  Morning is the best time to cross a river and we were hoping it would be friendlier.  It was and we crossed successfully but brrrr!  Ice water.  After that the route climbed up through a side canyon and rejoined the red route.  There was snow everywhere and the trail was buried beneath it.  However we've become good route finders.  We were again above 12,000 feet and we went over passes, along ridges, across icy slopes, and more glissading.  

It resembled a mountaineering expedition because we had to traverse a few steep slopes that required an ice axe and a traction device.  We were in trail runners. But I had my axe out and used it.  We had to find our way around un passable spots and do our best on others.  We saw evidence of an avalanche in one area.  By the end of the day we were all exhausted.  It's been by far the most challenging, scary, and technical hiking I've ever done.

Through all of this I worked at staying calm and focused to cross these areas safely, so when we finally stopped to set up camp it was like a safety valve had been opened to release the pressure.  I burst into tears.  Then I was fine.  I'm proud of us for our team work and getting the job done. 

We set up camp at 7:30.  It was windy and exposed but we had no choice.  We could go no further.  But what a great view we had to go to sleep on and wake up to.