was the fantastic company and all of the laughter. This is Rob, who was my instructor and research advisor in college. He's always been like a sweet, protective big brother (with perfectly inappropriate humor)... not to mention a super supportive friend.
And this is his gorgeous wife, Amy. She is - honestly - always this happy and being around her instantly makes me happy. When I grow up, I want to be just like Amy....
I decided to include this nasty picture of myself because 1. I seem to have this look on my face a lot these days - WTF? - and 2. this was at the top of the 2nd pass (Oscar's) on the first day and Oscar's kicked my ass!!! Thankfully it was all downhill into Telluride from here.
Look at it - this is Oscar's - the zig-zagging line. Holy shit, right!?!
It really hurt!!! Badly!!!! I'm not kidding when I say I was worried about whether I was going to make it to the top -it's not like we had a car at the bottom. I had to get up to get to Telluride - and the clouds were closing in!!! This was where we had just come from - Swamp Grants Pass.
Eventually, I made it.
And it felt SO good!!!! Because my life has felt like that day for the past year. I seriously wonder (on many more days than I'd like to admit) whether I'm going to make it. But mostly, like on this particular day, I'm more surprised at how hard it all is and I think I kind of get stuck in the shock at that realization - hence the constant WTF? stare. So that photo's a nice reminder -to let go -it doesn't matter how I thought things would be -they are what they are.
I have a lot more inner strength than I ever give myself credit for. I'm not sure why. But I'm working on it so that there's more of this...
After a great night with yummy Thai food in Telluride and doughnuts for breakfast, we were off on the second segment - up over Virginius Pass and into Governors Basin, which had some great glissading!
Extremely scientific exploration of the snow pack...
Simultaneously fierce and weird... actually, maybe just weird. The road into Ouray was a long one from here, but I had the Hot Springs to look forward to... and the big slide.
On the third day we took the Bear Creek Trail over 550 and went up to Oh! Point near Engineer Pass, then down to a jeep road, winding our way back to 550. Rob and Amy at Oh! Point.
Then it was over. It would have been sad if my legs still worked. Now that they're back to normal and my blisters are healed, I can't wait for next year!!!!
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