The Great Divide

Fear not dear readers, for I have returned. I know my entries have become fairly sporadic of late, and a hiatus of three months is long, even for me. I have not been sedentary, however, on the contrary, I've been busy doing the mundane sorts of tasks that would make for even duller journal entries than usual. That said, I did set off on a journey in late August that was truly one for the ages.

Indeed, on August 25th, myself and a ragtag group gathered from the farthest reaches of the city of Omaha traveled west into the majestic Rocky Mountains of Colorado. There we took a journey that many have attempted, but few have succeeded. A journey so daunting, that it not only took us from one side of Rocky Mountain National Park to the other, but over the continental divide itself. Those of us that survived, now refer to our our travels as "The 2007 Backpacking Trip."

Okay, so, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was definitely a great trip, but probably not good enough to be written about in the style of turn of the century travelogues. And probably thousands, if not millions of people have made similar trips. And not Boyd, Jeff, Mike, nor myself died. Although Josh did go missing... but even that was before we left Omaha.

Anyhow, here's a map of what we did:

We started on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park near a town called Grand Lake and worked our way northeast, exiting the Park by the town of Estes Park. The entire trip took us 5 days on foot. The first day we hiked in about 6.8 miles and set up camp. I know that this doesn't sound like a very tough hike, but when you factor in the elevation gain of 820 ft., the fact that you're carrying a 50lb+ pack on your back, and the fact that you stayed up late drinking the night before, let me tell you it's no walk in the park! Well, technically, it is actually a walk in the park, but... you know what, never mind, let's just say it wasn't easy.

On day 2, we had a much shorter hike of just around 2.9 miles. However, in that 2.9 miles we had an elevation gain of about 1400 ft. That my friends, is a steep-ass hike. This day was full of switchbacks and blisters for most of the party. All in all, not as bad as we anticipated, however, and spirits were high at the campground that evening. We even got a visit from some unexpected guests in the form of sparring elk. Knowing full well getting gored by one of our horny visitors (yes, I know they're antlers, but it's mating season for them up there) would put an end to our trip real quick, we were happy to give them their space. They felt no such decorum, however, and a number of them decided to swing by and check out our campsite just as were going to bed. They wandered off after a couple of minutes, and luckily were able to discern the difference between Boyd and Mike's snoring and the mating call of a female elk. We were really lucky in this regard, as anyone who has shared a tent with either of those two will tell you, it's not that easy to do.

Day 3 was the biggest day. We had to make sure to set out early, as our trek would take us across the Continental Divide and well above treeline, not a place you want to be should storms roll in. Also, there was the small matter of gaining roughly 1564 vertical feet, before descending down the Divide, only to have to go back up again once we reached the Bear Lake trailhead to get to our campsite. The funny thing was that the trip up and over the Continental Divide proved to be the easiest part of the day, it was actually having to go down then back up that proved the most exhausting. The hike back up to our campsite was completed in silence, as all four of us were too tired to speak and instead committed all of our concentration in merely placing one foot in front of the other. It was also on this day that we learned that the freestanding toilets called "privies" are more dangerous than they appear. A member of our party, who shall remain nameless, nearly did irreparable damage to his "equipment" from the toilet's metal lip when sitting down for a "number 2." Let's just say that the logs we used for campfires wasn't the only wood that got cut on this trip. Luckily, his injury was not life-threatening, and he was able to soldier on for the remainder of the trip.

Day 4 looked to be our easiest day of hiking on paper. It was mostly downhill and not that far, but the fact that we got caught in a deluge of rain coupled with our campsite sitting at the end of an "Unimproved Trail" did little to make the day a good one. Once the rain stopped, the campsite was indeed a pretty one, but probably not worth the effort it took to get there.

Day 5 was the end of our time in the back country. We got up early, packed up camp and hiked back into civilization. We celebrated our return by bathing in showers at the back of a laundromat (don't ask), eating mediocre pizza and wings for dinner, and later devouring onion rings and a pitcher of beer at townie bar in Estes Park. And even though the food was not what we were dreaming of during our trip, just about anything is better than dehydrated food. We then spent our last night around a campfire drinking well into the night.

All in all, it was a great time. Despite blisters, rain, snoring, and cut members, we all had a blast. I know that a great many people have a hard time understanding the allure of backpacking. And quite frankly, I have a hard time explaining why I like it so much as well. I mean, it's a lot of work. It can be dangerous, physically exhausting, and mind-numbingly repetitive as well. Plus, the food is definitely nothing to write home about. So, why do we keep doing it? Well, because it's worth it. You get to completely disconnect from the outside world for a while, hang out with your friends, and see things that most people never get a chance to see. Plus, it's beautiful. How often in this day and age are you able to find yourself miles from society and surrounded by the undisturbed grandeur of nature? Honestly, it's probably next to impossible to accomplish without strapping on a backpack and hiking into the wilderness. It's not going to come to you, you have to go out and find it. I don't know about the rest of the guys, but that's why I do it.

Sure it's nice to be able to feel like you've accomplished something as well. Crossing Rocky Mountain National Park by going up and over the Continental Divide is a feat that most people I know will never do, and I guess that's something. But to me, it's not about bragging rights, it's all about the view. And unfortunately trying to explain "the view" to someone who has never experienced it, is like trying to explain the color red to a blind person. But once I see it, it makes it all worth it. And its what will keep me going back, hopefully, for years to come.