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(ETA: I should have said, I'm only just now getting around to writing about it, but we actually were camping last week, left the 20th, returned the 23rd. It's our Solstice hike.)
This year I'm happy to say I actually climbed the mountain, AND my knees were fine after. :) Eor and I did not go all the way to the highest peak (Baxter Peak), but stopped a mile short at Thoreau Springs (dry this year), on the plateau. I wonder if I'll regret that in years to come, because who knows if I'll make it again. One mile, and most of that across the plateau. We could have. But I had seen all I needed to see, and at that moment (and now) feel completely happy with this accomplishment. Now I have to remember to keep doing PT knee exercises. Making it up does not mean I'm all better!
I also managed to get through most of the bits that verge on 'technical' with a little grace - did some oppositional friction footwork on one set of boulders that pleased me. And then banged my head on an overhang two minutes later. So glad there's padding in the top of my hat. Wide brimmed hats are absolutely essential, but make sure you look up often, because they do block your view.
E.B. turned back when it started getting bouldery. She's daunted by the prospect of getting over big rocks, because that's where she always scrapes and bruises herself up. And I think she feels that's because her legs are short. She's not a lot shorter than me, but I have more leg than I deserve for my height. (On the way down he was spotting footholds for me and it went something like "you're going to want to put your right foot over ... never mind, you're touching the ground. I didn't know you could reach that far.") But I don't think that's my real advantage. I was never "a climber", but Eor and I used to climb on ropes back in the day; I do retain a few tricks. I wonder if some practice doing technical boulder climbing with ropes would be helpful to making her feel a little more confident about ways to attack the problems.
This year I'm happy to say I actually climbed the mountain, AND my knees were fine after. :) Eor and I did not go all the way to the highest peak (Baxter Peak), but stopped a mile short at Thoreau Springs (dry this year), on the plateau. I wonder if I'll regret that in years to come, because who knows if I'll make it again. One mile, and most of that across the plateau. We could have. But I had seen all I needed to see, and at that moment (and now) feel completely happy with this accomplishment. Now I have to remember to keep doing PT knee exercises. Making it up does not mean I'm all better!
I also managed to get through most of the bits that verge on 'technical' with a little grace - did some oppositional friction footwork on one set of boulders that pleased me. And then banged my head on an overhang two minutes later. So glad there's padding in the top of my hat. Wide brimmed hats are absolutely essential, but make sure you look up often, because they do block your view.
E.B. turned back when it started getting bouldery. She's daunted by the prospect of getting over big rocks, because that's where she always scrapes and bruises herself up. And I think she feels that's because her legs are short. She's not a lot shorter than me, but I have more leg than I deserve for my height. (On the way down he was spotting footholds for me and it went something like "you're going to want to put your right foot over ... never mind, you're touching the ground. I didn't know you could reach that far.") But I don't think that's my real advantage. I was never "a climber", but Eor and I used to climb on ropes back in the day; I do retain a few tricks. I wonder if some practice doing technical boulder climbing with ropes would be helpful to making her feel a little more confident about ways to attack the problems.