Climbing up the steep path on the top of Trail Ridge this weekend has given me a goal. I've been taking forever to get my mountain lungs since we've been back. It's not a surprise, I always tended to suffer a bit when I returned to altitude over the years. Migraines, bad moods, racing heart, fatigue, all part and parcel of vacations back to see family. A few holidays were ruined by the whole mess plus vomiting too. For the first month or so we were here this summer, I thought my heart was going to explode from my chest whenever I walked more than about fifteen steps. So when I made it all the way to the twelve-thousand-foot level on that trail Sunday, and I could still breathe, albeit in great gulps at first, I was understandably proud of myself. I was finally starting to adapt. So I came up with an idea. This trip was at the three-month point of being back in Colorado. So I want to go back up to Trail Ridge at the one-year point, and see how much easier the climb is. I expect to do it much better, once I've had more time to expand my lungs.
I still haven't been to the mountain claim. The man and his dogs are up there now, trying to get a last few projects completed before winter arrives. Yes, I realize that today is only the first day of fall, but the mountain doesn't care. The aspens have already turned up there, and the air is chilly, or so I have been told. It may be fully spring before I get taken up to tour it again. If I am working on my mountain lungs, as I will be for the above experiment, then I should be able to scale up no problem by the time I finally get my invitation to the claim. (Technically I had one before, but plans changed at the last moment and none of us went up.)
I'm so happy to have made it to the autumnal equinox. Summer seemed to drag on forever for me, and I had started to wonder whether the season would ever change. I absolutely love the fall, and not just for artificially flavored pumpkin spice everything. I love the air, the light, the colors, the smells, the holidays, the foods, the sports, all of it. The weather forecast is still too warm and dry for my favorite day of the year, but it will come soon. It might be fully October before the cold, gray drizzle arrives, but it is coming. And I will hail the day in song. Three cheers for autumn! Huzzah!
No comments:
Post a Comment