Photos:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275414342/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Saturday 2/14:
Jen and I headed out to do a hike. At the trailhead, I found out Jen didn't have a headlamp. I checked in my truck for the extra one I usually carry; and it wasn't there. Hmm. Would have to find it later. For today, we would just try to be down before dark, or we could share my headlamp. We left the trailhead around 2pm. We hiked from South Mesa trailhead up Homestead to Shadow Canyon. At the junction with North Shadow Canyon, we chatted. I said I wanted to get a little more exercise (little did I know what I was in for), and we decided that I'd continue up Shadow Canyon and hit the South Boulder and Bear Peaks. Jen would take North Shadow Canyon over to the Mesa trail. She could go at a leisurely pace, and we would meet at the junction of North Shanahan and Mesa trails. I would move quick up Shadow Canyon, hit South Boulder Peak, traverse over to Bear Peak, then go down Fern Canyon to meet up with Jen at the junction.
I was mentally preparing for the (relatively) big ascent, and shortly after separating, I realized we didn't make a backup plan. Rats. Too late to try to catch her. What could possibly go wrong? Made good time up Shadow Canyon, and took the short jaunt up to South Boulder Peak. Was enveloped in the clouds on South Boulder Peak. Made my way over to Bear Peak, and was above the clouds for a bit. Incredibly beautiful views. I wanted to hit Fern Canyon on the way down, but missed it. The trail from Bear Peak was interesting; with some steep drops and some areas with up to two foot deep snow. Very few folks had gone this way, and before I knew it, I was heading down into Bear Canyon on the West Ridge Trail. Crap. This took me WAY out of the way. It was now just after 4pm, and I had a ways to go to get to Jen. Would have to go down the West Ridge, down Bear Canyon, connect with the Mesa Trail, and take that to the North Shanahan Junction - around 3.5 miles from here. It sunset is normally around 5:30pm and it's dark at 6pm; but it would happen a little sooner as the mountains were to the West of us. I knew Jen didn't have a headlamp, and she wasn't as familiar with these trails; so I didn't know how she would react to being there in the dark. I tried to call her on my cell phone, but there was no answer. I sent her a quick text message with my phone, in case she had her phone. It was also pretty cold, so I knew she wouldn't want to sit still for too long; although she did have a down coat and some warm gear. I didn't have much time, so I decided to run the trail.
Alternated between fast hiking, jogging and flat out running based on the safety of the trail conditions and steepness. Made my way to the North Shanahan trail junction with the Mesa trail just as it was starting to get dark. Unfortunately, Jen wasn't around. I called out to her several times and looked a little bit in each direction. I had told her to travel the Mesa trail between North and South Shanahan trail if she got to the junction before me, so I headed down the Mesa trail to South Shanahan. I kept calling her name, but nothing. I reached South Shanahan. Crap. Still no Jen, and it was now dark. She knew I was supposed to be coming down Fern Canyon. Could she have gone up towards Fern Canyon? Could she be lost on the trails? Could she have gotten injured on the way to the Mesa and North Shanahan trail junction? Geez; there were lots of options; with lots of trail to cover. I decided to run back to North Shanahan on the Mesa trail in case she had taken a wrong turn and corrected herself to get back in the zone we talked about. Made it to the North Shanahan, and went up towards Fern Canyon a ways; calling as I went. No replies. Rats.
Went back down to the junction of Mesa and North Shanahan, and then ran the Mesa Trail and North Shadow Canyon trail up to the junction with Shadow canyon to make sure she wasn't injured on that trail. She wasn't there, so I took homestead down, ran part of the Mesa trail in case she was trying to make her way back on that trail. Still nothing. I was really concerned now. I was hoping that she saw that it was getting dark, and made her way back to the car. Since I retraced all the steps she should have gone, and since she's a smart gal; that's what I was hoping for. (Although, I was kicking myself for not making a contingency plan. I knew better. Funny how we relax a bit when we are hiking in our own backyard...) On the way back to the car, I ran into another person running the trail. He didn't have a headlamp, so I shared my light with him. His wife was waiting at the parking lot. He called her on his cell phone, and she said nobody was at the parking lot. Crap. I started thinking about calling Rocky Mountain Rescue. I'd get to the car, and check to see if she was there, or if I had any messages. If not, I'd start a search. The remaining hope is the runner's wife said there wasn't any other vehicles there. I had my keys, so I knew that my vehicle should be there.
Just before we got to the parking lot, the runner's wife called back and said Jen was at the lot. What a relief. We finished running to the lot, and met up with Jen and the runner's wife. Boy, was I glad to see Jen, and was I ever whooped! We chatted about what happened. When it started to get dark, she didn't want to wait for me and headed back to the car; which is the smart thing to do. (If she started to get cold, she could have warmed up there or went to a nearby house.) We had a good laugh about the fact that I initially said that wanted to get more exercise. Boy, did I get more than I bargained for. It ended up to be just over 17 miles with over 5600 feet of elevation gain and 5600 feet of loss; in a little over 5 hours.
The lessons to be learned are: 1) No matter how easy of a day it's going to be, always have a contingency plan; especially in the winter when the safety window is smaller. We could have discussed her going back to the car if she started to get cold, or it started to get dark. That would have saved me a LOT of running and worry. I knew better than this, it was a stupid mistake that could have turned out much worse than it did. 2) Having adequate gear would have helped (Jen having a headlamp, and both of us having cell phones. Phones work along the Front Range. I made sure I replaced the extra headlamp I usually carried in my car.) 3) Never say you want to get more exercise. ;)
It was a good learning experience, that thankfully ended well (and I certainly did get some exercise.) I didn't take any photos after I realized I was on the West Ridge (for obvious reasons), but hope you enjoy the shots I took earlier in the day.
Hope you enjoy the pics!
A.J.
Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275414342/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish